Skip to main content

Henry Fessy - Beaujolais Villages Vieilles Vignes

2019
Producer
Henry Fessy
Blend
100% Gamay
Country
France
Region
Beaujolais Region
Appellation
Beaujolais Villages
UPC
3 433221 000226
Red Wine
Verified Stock
12846-19

Tasting notes

This wine has a pretty ruby red color with purple hues. The intense nose opens with notes of red fruits and peach. The mouth is round, with delightful notes of strawberry, raspberry, and peach. A great pairing with wild game, meat dishes with sauces, roasts, charcuterie and cheese.

Estate

Located in the heart of Brouilly since 1888, Henry Fessy is family company specializing in the production of Beaujolais Crus. The domaine covers almost 70 hectares and includes vineyards in the appellations of Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Chénas, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Régnié, Saint Amour, Beaujolais-Villages, Beaujolais and Beaujolais Blanc. The vines are an average of 50 years old and are trained in the traditional manner en Goblet, which are individual low bush vines. The domaine's vineyards are managed with sensitivity towards the environment with intervention only taking place when it is necessary and beneficial. This philosophy allows them to produce characterful wines which express a true sense of place and origin.

Vinification

Henry Fessy has remained faithful to the traditional method (no carbonic maceration) which favors the balance between the seductive fruit-forwardness and the supple tannins which guarantee good ageing capability. All harvests are carried out by hand, the grapes are transported in small buckets to the winery, to be sorted. Once in the winery around 20% of the Gamay grapes are put into the fermentation tanks as whole bunches with the remaining 80% destemmed. Fermentation takes place at between 27 and 29 degrees Celsius with one or two pump overs each day. After fermentation the free run juice is drawn off and the grapes are transferred to the press. The first press juices are combined with the free run juice and then placed into cement and steel tanks for approximately a week. The length of the fermentation depends considerably on the vintage. The wines will then age in vats for between 7 and 10 months before being bottled the following spring. The wine is then aged and racked occasionally. It is bottled unfined with a light filtration with a small amount of added sulphur to protect the wine. Henry Fessy wines are also suitable for vegetarians.

Appellation

Beaujolais Villages is an appellation zone made up of 38 villages in the north of Beaujolais. The hilly terrain and granite soil here is considered superior to that of the flatter lands in the south of Beaujolais. As a result, Beaujolais Villages wines are considered to be of a higher quality than those of the straight Beaujolais appellation. These juicy, light bodied wines are based overwhelmingly on the Gamay grape variety.

The appellation law has slightly different rules surrounding vinification and permitted yields than the more generic Beaujolais appellation. This gives rise to a slightly fuller-bodied, more concentrated style of wine. Most Beaujolais Villages wines are made for immediate consumption. However, some of the best examples can be cellared for up to five years.