La Grosse Pierre Chiroubles La Grosse Pierre 2018 (750ML)

92 Points, John Gilman, View from the Cellar: "Domaine La Grosse Pierre is a relative newcomer in the firmament of Beaujolais, though winegrower Pauline Passot's family has been vignerons in Chiroubles for generations. However, Pauline came to winemaking by a circuitous professional route and only started her own domaine in the 2016 vintage. She now produces four distinct bottlings of Chiroubles (as well as a bit of Fleurie and Morgon), with her la Grosse Pierre bottling taking its name from her primary vineyard parcel, which is planted with forty-five year-old vines. Her cellar regimen is classic Beaujolais, with whole cluster carbonic fermentation and aging in cement vats. Her 2018 la Grosse Pierre is a lovely wine, offering up a deep and black fruity nose of black cherries, pomegranate, woodsmoke, gamebird, fresh thyme and a fine base of soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely plush on the attack, with a fine core, tangy acids, a bit of backend tannin and lovely focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This comes in listed at 12.5 percent octane, but seems a bit riper than this, though still impressively bright and bouncy on the backend. (Drink between 2020-2030)" 2/20