Marc Delienne ‘Abbaye Road’ Fleurie Rouge 2019
Location: France, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Winemaker: Marc Delienne
Grapes: Gamay
Soil: loamy sand
Winemaking: Manual harvest in small crates, sorting in the cellar. Maceration of the whole harvest in concrete vats under temperature control. Neither yeast addition nor chaptalization. No punching down, light daily pumping over. Short vatting (between 6 and 12 days depending on the cuvées). Aged 11 months, mostly in 30hL cask/a few new 600L demi-muid.
From us at M&L: Carved out of a broken-tea-cup -shaped amphitheater on a hillside of Fleurie, Marc Delienne’s wines remind us of why we fell in love with Beaujolais in the first place. The “Abbaye Road” has, at its core, a parfait of raspberries, sea salt, violets and cocoa nibs. The Beaujolais’ hallmarks, rusticity and polish, are on display, along with the often too rare attributes of soulfulness and fun.
From the Importer Jeffrey Alpert: Marc Delienne might well agree with the adage that it’s never too late to follow your heart. At 56 years old, Marc Delienne decided that enough was enough: he would leave his career working in the banking and IT sectors in Paris and finally try live his dream to spend his time in the vineyard. He began working as in the vines as well as the cellar at Domaine de Trévallon. Two years later he worked under Alain Graillot at Domaine de Fa, wherein he was involved with all aspects of the the winemaking. Marc finally made the leap the following year and purchased Château de l’Abbaye Saint Laurent d’Arpayé right in the middle of Fleurie. Marc currently farms 13ha hectares Fleurie, 0.75ha in Beaujolais-Village, and 0.25ha in Beaujolais. His vines range from 40 to 80 years of age. Marc began practicing organic and biodynamic practices as soon as he took over the vines. His domaine was certified organic in 2018. Demeter certification followed in 2020. Marc grapes all of his grapes by hand, never capitalizes, and eschews the use of all herbicides and pesticides in the vines. SO2 levels are kept to a bare minimum.