2018 Domaine du Clos du Fief Tradition Cru Julienas Beaujolais France 750 ml

Juliénas is the oldest and very first Cru of Beaujolais. Named for Julius Caesar, winemaking there goes back 2,000 years to the Gallo-Roman empire. These diverse soils have always been lusted over—covering just two square miles of vineyards, Juliénas has 120 producers fighting for its prized, increasingly expensive, grapes. 

Yet only Michel Tête’s wines were dubbed “the class of Juliénas” in the New York Times.

A few years ago, the New York Times’ wine critic, Eric Asimov, printed that Cru Beaujolais is “the greatest secret in wine.” Based on the skyrocketing price trends of the top-rated wines he recommended, the secret is out… with this wine as the one exception.

We can only guess that’s the reason Tête’s absolutely smoking 2018 Cuvée Tradition Cru from Juliénas costs the price of a village level Beaujolais. At $22, this Gamay stands tall alongside its price peers from that story who now fetch over twice as much for the very same bottlings.

Not that we’re complaining.

A dark-fruited beauty that’s as delicious out of the gate as it is ripe for medium-term aging, it leaps from the glass with blueberry, black plum, and candied raspberry that seems to expand in all directions. Wildflower aromas give it a sexy floral lift, while licorice, hibiscus tea, and a spicy black pepper element hint at its inherent complexity after a few swirls.

Its balanced intensity keeps the wine forward and lively on the palate, with a youthful energy that will benefit from serving it at slight chill in its youth before it fully fills out. Vibrant and almost pulsating with exuberance, the 2018 Cuvée Tradition is the increasingly rare kind of red whose price point can reasonably sustain our near-nightly cravings for it.  

Domaine du Clos du Fief is a fourth-generation Cru estate in Juliénas, run by Michel Tête and his son Sylvain working alongside. The Tête family works the old-fashioned way, following quasi-Burgundian techniques for this wine, with a semi-carbonic maceration—where fermentation begins inside the grapes themselves to retain the Gamay’s freshness and to highlight the integrity of their 45-year-old vines.

A small estate that’s passed hands for this many generations, Michel has enjoyed the rare luxury that comes with ignoring the trends that have pushed pricing up for almost all his neighbors. He never boarded the Nouveau train, so he keeps his yields low and the quality high within his sandy-clay soils by maintaining meticulous attention to his Juliénas vineyards without having to make up the costs along the way.

A Cru Beaujolais steal at $22, we’re not waiting for this vintage of Domaine Du Clos Du Fief Cuvée Tradition to beat its last vintage’s 92-point Vinous score before we stock up.