Taken from tank, the 2013 Brouilly has a light but nicely defined nose with touches of cassis and blackberry emerging, though remaining slightly muted. The palate is a little rustic and tannic, but it has a pleasurable spicy and almost Rhone-like flourish on the finish. David Schildknecht has profiled Dominique Piron in previous issues of The Wine Advocate. Dominique took over the domaine in 1971, the fourteenth generation to farm the land in Morgon, with his American wife and oenologist Kristine Mary. They started buying in grapes in 1988, extending into Chenas in 2003 with the Lameloise family, then acquiring vines in the Cote du Py in 2006, and another two hectares in Regnie in 2011. Visiting the domaine and meeting Dominique for the first time, he told me that they farm 55 hectares of vines, 30% on the region’s steep slopes, focusing upon one cuvee per appellation in order to show the different terroirs. “What we want is a photocopy of the soil,” Dominique explained. Yields are usually between 40 and 50 hectoliters per hectare and the fruit is usually de-stemmed, the percentage according to the ripeness of the stems. He also mentioned that in recent years he has extended the length the fermentation, with regular punch downs in order to enhance color. To be honest, there was some variation here in terms of quality, although I put that down more to the challenges of the 2012 growing season than any lack of winemaking acumen. Importers include Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559-1040; Potomac Selections, Inc., Landover MD; tel. (301) 583-8844; and Sherbrooke Cellars, Scarsdale, NY; tel. (914) 722-9100