Domaine du CLOS DU FIEF Beaujolais Village 2020

89 / 100 Parker

Attractive aromas of plums, spices and sweet soil tones introduce the 2020 Beaujolais-Villages La Roche, a medium to full-bodied, lively and charming wine with a fleshy core of fruit, powdery tannins and lively acids. From a site characterized by thin volcanic soils, it saw a 10-day semi-carbonic maceration followed by maturation in concrete. William Kelley

It all started with François Tête, a cooper and cellar master, who then passed this 6 hectare property to his son, Raymond, in the 1940’s. In 1978, Michel, Raymond’s son, took some vines for rent and settled down in 1980. He started developing the vinery and enlarged it to 14 hectares on vines. In 1988, he founded the name «Domaine du Clos du Fief». Today two generations are living side by side. In 2014, Sylvain, Michel’s son, joined the domaine after training in viticulture and oenology with numerous internships in different estates. Discovery of the Australian vineyard with professional experience on the First Creek estate (Hunter Valley). 

At the beginning of the last decade, after stints at Château Thivin and Domaine Saumaize, Sylvain Tête returned to join his father at the helm of the is 17-hectare Domaine. He’s working with permanent cover crops and under-vine cultivation, including the use of small «chenillard» engines in the steepest-sloping parcels, and winemaking is quite traditional, with semi-carbonic macerations and submerged caps. These new releases show considerable promise, highlighting the progress that has been made in the last few years, and it’s clear that this is a domaine to watch. Thanks to experience his 5 years of winemaking, Michel and Sylvain Tête’s company was created in 2015. A traditional family story of four generations of winegrowers. Today, the vineyard covers 17 ha in 5 appellations.