Producer: Domaine de la Madone
Wine: 2024 Fleurie Cuvee Madone
Varietal: 100% Gamay
Tasting Notes: Cuvée Madone is a strikingly expressive Beaujolais sourced from 60-year-old Gamay vines on the La Madone hillside. It shows a bright ruby color and opens with a lifted, perfumed bouquet of fresh red berries—strawberry, raspberry, and cherry—interwoven with classic Fleurie florals of violet and a subtle stony, granite-derived minerality.
On the palate, it is supple and medium-bodied, delivering pure, juicy fruit supported by vibrant acidity and fine, well-integrated tannins that add quiet structure without weight. The wine balances immediate charm with finesse, staying light on its feet while maintaining definition and depth.
The finish is clean and gently spiced, with lingering red fruit and floral lift, capturing a refined, fruit-driven style that remains elegant and true to its hillside origins.
Food: The 2024 Fleurie, a floral and fruit-driven Beaujolais Cru, is a highly versatile food wine thanks to its light body, supple texture, and bright, refreshing acidity. It pairs effortlessly with a wide range of dishes, from poultry and lighter meats such as roast chicken, grilled pork, duck confit, and veal scaloppini, to more delicate preparations like frog legs. It also works beautifully with creamy pasta dishes, quiche, and Mediterranean-style salads, where its freshness helps lift richer or herb-forward flavors. On the cheese board, it’s an easy match for soft cheeses like Brie and goat cheese, as well as firmer, aged styles such as Comté and Gruyère.
Beyond lighter fare, Fleurie’s gentle structure and juicy fruit allow it to complement charcuterie, pâtés, and even more savory grilled or sauced dishes of beef, lamb, or duck, making it a remarkably adaptable and food-friendly table companion.
Cellaring: Drink now or hold 2-3 years after bottling
DOMAINE DE LA MADONE
Fleurie
Domaine de la Madone is situated along the hillside of La Madone in the Beaujolais cru village of Fleurie.
Domaine de la Madone is owned and run by Arnaud Després who is the 6th generation of his family to tend to these famous hillside vineyards, taking their name from the Chapel of La Madone which was built in 1866 and is high atop the hill above the village of Fleurie.The estate’s 42 acres sit on pink granite and enjoy ideal growing conditions for the Gamay grape due to the exceptional amounts of sunlight it receives. Jean-Marc and Arnaud are very focused on nature and the biodiversity is plentiful with bees, crickets and butterflies amongst the vines.
The winery is built into the hillside and therefore, after manual harvesting, the grapes can be moved from picking baskets to tanks and then to barrels via gravity. The top cuvees are aged in oak barrels as well as some experimentation with concrete eggs.
Fleurie is one of the 10 Crus of Beaujolais located in the north and producing only red wine. Fleurie is 1312 feet above sea level known for red wines from the Gamay varietal.
The wines are some of the most highly regarded in the region, which is sometimes referred to as "The Queen of Beaujolais". Indeed, Fleurie appellation gets its elegance from being sheltered by the Avenas, Durbize and Labourons range.
A quick geology lesson to tell you about the unique landscape where Fleurie vines grow: at the end of the Tertiary Era, an exceptional tectonic and magmatic event changed the landscape forever. The land was thrust upwards and hills formed across the Beaujolais region that were shaped over the years by erosion.
La Madone stands at the highest point of these valleys at 1394 feet above sea level. This magnificent statue is the landmark for the Fleurie vines, which grow from the south-eastern side of the hill up to the Madone chapel.
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