Stephane Aviron - Saint-Amour 2020
Price: $27.85
Producer | Stephane Aviron |
Country | France |
Region | Burgundy |
Subregion | Beaujolais |
Varietal | Gamay |
Vintage | 2020 |
Sku | 08503 |
Stephane Aviron Description
Stéphane Aviron has adopted an almost radical return to tradition in Beaujolais: sustainable viticulture, extremely old vines and classic Burgundian techniques. His cru Beaujolais drink like fine Burgundy.
Historically considered “poor man’s Burgundy,” a modern movement toward fruity, simple, quaffing wines boosted sales but eroded the region’s traditional quality. Stéphane Aviron has reversed the trend. By focusing on the Beaujolais village crus, the best sites for unique, expressive wines, and finding old parcels of vines, Aviron creates very expressive, age-worthy wines relying on traditional and new methods, including organic and biodynamic vineyard management. All wines are labeled “Vieilles Vignes,” old vines, because the vines are at least 40 years old. Stéphane Aviron’s wines are authentic in every way.
The Saint-Amour cru is in the northern part of the Cru Beaujolais area, not far from the Maconnais where Chardonnay is grown. The terroir here starts to shift and become more similar to the soils of Burgundy, still with granite soils, but clay and limestone start to be present in Saint-Amour soils as well.
These soils with clay are limestone create the heavier style of Saint-Amour with a darker color, more alcohol and coarser in style. Compared to the elegant, fine Fleurie, the Stéphane Aviron’s Saint-Amour is structured and firm, but still with soft, red fruit.