2010 Julie Balagny, ”Fleurie Cayenne”; Beaujolais

Blend: 100% Gamay

Ages of vines: 30 years

Vineyard: South/South-west exposure (top parcel of a 3ha slope)

Terroir: Basalt

Other: Zero sulphur

Glass: Zalto Bourgogne

This is the second time I taste a wine from Julie Balagny. I had the chance to taste her debut release of the 2009 Fleurie ”En Remont”. A tasting experience, which I never published here on the blog, due to lack of time. But I do remember it quite well. It wasn’t a wine I was that much into, as it was rather overpowering in intensity and possessed a meatier style of Beaujolais, which I wasn’t keen on. However it didn’t stop me trying her wines once again – but this time another cuvée.

One thing, which annoyed me with the first wine, was I sensed an overpowering use of barriques in her wines – also this one, but from what information I have obtained she doesn’t seem to use barrique.

Otherwise – she is in her thirties and good friends with one of the stars in the Beaujolais region; Yvon Métras, which inspired and helped her start producing wines of her own.

“Cayenne” is a seriously nice wine. An extremely healthy specimen, with notes of black cherries, plum sensations, bicycle tubes and a ravishing ooze of sweet licorice. Taste is drop dead gorgeous, with a very round and appealing style. However some scepticism did approach me. It was once again this association to oak dominance, as you almost sense shavings of new oak in the wine. It gets even more pronounced as the licorice note forms more salty and dense as the wines gets air. But thing is, I think I am getting teased by a wine, which just holds a serious amount of fresh born baby fruit and it’s teasing my ability to tell what is fruit, oak or the lack of it? However…and my overall judgement really prevailed by a constant tight nerve on the palate where it held it’s energy, elegant backbone and mouth coating drinking pleasure. Still I would cellar it – just a year or two in order to the fruit to obtain more red tones and it general just to loose some baby fat. Finally – I preferred it rather chilled around 15-16 degrees.