Description
One of Daniel’s top cuvée comes from 1 ha of vines (just above the cave) planted in 1925 on very steep hillside, with sandy soils of decomposed schist and granite. Vinified and aged in foudres, this has lovely weight of fruit, dark cherry and blackberry, and intense mineral character. There is a quietly tannic, old viney grip to the finish that presages an excellent future. In typical fashion, Daniel also produces the ‘Cailloux’ version from vines planted into the granitic bedrock – no sandy topsoil meaning more verticality and rusticity in the finished wine.
Based in the hamlet of Corcelette Daniel is a hardworking, humble, discreet and sometimes anxious vigneron. He prefers a solitary life and happily spends 12 hours a day working on his diverse and exceptional terroirs, taking care of old (60-100yo) bush vines traditionally planted at high density on Vialla rootstock; all of this by hand on steep slopes where no tractor could go.
All his grapes are hand-harvested and vinified with full clusters and natural yeasts in concrete vat with two pump overs per day. The wines are then aged in old foudres in a tiny cellar, Daniel follows them through élevage with great care and bottles them without filtration. This makes for some long-lived and old-fashioned Gamay, some of the deepest and finest in the whole of Beaujolais.
