Domaine Labruyère - Champ de Cour 2017

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Full-bodied yet delicate. A pure, elegant, and well-structured finish. A lovely style.

About the estate:

The Labruyère estate is one of the oldest in the Moulin-à-Vent appellation. In 1850, Jean-Marie Labruyère, a winegrower and laborer, settled in Les Thorins, a hamlet of Romanèche-Thorins. Since then, successive generations have managed the estate’s 10 hectares. During this period, the family acquired the appellation’s only single vineyard, the Clos du Moulin-à-Vent. In 2008, Édouard Labruyère took over the estate with the goal of elevating it to the ranks of the appellation’s leading producers. Under the guidance of winemaker Nadine Gublin (who also oversees the Jacques Prieur estate and JM Labruyère champagnes), the estate has reached new heights in recent vintages. The wines, which can be austere upon first opening, reveal a depth and complexity that live up to the ambitions set forth a decade ago. Clos du Moulin-à-Vent holds its own, with a superb vintage in 2017.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

Winemaker Nadine Gublin vinified the grapes as whole clusters and aged the wine for eighteen months in barrels. The result is a resounding success: this wine is intense both aromatically (red fruits, mineral notes) and in its structure on the palate. An expressive, dense Moulin-à-Vent that exudes a harmonious smoothness.

About the estate:

After making their fortune in the retail industry, the Labruyères invested in wine, purchasing shares in Dom. Jacques Prieur in Meursault in 1988. Since 2008, they have also reconnected with their Beaujolais roots: an ancestor had settled in Les Thorins in 1850, managing, among other things, the renowned Clos du Moulin-à-Vent monopoly. Édouard Labruyère took over the estate, retaining only the finest plots. The vineyard now covers 14 hectares.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

2018 is the finest vintage I’ve tasted to date from Domaine Labruyère. Not only was the Moulin-à-Vent finally spared from hail—which devastated the appellation in 2016 and 2017 —but the 2018s are the most integrated wines I’ve tasted from the estate to date; their aging has resulted in a much more subtle contribution to aroma and structure than was the case in the previous vintages I’ve encountered. The winemaking process here is what is sometimes referred to as “Burgundian-style”: that is, the grapes are destemmed and macerated for 2 to 3 weeks in concrete tanks before aging in barrels and demi-muids.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

Its black color is reminiscent of old-fashioned roses and lavender. It has a noble palate, with broad, juicy tannins.

About the estate:

The Labruyère family has owned this château since 1850. Jean-Pierre Labruyère, who also owns the Jacques Prieur estate in Meursault and Château Rouget in Pomerol, handed over the reins to his son Édouard in 2008. The winemaking facility has been modernized, and the estate expanded. In 2000, the Clos du Moulin-à-Vent was added to the vineyard holdings. Nadine Gublin is in charge of the cellar, and Michel Rovere oversees the vineyards. The “Burgundian” winemaking method (destemming followed by barrel aging) produces wines with full-bodied yet smooth tannins that age beautifully.