Saburin 2021

The Saburin lieu-dit is one of nine named sub-zones within the Brouilly cru, on a steep south-facing hillside at 350 metres between Odenas and Quincié-en-Beaujolais. Nicolas Chemarin's parcel here runs to 0.43 hectares of thin, sandy pink granite, the kind of soil that forces vines deep and pays them back with focus. The vines are gobelet-pruned and densely planted. Fifteen days of whole-cluster carbonic maceration draw out a wide range of fresh red fruit: kirsch, wild strawberry and a trace of violets. The wine then rests on fine lees through the winter before an unfiltered bottling, with only a trace of sulphur added and the timing set to the waning moon. Light-bodied, but with real depth underneath, which is Brouilly doing what it does best.