Dupré-Goujon Côte de Brouilly “Heronde” 2022

Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of Beaujolais from the 2022 vintage are like no other Beaujolais you have tasted, unless you were lucky enough to taste the same wines from 2020.  They offer a beautiful combination of density, complexity and persistence that more resembles the reds of the Côte d’Or more than any other wines made from Gamay. The growing season 2022 was exceptionally hot and dry, but their vines did not suffer excessive heat stress, and they were able to bring in grapes with full phenolic ripeness but potential alcohol in the range of only 12.5% to 13%.

Héronde is their largest parcel, on the slope just below the winery, where the dense grass growing between the rows reminds us that theirs is organic viticulture. Elevage was ⅓ in cement vats, ⅓ in demi-muids (500L barrels), and ⅓ in barrique (225L barrels). Sebastien explained to us  that it is a delicate business to use barrels to raise Gamay, and that they employ them to enrobe the tannins, not to add to their prominence. In the glass, Heronde 2022 is indeed a serious wine, and already particularly attractive. Floral notes of violets mingle with the ripe fruit, and the wine fills the mouth despite its relatively low alcohol.