Château de Saint-Lager Brouilly 2011

Wow! What color, and what a nose! The 2011 Château de Saint-Lager Brouilly exudes pure perfume. Tantalizing scents of fresh ripe raspberries, strawberries and summer flowers make it nearly impossible to resist the explosive aroma of Château de Saint-Lager’s vivacious Cru Beaujolais. And the hedonistic, sumptuous pleasures so evident in the aroma of the 2011 Château de Saint-Lager Brouilly happily carry through in the wine’s flavor profile to fill the mouth with pure Gamay fruit, generous vinosity, and a gentle palate cleansing minerality that make it hard to resist. In short, this wine bears little resemblance to the oceans of Beaujolais Nouveau that wash upon our shores each November. This is authentic Cru Beaujolais, a wine for all seasons that indulges the senses and soothes the soul from first sip to racy finish. Serve this exuberant Brouilly cool or even slightly chilled (55°-64° F) after just a few minutes of aeration and it will surely reveal its many charms. Salut!

Château de Saint-Lager’s stunning 2011 Brouilly barely requires a glass to woo its suitors, as the wine’s floral bouquet can fill a room with its breath. Nevertheless, it would be a shame to forfeit the comforts and pleasures of the table for which Cru Brouilly is renowned. So our preference is to drink a glass of this brash Brouilly before dinner and then sit down to some good country cooking. Traditional Burgundian specialties always provide superb accompaniments, yet almost any savory dish will double the gustatory pleasure of this superb wine. Lightly flavored meats such as chicken, veal, ham, and pork make excellent accompaniments to Brouilly. Light game such as Cornish hens, quail, and squab make superb pairings with this wine, too. Coq au Vin, a Burgundian classic, is certainly one of the region’s signature dishes and, perhaps, the most traditional companion to Cru Beaujolais. Grilled or poached salmon and seared scallops with angel hair pasta pair nicely with the 2011 Château de Saint-Lager Brouilly as well. For those not so adept in the kitchen, soft, creamy cheeses such as Port Salut, Bel Paese, Double Gloucester, Gouda, and Edam provide easy to prepare accompaniments that are equally gratifying in the company of Château de Saint-Lager’s Brouilly. Bon Appétit!

Château de Saint-Lager is a venerable wine property that dates to 1432 when the Lhaye family acquired the barony from the Lords of Beaujeu. The actual château of Saint Lager has an even longer history as older medieval records make direct reference to the castle. The old fortress was transformed into a manor house in the 16th century when the domain covered at least a third of the land in the entire village, including a large portion of the famous hill of Brouilly where an iconic chapel now crowns the summit of the hill of Brouilly and smiles benevolently upon the sea of vineyards as they crawl up the hill. The wines of Château de Saint-Lager are produced at the foot of the hill where the vineyards’ soft, sandy soils impart intense floral tones, fleshy fruit flavors, and supple elegance to the resulting wines.

Château de Pizay has controlled the production of Château de Saint-Lager’s renowned Brouilly for nearly two decades, having acquired the last remaining parcels of this once enormous estate in 1998. Under the dedicated tutelage of Pascal Dufaitre, Château de Pizay’s current director, the wines of Château de Saint-Lager combine tradition with the use of stainless steel, modern techniques, and temperature control to ensure preservation of the fruit and freshness in the estate’s wines. The result is pure, natural tasting wine that exudes both supreme elegance and great flavor. This highly sought after Cru Brouilly was imported exclusively for our club members.