Domaine Joseph Burrier, Beaujolais Saint Amour Cote de Besset 2022

100% Gamay. Maceration for 8 to 10 days, followed by 9 months of barrel ageing.

The wine reveals a brilliant carmine ruby color, intense but not very deep, with aromas of cherry, raspberry and strawberry. The palate is pure, lively, intense and complex, dominated by red berries, gingerbread and white pepper. This terroir delivers an expression of Gamay that approaches that of Pinot Noir.

The Beaujolais wine-growing hillsides are located in the extreme south of Burgundy, between Mâcon and Villefranche-sur-Saône, on the right bank of the Saône. The Saint-Amour AOP covers a small area of 330 ha, bordering the Burgundy Cru Saint Véran, where the Jurassic soils of Burgundy meet the volcanic soils of Beaujolais.

The climat 'Côte de Besset' covers the first high hill in Beaujolais, and our 1 ha parcel faces east on very stony granite scree soils. The soil is composed of very light, friable lava, which favors good drainage, and hard, compact off-white schist. This combination creates a moderately deep terroir of sandy loam rather than clay, ideal for the Gamay grape, which finds good rooting possibilities here, on soils that are nevertheless poor enough to favor measured, high-quality production. The Domaine Joseph Burrier vineyards have been farmed organically since 2019 and certified by Ecocert since 2021.

Situated in Fleurie and set up from 2007 in order to consolidate our vineyards in Beaujolais with parcels located in some of the most reputed Crus and Climats, now the estate is 6 ha large, including vines in AOP Chiroubles, Morgon, Juliénas, Saint-Amour and Moulin-à-Vent.

In 2017 we completed a whole renovation of our houses and winery in Fleurie, now totally dedicated to the winemaking of all our red wines. A spectacular tasting room and a terrace have been built to fully enjoy the magnificent panoramic view looking upon the vineyards of Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent. All the wine of Domaine Joseph Burrier are organic certified since vintage 2021.

All our Beaujolais vines are grown organically. At the plantation time, we favour the Massale selection to preserve the high quality heritage of old Gamay varieties. After sorting the grapes on a vibrating table, they are partially destemmed before starting the maceration and fermentation process without using sulphites. Our macerations are quite short, 8 to 10 days, including daily pigeage and juice pumping up, mainly in conical wooden vats (Seguin-Moreau and Stockinger), for seeking elegance and finesse. After pressing the wines are aged in 228l barrels for 10 months.

For more than 20 years we step by step set up a sustainable viticulture without chemical inputs, encouraging biological life in the soil and biodiversity in the environment of the vines: in 2013 Château du Clos has been one of the first of the Pouilly-Fuissé estates to become organic certified. Domaine Joseph Burrier has got this certification in 2021, and the whites of Château de Beauregard in 2022. In addition from 2012 we started to replant many hedges around our vineyards.

Our ambition is to reveal in our wines the individual expression of the Terroirs and Parcels. In that goal, we adapt our viticulture practices to each plot, a sort of ‘Haute Couture’ viticulture, and at the winery, our winemaking is patient, natural and low-interventionist, in order to allow the expression of the individual style of the terroirs and parcels with precision and purity.

Domaine Joseph Burrier has a long history going back to 15th century.

In 1407 it is mentioned a witness named Jehan BURRIER at the famous trial to fix the border between Burgundy (Duchy) and Beaujolais (Kingdom of France). In 1469, a Royal Sergeant named BURRIER is sent by King of France Louis the 11th to maintain order in the district of La-Chapelle-de-Guinchay, adjacent village to Moulin-à-Vent. Their descendants became winegrowers in this part of Beaujolais. 

Frédéric Marc Burrier succeeded to his father Jacques in 1999 and started a policy of purchase or farming of new vineyards (2003 : Domaine Georges Burrier, 2007 : Domaine Joseph Burrier, 2012 : Château du Clos, 2016 Domaine de la Rochette). He also promoted a viticulture without chemical inputs and nowadays most of the vineyards are organic cultivated. From 2004 to 2020 he leads the UNION of the Pouilly-Fuissé growers which has successfully managed the recognition of 22 Pouilly-Fuissé Premiers Crus.

With Julien, Baptiste and Bérenger Burrier, respectively nephew and sons of Frédéric, it is the 7th generation arriving in the managing team of Château de Beauregard and Maison Burrier today. The story continues...