92 points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "Brun's dependably superb 2018 Beaujolais l’Ancien offers up notes of rose petals, cherries and raspberries, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy palate built around satiny tannins and juicy acids. It's a beautifully gourmand but precise wine, demonstrating the strengths of this vintage in the limestone soils of the southern Beaujolais. Drink: 2019-2029. (Aug 2019)"
92 points Josh Raynolds (Vinous): "Glimmering ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red/blue fruits, exotic spices and smoky minerals, along with a sexy floral overtone. Sweet black raspberry, cherry, violet pastille and spicecake flavors that show impressive depth as well as vivacity. In a distinctly elegant, lively style with a very long, floral-dominated finish that's given shape by well-knit tannins that fold steadily into the wine's sappy, appealingly sweet fruit. This must be one of the best values in Beaujolais Drink: 2022-2028. (Oct 2019)"
90 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2018 cuvée l’Ancien from Jean-Paul Brun comes in listed at 12.5 percent octane, but I assume that there is a bit of poetic license involved there. The wine is ripe, complex and loaded with personality this year, offering up scents of black cherries, pomegranate, woodsmoke, gamebird, a fine base of soil tones, a touch of fresh thyme and a topnote of peonies. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and nicely soil-driven in personality, with a bit of backend tannin, good acids and fine focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This has a bit more tannin and is a bit broader-shouldered than other recent vintages of this superb bottling, but it has its customary transparency, complexity and breed. I should mention that my sample was closed with a plastic cork, which was new to me, and this may affect the wine’s ability to age as long as I predict. 2020-2035. (Jan/Feb 2020)"
This wine is produced from Jean-Paul's oldest vines, which have fewer, smaller grapes with a more concentrated flavor. He is able to harvest the grapes later because there is far less risk of rot, owing to the small bunches. The grapes are very ripe and have a high natural sugar level. The wine is vinified in traditional Burgundy methods. Ancien is a deeply colored wine with a bouquet of red fruit and very soft tannins. It can be drunk relatively young but is probably best at 2 to 3 years old. This is a wine well balanced with natural sugar and acidity.
92 points Josh Raynolds (Vinous): "Glimmering ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red/blue fruits, exotic spices and smoky minerals, along with a sexy floral overtone. Sweet black raspberry, cherry, violet pastille and spicecake flavors that show impressive depth as well as vivacity. In a distinctly elegant, lively style with a very long, floral-dominated finish that's given shape by well-knit tannins that fold steadily into the wine's sappy, appealingly sweet fruit. This must be one of the best values in Beaujolais Drink: 2022-2028. (Oct 2019)"
90 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2018 cuvée l’Ancien from Jean-Paul Brun comes in listed at 12.5 percent octane, but I assume that there is a bit of poetic license involved there. The wine is ripe, complex and loaded with personality this year, offering up scents of black cherries, pomegranate, woodsmoke, gamebird, a fine base of soil tones, a touch of fresh thyme and a topnote of peonies. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and nicely soil-driven in personality, with a bit of backend tannin, good acids and fine focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This has a bit more tannin and is a bit broader-shouldered than other recent vintages of this superb bottling, but it has its customary transparency, complexity and breed. I should mention that my sample was closed with a plastic cork, which was new to me, and this may affect the wine’s ability to age as long as I predict. 2020-2035. (Jan/Feb 2020)"
This wine is produced from Jean-Paul's oldest vines, which have fewer, smaller grapes with a more concentrated flavor. He is able to harvest the grapes later because there is far less risk of rot, owing to the small bunches. The grapes are very ripe and have a high natural sugar level. The wine is vinified in traditional Burgundy methods. Ancien is a deeply colored wine with a bouquet of red fruit and very soft tannins. It can be drunk relatively young but is probably best at 2 to 3 years old. This is a wine well balanced with natural sugar and acidity.
| Product SKU | 335965 |
| Producer | Terres Dorées |
| Country | France |
| Region | Beaujolais |
| Varietal | Gamay |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Size | 750ml |
| Color | Red |
| ABV | 12.5% |
| Ships To |
