M&S Beaujolais Fleuries

Originating from the beautiful hillside village of Fleurie, (and a large quantity acquired by Marks&Spencer) this is one of Beaujolais’ most famous ‘cru’ wines, bursting with fresh red berry and wild flower notes. An easy going summery, food friendly wine, food friendly and best served once chilled from the fridge.

Fleurie is one of the ten crus of Beaujolais, where they’re known for producing elegant and floral wines. Here’s the Irish Tipple review of Beaujolais Fleurie.

Appearance: Beaujolais Fleurie has a bright, vibrant ruby red color, medium bodied and refreshingly elegant all the way to the finish.

Aroma: One of the defining features of Fleurie wines is their floral and aromatic profile. And this cru doesn’t disappoint with with its delightful aromas of violet, iris, and peony, with just a hint of red berries like cherry and raspberry.

Flavor: Fleurie wines are known for their finesse and balance. This cru’s palate is brimming with supple black cherry and strawberry fruit flavors. There are subtle herbal or mineral notes, adding complexity to the wine.

Body and Tannins: This wine has a light to medium body with silky-smooth tannins. But the tannins are not aggressive, contributing to the wine’s complete approachability.

Acidity: The M&S Beaujolais Fleurie wine has a refreshing acidity, which adds brightness to the fruit flavors and makes it very food-friendly.

Finish: The finish is clean and persistent, leaving you with lingering floral and fruit notes.

Food Pairing: Due to its lively acidity and versatile flavor profile, this Fleurie pairs well with a variety of dishes. It complements lighter fare such as omelettes, roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, and your favorite seafood like tuna, cod or monkfish. The wine’s floral notes also make it a good match for dishes with herbal components. And it’s recommended you drink this cru within 2 years of purchase.

Terroir:

The area’s vineyards sit on the western side of the Beaujolais hills, on south and southeast facing slopes overlooking the Saone River valley. The vines benefit from exposure to warm morning sunshine during the growing season.

Fleurie vineyards are generally planted on pink granite soil. But variations in textures and additional soil components gives rise to different styles of wine.

On the higher slopes within the appellation, the soils are made up of coarse, dry sand. This absorbs and reflects heat, aiding the ripening process. Wines produced from these vineyards are known for their delicate aromas. Perhaps the best known example is La Madone, which overlooks village of Fleurie. The much photographed chapel from which it takes its name sits at the top of the plot.

Vineyards lower down the slopes tend to have a higher proportion of water-retaining clay. This gives wines from these sites a slightly denser, more-structured style of wine. shielded from cold northwesterly weather systems by the hills to the west of the Beaujolais region. Instead, the region’s high sunshine hours are cooled by gentle influences from the Mediterranean Sea in the south. This ensures that ripening is slow and steady, leading to a balance of acidity and flavor in the grapes.

Rating:

3.3

History:

The original vineyards were planted here in the early Middle Ages by Catholic Benedictine monks, and were expanded into the 15th Century. Eventually the Fleurie wines became widely distributed through France and England well into the 19th Century.

Today’s main village center named Bourg was occupied early on by a large estate which was miles away from a Catholic church and so a private chapel was built (c. 1866) for its owners use and christened Saint-Martin which still stands today.

It is believed that the chapel was built following a prayer by the citizens of the village to Our Lady Mary to combat a vine blight which gave the grapes a damaging powdery mildew.