Chénas

2009: A deep red, with a fruity nose and a mineral note. Full bodied, flavoursome wine with intense red berry fruit, fine silky tannins and some mineral flavours. Good length.

2010: Selected by Oz Clarke for his Favorite Wines 2013.

"Chénas is traditionally the toughest of the top Beaujolais wines, the one you need to age, often more in hope than certainty that the wine will soften. It's the leanest, least Beaujolais-like of Beaujolais. Well, these guys clearly forgot to make this tough and unfriendly because it's a delight, amazingly rich and juicy for a Chénas, with deep, ripe, red plum fruit jousting with strawberries and pepper and rock dust, uncertain as to which will offer the mineral tang so they all do."

PS: None of our Chénas, whether Franck's or Domaine Matray's are difficult, lean or ungenerous. I haven't actually tasted a disappointing or difficult Chénas in ages ... I think they are just talking about the difficulty of finding accents on a keyboard to type Chénas.

Ben says of the 2010 (October 2017): The description given by Oz four years ago is still applicable and the wine has now even more depth and the fruitiness is even richer with some lovely spicinesa coming through. This is a great Chénas and one to treasure.

Flo says of the 2010 (July 2018); This Chénas is quite simply a jewel in our collection of Beaujolais. A rich and joyous Beaujolais that puts a smile on your face and sings the joy of the Gamay grape.