Name: 2018 Jean-Claude Lapalu Brouilly Cuvee des Fous - 750 ml
Brand: Jean-Claude Lapalu
SKU: 93594-750-AI
Price: 34.95 USD
Availability: InStock

2018 Jean-Claude Lapalu Brouilly Cuvee des Fous

94 VM

Qty:

From the critics:

91 RP

90+ JG

Featured Review

Shimmering purple. An expansive, spice-accented bouquet evokes ripe red/blue fruits, incense and potpourri. A nervy mineral element adds urgency. Juicy, focused and appealingly sweet, offering concentrated black raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that tighten up slowly and turn spicier with aeration. Shows real heft but there's a distinctly elegant quality to this wine as well. Finishes sappy, subtly tannic and extremely long, leaving a suave violet pastille note behind. Vinous Media

Vinous (Galloni) | 94 VM

Shimmering purple. An expansive, spice-accented bouquet evokes ripe red/blue fruits, incense and potpourri. A nervy mineral element adds urgency. Juicy, focused and appealingly sweet, offering concentrated black raspberry, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors that tighten up slowly and turn spicier with aeration. Shows real heft but there’s a distinctly elegant quality to this wine as well. Finishes sappy, subtly tannic and extremely long, leaving a suave violet pastille note behind.

Vinous Media | 94 VM

The 2018 Brouilly Cuvée des Fous reveals a high-toned bouquet of licorice, blackberries and spices that displays a touch of volatility this year, though I suspect it will integrate after a few more months in bottle. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, ample and powerful, with broad shoulders and a ripe, muscular profile.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

(Brouilly “Cuvée des Fous”- Jean-Claude Lapalu) The 2018 Brouilly “Cuvée des Fous” from Jean-Claude Lapalu comes bottled in a Bordeaux-shaped bottle, which caught me a bit by surprise. The wine is nicely ripe, coming in at 13.5 percent octane, but the old vines for this bottling (averaging eighty years of age and one parcel having been planted in 1900) are in some of the warmer microclimates of Brouilly. The wine is bottled without fining, filtration or added SO2 and was raised in older casks for six months prior to bottling. The 2018 Cuvée des Fous offers up a deep, ripe and classy nose of red and black cherries, pigeon, lovely soil tones, sweet cranberries, fresh thyme and a lovely base of soil tones. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and pretty structured for young Brouilly, with a fine core of fruit, some firm backend tannins and a long, soil-driven and very well-balanced finish. This will need a few years in the cellar for the backend tannins to soften up a bit, but there is good matière here and the wine should age quite well. (Drink between 2023-2035).

John Gilman | 90+ JG

Type of Wine	Beaujolais : Beaujolais offers a change of pace from the standard (although exceptional) French red formula. With a focus on the Gamay varietal, these wines are light on their feet, highly acidic, energetic, and slightly less tannic. The region keeps on giving, and one could spend months and years exploring it all - a task worthy of kings.
Varietal	Gamay : Overshadowed by the illustrious Pinot Noir grape, Gamay has long suffered the unfair status of being the underachieving step-child. Most famous for producing light, fruit-driven red wines of Beaujolais, the varietal, which full name is Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc, has a long and storied history; one that portrays a struggle for acceptance, but also one of resilience and success. Through adversity, the varietal found its niche in its homeland of Beaujolais and today is the cause for celebration as it is being used to make some of the greatest wines the region has ever seen. In a region where prominent wine grapes thrive in perhaps the greatest winemaking location on earth, Gamay was once considered the pariah of the wine-world. The varietal first arrived to France in the 14th century where it initially received an unenthusiastic welcome. Due to its unfamiliar taste and texture, it was outlawed by the ruling dukes of Burgundy and was relegated to the granite-based soils in the hills just north of Lyon, a terroir that it was much better suited to anyway. Despite the edict, the extreme south, backwater location of Beaujolais was rarely enforced by authorities, thus enabling the mass cultivation of Gamay, in which quantity over quality dictated its production. The appellation of Beaujolais enjoys a borderline continental climate, tempered by the presence of the Massif Central to the west and the Alps to the east. This provides a relatively warm growing season making it ideal for generating the ripe, fruit-driven flavors which characterize the nouveau-style wines. The small, deep-purple berries grow in tight clusters on vines that are moderately vigorous. The varietal thrives in its native terroir composed of granite, clay and limestone, which gives the wines produced its mineral zip. The wine produced by Gamay has long been used in the making of Beaujolais Nouveau; a style in which the wine is rushed to consumers on the third Thursday of November immediately following harvest. Much like its approach during the middle ages, this concept entails quantity over quality. The 1970’s and 1980’s were glorious times for Beaujolais producers, as the world seemed to have an insatiable thirst for the thin, precocious, tart, light crimson liquid. However, in the past few decades the palates of consumers have changed and the interest in Beaujolais Nouveau fell out of favor. Today, Gamay’s stronghold is Beaujolais, where it is currently enjoying a comeback of sorts. Beaujolais producers have been forced to re-design their objectives and policies but are once again producing worthy wines of interest for serious wine lovers. Due to the magic combination of the Gamay grape and the particular characteristics of the best villages or ‘crus’ in the region, most notably Macon and Moulin a Vent, the quality of wine produced has greatly improved. This village designation has allowed the Gamay grape and Beaujolais to once again populate the market and ultimately, consumer’s wine cellars and tables. More and more growers are once again making their wines much more in the way of traditional red Burgundy, fermenting the grapes in open wooden vats and ageing them in small barrels. This process is resulting in much deeper color, more tannic, long-lived wines that may not be ready to drink until four or more years after the vintage. These wines still have Gamay’s trademark refreshing acidity but also have many attributes that make them more like red Burgundy. They are described as having red fruit and candied aromas with flavors of red cherries and strawberries. Some producers using this method claim the wines taste more and more like Pinot Noir the longer they age. This should not be a completely blasphemous claim, even to “pinophiles,” since DNA analysis has concluded Gamay to be the progeny of Pinot Noir and the ever rare Gouais Blanc grape. The Gamay grape no longer has a single image but on the international marketplace there are now examples all along the spectrum from thin and vapid to pretty and refreshing to deep-flavored and rewarding. As author of I’ll Drink to That: Beaujolais and the French Peasant Who Made it the World’s Most Popular Wine, Rudolph Chelminski states, “Nowhere else does the little black grape express itself so completely and cheerily as in the Beaujolais…from the 17th century onward, there has never been any other red wine grape for the Beaujolais.”
Country	France : Wine is the lifeblood that courses through the country of France, pulsing with vigorous pride and determination. Viticulture is not just a hobby or an occupation in France; it is a passion, a cherished tradition that has been passed down through generations of wine stained hands. Winemaking is a beloved art that has been ingrained in the culture, an aptitude instilled in sons by fathers and the hallmark for which France’s reputation was built, allowing it to be renowned as, arguably, the most important wine producing country in the world. For centuries, France has been producing wines of superior quality and in much greater quantity than any other country in the world. It boasts some of the most impressive wine regions, coveted vineyards and prestigious wines on earth. The regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Sauternes and Champagne have become the benchmark, for which others aspire to become. Legendary producers such as Chateaux Margaux, Domaine De La Romanee Conti, Chapoutier, d’Yquem and Dom Perignon are idolized world-wide. France has stamped its name on nearly every style of wine, from the nectar-like sweet Sauternes to hedonistic Chateauneuf Du Papes classic Bordeaux and Burgundy, to its sparkling dominance in Champagne. Many of the most infamous grape varietals in the world, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay originated in France and are not only beloved, but utilized in the creation of some of the greatest wines on earth. French wine production commands the attention of the wine market year after year. With over 860,000 hectares under vine, and numbers close to 50 million hectoliters of wine produced annually, France dominates the market and sets the standard for not only product quality, but also quantity. France’s many contributions to the world of wine have been absolutely indispensable. The country is the originator of the term “Premier Cru,” coined the term Terroir (a French term so complex there is no literal translation) and has laid the blueprint for a structured appellation system, which others have implemented in their own countries. French vineyard techniques and winemaking practices are mimicked world-wide. California vintners have been replicating Rhone style wines for decades, South America has adopted the French varietal of Malbec and countries around the world are imitating Burgundian styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. With vast diversity in terroir, France is home to some of the most hospitable winegrowing locations on earth. The combination of topography, geology, climate, rainfall and even the amount of sunlight combined with the long historical tradition of winegrowing and making, has allowed the vintners of France to not only hone their skills, but learn from nature to create a product that like the world in which it resides… is very much alive.
Region	Burgundy : Situated just west of the beautiful river Saone, the hills and valleys of Burgundy stand as they have stood since medieval times, and you can almost hear the cheerful chatter of vineyard workers from miles away. Indeed, France's identity in the world of wine would be incomplete without the inclusion of Burgundy and its many viticultural achievements. Every little sub-region of the area boasts a unique soil composition, which, when combined with the area's climate conditions, creates an incredibly diverse and appealing selection of fine wines. Every new bottle is an adventure of its own, and a snapshot of its birthplace. You could spend years sampling great Burgundian wines, and you would still have a lot to learn, which is what makes the region so compelling for veterans and novice wine lovers alike. No matter what your taste in wines may be, there is a winery in Burgundy that could mesmerize your mind and make your senses scream with joy. And what better way to spend a comfy summer afternoon with your friends and family than with a classy bottle from some of the region's most reputable wineries? From the noble slopes of Cote d'Or to the flatlands near various settlements, let us help you on your journey as we explore Burgundy's most delicious and renowned wines.
Cru	Brouilly