Fleurie Grille Midi

100% Gamay. 100% Gamay. Fleurie is one of Jean-Paul's two largest cru holdings, 6 hectares all within the famous lieu-dit of Grille Midi, a south-facing amphitheater of vines on poor, sandy, decomposed-granite soils over hard granite rock. The "regular" Fleurie bottling does not indicate the pedigree of the site, whereas the Grille Midi bottling features it prominently on the label. Grille Midi is sunny, hot, high-ripening but low-yielding and produces Gamay of great power, especially in the case of older vines like Jean-Paul's that date back to the 1950's. He isolates those vines in this bottling and ages it, uncharacteristically for him, in foudres, for 8-10 months; otherwise, the wine is made the exact same traditional Burgundian way as the rest of his wines, with a longer maceration (up to 6 weeks).