From more than a few years now, the wines of the Beaujolas region have begun to attract the most demanding palates of French and international critics, gradually transforming themselves from brillant promises to solid certainties. Among the winegrowers who manage to produce within this appellation the most famous and coveted by the market wines, Fabien Duperry is a case in itself. In fact, Fabien decided to devote himself to wine production only in 2007, at 43 years of age, having been, until then, one of the largest Burgundy wines merchants, counting on dizzying allocations from the main Domaine in the area, including Romanée-Conti, Leroy or Coche-Dury. The possibility of having access to such masterpieces has led to form in Fabien an extremely refined palate and, when he decided to abandon everything and devote himself to viticulture (exclusively for passion), this ability has helped him a lot in the elaboration of wines which, right from the start, proved to be excellent.
In his Domaine, Jules Desjourneys, Fabien reported some ideas assimilated in Burgundy, starting from the subdivision in many microplots of his 7 hectares between Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent (to which must be added 10 hectares in the Mâconnais). This subdivision has been enriched from the study of the lands and from their classification that copy the Burgundian one with 1er Cru (the Villages such as Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent) and Gran Cru (the noblest plots of the Villages such as “Les Michelons” and “Chassignol” in Moulin-a-Vent, for example).
Independently of the classification, the soils are all cultivated manually in a biodynamic regime (the tractor has been completely abandoned), with a density of planting that varies between 10.000 and 14.000 vines per hectare, and a yield inferior to 30 quintals, always per hectare. In the cellar philosophy has evolved over time and, after the manual sorting operated by a team of 18 people, has passed from maceration carried out with 100% of the stalks to one with only 30%, from the aging in wood to that in cement and glass tanks, all without the addition of sulfur dioxide. The bottling and storage of the wines has also been the subject of study, with the choice to use cork stoppers longer and more expensive than the norm, and to immerse the bottles in wax, all to ensure that no undesirable oxidations occur. In the light of all these attentions, it is not surprising that the price of Fabien bottles is often higher than average, even costing twice (or sometimes triple) a bottle from the same denomination, as in the case of this Fleurie Sacré Graal. It is one of his most famous wines, considered by Fabien one of his best Grand Cru, obtained from grapes coming from his two favorite vineyards: “Les Moriers” (80 years old) and “La Chapelle des Bois” (planted in 1893).
The 2015 vintage has an intense ruby color with a purple nail, with a range of aromas that opens with notes of durone cherry, wild strawberry, blackberry and pot pourri, followed by pomegranate, orange peel, aromatic pipe tobacco and humus, with conclusive echoes of vinyl and graphite. The taste, despite the good softness, strikes mostly for the excellent balance between freshness and sapidity, with a hint of black pepper and a very elegant tannin, all enriched by the taste-olfactory red fruit and vinyl return that accompany the sip until an excellent length closing.
Rating: 92/100
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