From older vines – in this instance incorporating fruit both from the South and from the Beaujolais-Villages sector, near Brouilly – and vinified entirely in barrel, Chermette’s 2009 Beaujolais Couer de Vendanges smells vividly of fresh purple plum and cassis; is imposingly mouth-filling yet bright and buoyant (especially by the standards of the vintage, and despite higher-than-usual 13.3% alcohol) and finishes with persistent interplay of generously juicy fruit with salt, chalk, fruit pit, and iodine. This saliva-inducing beauty should remain delightful for 2-3 years. Pierre Chermette – for more about whom, consult my report in issue 184 – picked his crus from September 7-15 and his vines in the South of Beaujolais the week following, managing to keep alcohols below 13.5%.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800