Dominique Piron Chenas Quartz 2017

Cellar for up to 7 years. No need to decant before serving.

For 14 generations Dominique Piron’s family has been making wine in the cru of Morgon in the Beaujolais wine region of France. Amazingly, Dominique can trace his roots back in Morgon to a certain Etienne Bailly who was born in 1590. This legacy of nearly four centuries of growing grapes and making wine on this exceptional land has given Dominique an intuitive knowledge of how to craft remarkable wines which bear his own unique stamp.

Dominique’s Chenas Quartz is made with Gamay grapes sourced from his family’s 9 hectares of 60 year old vines in the smallest Beaujolais cru of Chenas. Thanks to the warm, long summers and the granitic soils which are studded with quartz, the wines of Chenas rank amongst Beaujolais’ most powerful and they are known for their ageability.

Dominique harvests the grapes for the Chenas Quartz at optimal maturity and the first step is a short semi-carbonic maceration to emphasise the fruity character of the wine. The grape must is then fermented for 18 to 20 days and then 30% of the wine spends a few months ageing in oak barrels to add a touch of finesse and smooth roundness to the finished wine. This creates a well-balanced wine with luscious aromas and flavours of ripe cherries, hints of minerality and floral nuances of violets and lilacs. Thanks to the ripe tannins and firm structure, this is a great bottle to pair with hearty meat stews or even Peking duck.