Jean-Jacques ‘JJ’ Mélinand purchased his first plots of vineyard in Fleurie in 1970, gradually increasing his holdings from neighbours until 1989 when he needed more space in which to make the wine. He bought a plot on the edge of ‘Les Marrans’, a lieu-dit or named vineyard of Fleurie, in the mid-nineties, developing some of the buildings with his wife, Liliane, as holiday cottages.
In 2009 their son Mathieu returned after spells in Australia and New Zealand where he had worked as a roving winemaker. Picking up parcels of vines in Chiroubles and Morgon had increased the domaine by then to its present size of 19 ha. Mathieu insists on minimal intervention and sustainable growing, with the vines trained in ‘goblet’ style (no wires) and all growing on poor, dry, granitic soils to give him low yields of excellent quality. In the cellar he uses large foudres (40 to 63 hl barrels) of mostly older oak to mature the wines, as he wants the fruit to shine through and not be masked by being over-worked. These are serious reds which age well due to their structure and concentration, yet preserve the vibrancy and prettiness that are the hallmarks of good Fleurie.
ALC 13%
France
£24.00 / per bottleLight and fruityChicken, Grilled
ALC 13%
France
