Producer: Domaine de la Madone
Wine: 2023 IGP Viognier Pied de la Rue
Varietal: 100% Viognier
First “Viognier” grape planted on the Fleurie terroir and more precisely on the hillside of Madone. This white wine, aged in barrels for 6 months, has a mouth coated with sweetness and fruit with good length and a fresh finish. The cultivation of this sloping plot is done without weedkiller, fully plowed and drawn by hand.
Tasting Notes: Viognier “Pied de la Rue” is a full-bodied white wine with floral aromas of pear, honey and biscuit. It is aged in barrels for 6 months and on the palate has notes of stone fruit with a medium length and intensity.
Food: It pairs beautifully with delicate seafood like seared scallops with lemon beurre blanc and grilled langoustines. Poultry dishes such as roast chicken with tarragon cream sauce or duck breast with apricot glaze echo its herbal and stone fruit profile. Vegetarian options like butternut squash risotto with sage or grilled zucchini with halloumi align well with the wine’s creamy texture and subtle minerality. For cheese, fresh goat cheese with herbs or semi-firm Alpine varieties like Tomme de Savoie make excellent matches.
Cellaring: Drink now or hold for few years
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.
First “Viognier” grape planted on the Fleurie terroir and more precisely on the hillside of Madone. This white wine, aged in barrels for 6 months, has a mouth coated with sweetness and fruit with good length and a fresh finish. The cultivation of this sloping plot is done without weedkiller, fully plowed and drawn by hand.
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.
Information by Beaujolais
