Domaine Lafarge-Vial Cote de Brouilly Bruhlie 2022

Bruhlié  is one of the most celebrated lieux-dits on the slopes of Mont Brouilly, and Frédéric Lafarge and Chantal Vial's small 0.66-hectare parcel here sits alongside some genuinely illustrious neighbours — Château Thivin and Château de la Chaize both make their own acclaimed versions of the exact same site. The vines date to 1968, planted on the steep, south-east-facing slopes where Côte de Brouilly's volcanic bedrock of granite and blue schist gives the appellation its famously powerful, mineral-driven character — quite different from the flatter, gentler wines of surrounding Brouilly. Frédéric, heir to the legendary Domaine Michel Lafarge in Volnay, founded this Beaujolais project with his wife in 2014, applying exactly the same organic and Demeter-certified biodynamic principles to Gamay and granite that the family has used in Burgundy for decades. In the cellar, the fruit typically sees around a quarter whole clusters, fermented on ambient yeasts in concrete tank, with extraction varying between punch-downs and pump-overs depending on the vintage, before a year's ageing in older 228 and 350-litre barrels.

The result consistently earns a place among critics' standouts from this famously mineral-driven appellation — Stuart Pigott has described it as "a very fragrant expression of this great terroir," with aromas of violet and red rose. Burgundy Report has noted its "fulsome nose" and "concentrated but fresh fruit," with a fine rasp of finishing tannin from the barrel ageing. It's youthful and structured on release, built to soften and deepen with a little patience.