The 2014 Fleurie Chateau des Déduits, which Duboeuf has worked with over three generations, is a huge step up from the "Flower Label" Fleurie, with much more fruit expressed on the nose, black cherries mixed with bilberry and raspberry coulis. The palate is smooth and harmonious on the entry, soft in the mouth with decent red cherry and raspberry fruit, plus a pleasant piquancy on the finish. Enjoy this over the next 4 or 5 years.

The 2013 Fleurie Chateau des Deduits comes from 55-year-old vines on the lower reaches of the appellation, and here I tasted a finished blend from vat. It has a straight-laced bouquet that only lets its hair down with aeration, offering mint-tinged black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, gently grippy tannins. There is good depth here, although it just lacks some persistency on the finish. Drink 2016-2021. The final tasting session during my trip to Beaujolais was devoted to the company that for many is Beaujolais: Georges Duboeuf. I asked George’s son Frank Duboeuf to give me an idea of their importance to the region. He told me that their 400 contracted growers probably produced around 18%, possibly 20% of the region’s production. Imagine that figure for Bordeaux or Burgundy! Of course, when his father founded the company exactly half a century ago, there was no prerogative to acquire vineyard. “He was more interested in the relationships with growers than buying estates,” Frank told me, “though he had the opportunity to buy some of its most famous vineyards.” Some of those relationships and the labels they are sold under have been in existence for 40 years. However, the company has been mindful to invest some of its revenues into land, acquiring a property in Julienas and Moulin-a-Vent in 2003, as well as constructing a new winery in co-operation with their U.S. importer. Approximately 15% of their business is Beaujolais Nouveau – a figure that was actually less than I anticipated. I asked Frank about the current state of the Beaujolais market. “We have produced some very good vintages in recent years, which has helped. It has actually been easier to sell 2011 than 2012. In 2012, we had twenty hailstorms. There is a growing interest in Beaujolais wines that represent great value. The challenge is to continue promoting all the crus of Beaujolais and for people to rediscover the Gamay grape and its potential to age.” For regular wine drinkers, for many whose purchase goes no further than the supermarket aisle, Duboeuf is their entry into the delights of the region, and I suspect the seemingly endless array of labels is enough to quench their thirst for their entire lives. This is partly due to consumers’ contentment to remain faithful to a name they know. They spot that distinctive “flower label” and make a beeline. But of course, part of the reason is also the quality of Duboeuf’s range. If the wines did not come up to scratch, did not offer enjoyment and drinkability as a minimum, then eventually people would seek alternatives. The fact remains that after decades, Duboeuf is the dominant producer, no less important as an ambassador for the region than as its most revered artisan name. Given its importance, I was happy to section off an afternoon tasting through as many current offering as humanly possible, with Frank Duboeuf on hand to answer any questions I might have. Of course, the size of the enterprise did not spare them the challenges of the 2012 growing season, and one could argue that being reliant on contracted growers and needing to satisfy large volume targets ineluctably impacts upon them more than others. It was clear to see that the 2012s, especially in the entry-level “flower range,” were affected. There is no escaping that. That is winemaking. This might be one vintage where it would be better to head directly to the superior 2013s or at least trade up toward one of their other labels. But overall, you have to doff you cap to a winery that can deliver thousands of cases at a quality level higher than many others I have tasted. Importer: Deutsch Family Wines & Spirits, White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463; and through various importers such as Berkmann in the UK.

The 2012 Fleurie Chateau des Deduits has very strong licorice scents on the nose that lend it an Antipodean personality. The palate is sweet and rounded on the entry: a lot of extraction here with chewy tannins, a sweet core of bubblegum-tinged red fruit, although the finish needs more delineation and finesse. Drink now-2018. The final tasting session during my trip to Beaujolais was devoted to the company that for many is Beaujolais: Georges Duboeuf. I asked George’s son Frank Duboeuf to give me an idea of their importance to the region. He told me that their 400 contracted growers probably produced around 18%, possibly 20% of the region’s production. Imagine that figure for Bordeaux or Burgundy! Of course, when his father founded the company exactly half a century ago, there was no prerogative to acquire vineyard. “He was more interested in the relationships with growers than buying estates,” Frank told me, “though he had the opportunity to buy some of its most famous vineyards.” Some of those relationships and the labels they are sold under have been in existence for 40 years. However, the company has been mindful to invest some of its revenues into land, acquiring a property in Julienas and Moulin-a-Vent in 2003, as well as constructing a new winery in co-operation with their U.S. importer. Approximately 15% of their business is Beaujolais Nouveau – a figure that was actually less than I anticipated. I asked Frank about the current state of the Beaujolais market. “We have produced some very good vintages in recent years, which has helped. It has actually been easier to sell 2011 than 2012. In 2012, we had twenty hailstorms. There is a growing interest in Beaujolais wines that represent great value. The challenge is to continue promoting all the crus of Beaujolais and for people to rediscover the Gamay grape and its potential to age.” For regular wine drinkers, for many whose purchase goes no further than the supermarket aisle, Duboeuf is their entry into the delights of the region, and I suspect the seemingly endless array of labels is enough to quench their thirst for their entire lives. This is partly due to consumers’ contentment to remain faithful to a name they know. They spot that distinctive “flower label” and make a beeline. But of course, part of the reason is also the quality of Duboeuf’s range. If the wines did not come up to scratch, did not offer enjoyment and drinkability as a minimum, then eventually people would seek alternatives. The fact remains that after decades, Duboeuf is the dominant producer, no less important as an ambassador for the region than as its most revered artisan name. Given its importance, I was happy to section off an afternoon tasting through as many current offering as humanly possible, with Frank Duboeuf on hand to answer any questions I might have. Of course, the size of the enterprise did not spare them the challenges of the 2012 growing season, and one could argue that being reliant on contracted growers and needing to satisfy large volume targets ineluctably impacts upon them more than others. It was clear to see that the 2012s, especially in the entry-level “flower range,” were affected. There is no escaping that. That is winemaking. This might be one vintage where it would be better to head directly to the superior 2013s or at least trade up toward one of their other labels. But overall, you have to doff you cap to a winery that can deliver thousands of cases at a quality level higher than many others I have tasted. Importer: Deutsch Family Wines & Spirits, White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463; and through various importers such as Berkmann in the UK.

From a site he says requires relatively early picking, George Duboeuf’s 2011 Fleurie Chateau des Deduits delivers ripe but brightly juicy (and in contrast with the corresponding Quatre Vents bottling, not at all jam-like) blueberry and black raspberry seasoned with cardamom and carob, and set-off against a background of stone. This really encourages the next sip, and based on its ex-cellar price represents outstanding value. I would plan to enjoy it through 2015. I would not have expected any less an enthusiastic account of their 2011 vintage than was offered me by George and Franck Duboeuf, but more to the point, they poured me as consistently excellent and interesting a collection as I have ever experienced at this address. Potential alcohol levels came in almost entirely over 12% with only a few wines being chaptalized, and certainly none were in the least compromised by elevated alcohol. (Nor, I was told, did any acidification take place.) Early August heat spikes, opined George Duboeuf, furthered early maturation while avoiding either vine shut-down or prematurely excessive accumulation of sugar. Duboeuf thinks the differences from one site to another are especially pronounced this vintage, and cites its collection of Morgons in particular as “among the strongest I’ve had in years,” both observations entirely consistent with my experience. It is from a desire to showcase the natural purity of fruit that characterizes the 2011 vintage, says Duboeuf, that he elected to raise only one so-called cuvee speciale (i.e. one raised in barrique) this year, a Fleurie. (Bottlings not designated other than by their appellation represent what this house and the trade generally refer to as “flower label.”) Importer: Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463

The 2005 Fleurie Chateau des Deduits, while aromatically shy, reveals a medium-bodied, expansive personality with copious satin waves of red fruits. It is an excellent wine yet lacks the length of Duboeuf’s finest 2005s. It should be drunk over the next 4-5 years. Importer: William Deutsch and Sons, White Plains, NY; tel (914) 251-9463.