Antoine Sunier Regnie 2019

Plush and pure, Antoine's blend of old vine parcels is a go-to year-in and year-out with our team. On the palate, strong presence of red berries, cherries, rose petal, oak and mushroom. On the palate, this bottle is bright with fresh acidity. Textured and a bit peppery, this is a lively wine with good acidity and a savoury edge to the fruit. Med-full mouthfeel and bodied but persistent tannins. Grapes are hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard. Antoine practices semicarbonic maceration initiated by indigenous yeasts. Part-way through fermentation the vat is opened, and the must is pumped over and punched down in a Burgundy winemaking style. Antoine believes that full carbonic masks terroir. Gravity flow to tanks, Indigenous yeast fermentations at low temperatures, to preserve fresh fruit flavors and a delicate tannic structure. Whole cluster fermenteation for 8-15 days, horizontal pressing, manual racking for elevage. Aged 8 months on the lees in 90% neutral burgundy barrels and 10% epoxy tanks. Where it is aged for around eight months before bottling without fining or filtration, and with very low additions of S02. Viticulture is low intervention; the vineyard has been farmed organically and had full Agri Bio certification since 2003.

12.5%  

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

The 2018 Regnie was bottled a mere two weeks before I tasted it, but it nonetheless bursts from the glass with expressive aromas of ripe berries, cherries, licorice & warm spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny & supple, with succulent acids, melting tannins & a flavorful finish. This is a terrific cru Beaujolais that's well worth seeking out.

Deep ruby. Fresh dark berries, cherry pie, candied violet and a suggestion of smoky minerals on the assertively perfumed nose. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering juicy blueberry, cherry compote, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that slowly tighten up with air. Finishes sappy, smooth and very long, showing persistent florality and fine-grained tannins that rise up slowly.

- John Gilman

The Régnié from Antoine Sunier comes in listed at 12.5 percent in 2018, which is quite refreshing. It is made from three different parcels of vines that average forty-five years of age, with the wine raised in mostly used Burgundy casks, with only about ten percent of the cuvée seeing its elevage done in concrete. The wine offers up a beautifully fresh and vibrant bouquet of sappy black cherries, plums, dark chocolate, a fine base of soil, lovely spice tones and a hint of cedar from its older casks. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with lovely focus and balance, a fine core and a long, relatively low acid, but precise and succulent finish. This is quite light on its feet for a 2018, with no rough edges and an utterly charming personality right out of the blocks. Good juice. 2020-2027. 91.