Description
Cru Beaujolais from Manoir du Carra
Manoir du Carra
We were blown away by the quality of these wines when we came across this family-run vineyard during a wine-buying trip last Spring. It was founded by Jean-Marie Sambardier in 1918 and was only 4 hectares in size. Since then, it has been handed down for five generations. Today it stands at 34 hectares with plots in a variety of different appellations – Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, Brouilly, Julienas, Fleurie and Moulin à Vent.
In 1999 and 2000 the two brothers, Jean-Frédéric and Damien, joined the family business, bringing with them experience from the USA and Domaine Laroche in Chablis.
The Gamay grape is king In Beaujolais. This thin-skinned variety produces wonderfully fruity wines with low tannin, making them extremely approachable in their youth. All the grapes are handpicked and vinified by the process of macération-semicarbonique, over 10-12 days, which maximises the extraction of fruit flavours while limiting the amount of tannin. There is no oak-aging.
What sets the Manoir du Carra aside from many other Beaujolais producers is the impressive age of their vines. This results in wines of great concentration and allows them to define the individual flavour characteristics of the different Crus.
We’ve selected six delicious wines that demonstrate how each wine’s character is defined by its individual terroir..
A 6-bottle Mixed Case consists of one bottle each of –
La Cuvée des Jean Gamay Noir 2023
This is a great introduction to Gamay. Pale purple in colour with a racy nose of red fruits and what the French call les bonbons anglaise. It sings on the palate with juicy strawberry/raspberry fruit and a crisp finish. Simple stuff but deliciously easy to quaff!
Beaujolais Villages Cuvée Non Filtré 2023
There are 38 communes that can use the suffix of Beaujolais Villages, a decisive step up in quality from Beaujolais. This wine comes from a 6-hectare parcel of old vines ranging from 70-100 years old at an altitude of 350 metres on the prized granit rose (pink granite) terroir that underlies some of the great crus of Beaujolais. The wine is left on the lees for three to four months in massive old oak foudres. The gorgeous fruit flavours are maximised by avoiding filtration at bottling. Medium/deep purple in colour with a nose of peonies and red fruits, on the palate it is packed with juicy black and red cherry fruit, good acidity and a hint of tannin, finishing with a gout de terroir. In quality this matches many Cru Beaujolais.
Brouilly, Terre de Combiaty 2023
This comes from a small parcel of 1.5 ha, the lieu-dit of Combiaty, with a terroir of granit rose. The vines have an average age of 50 years, planted at high density. The wine spends three to four months on the lees, before undergoing a light filtration at bottling. Slightly lighter purple than the Villages, on the nose it has notes of violets and plums, while on the palate it has all the soft generosity of fruit – plums, black cherries – that Brouilly is famous for.
Juliénas, Escuissin 2023
Julienas is the oldest Cru Beaujolais. This wine comes from a small lieu-dit, on slopes at an altitude of 180 metres. The soil is a mix of schist and granite. The colour is slightly deeper purple, the nose is more complex with notes of cinnamon, violets and peonies, while on the palate it is fuller and very ripe with flavours of damsons and red fruits. It is more structured with gentle tannins at the finish. Although lovely now, this will keep for two to three years.
Fleurie, Clos des Déduits 2023
Probably the best known of the Cru Beaujolais, Fleurie is often referred to as the Queen of the crus. This wine comes from the 1.5 ha lieu-dit of Clos de Déduits with 50-year-old vines. Slightly paler purple in colour, there is a lovely perfumed, floral nose of peonies which leads into a lighter, more elegant style of damsons and cherries with a long finish. A charming wine.
Morgon Côte de Py 2022
The vines from the Côte de Py are located on the slopes of an extinct volcano above the village of Villié-Morgon. It is this volcanic soil over a layer of schist and granite that makes wines from this some of the most long-lived in Beaujolais. The deepest purple of all these wines, there is an intense black cherry nose which leads into a concentrated mouthful of crunchy black cherry and cranberry fruit, supported by smooth tannins with fresh acidity and good length. A perfect match for duck. This is the one wine that can be kept for up to 5 years.
Click here SPECIAL REDUCTION FOR 12-BOTTLE MIXED CASE
