The wines of David Large, Beaujolais

Website: https://www.davidlarge.fr/

David Large is a young vigneron based in Montmelas, in the southwest of the Beaujolais region. Here his family have been winegrowers since 1840. Initially, he started working for them, but then went off to the Rhône. There, working for the likes of Chapoutier and Guigal he discovered biodynamic farming.

David Large

He returned to Beaujolais and over the last few years has built up his own wine domaine. He has 8 hectares of vines, mostly in Beaujolais Villages but also with some crus. He supplements this with some negociant grapes. Farming is organic.

All Gamay fermentations are whole bunch, and he uses semi-carbonic maceration. David is into music, film and comics, and there is a popular culture element to his labels, which he does himself. But while the wines are packaged in a playful way, they are pretty serious.

The full range is quite large: 16 wines. Here are notes on a few.

David Large Beaujolais Zombi Nouveau 2020 France
12.5% alcohol. Lovely black cherries and spice with some flesh. Has a grainy structure with floral details and a bit of spicy bite on the finish. This is fabulous: it’s pure, vivid, detailed and very drinkable, tending more to black fruits than red. 93/100

David Large DMC-12 2020 Vin de France
12.5% alcohol. Each year David makes a wine and labels it after a famous car in a movie – here it’s named after the Delorean in Back to the Future. This is lively and slightly nervy with a faint hint of volatility at first, as well as bright, direct raspberry and cherry fruit. This is very fresh and lively with a lovely acid line and vivid fruit. Such freshness to this wine, as well as texture and moderate concentration. 92/100

David Large The Toxic Gamay’nger 2020 Vin de France
13% alcohol. Lovely aromatics here: floral cherry fruit with some fine leafy notes in the background. Lovely texture on the palate with some warmth and richness to the fresh cherry and berry fruits. There’s a delicacy and drinkability here. Finishes with some grippy structure which melts into the ripe fruit beautifully. Very expressive. 93/100

David Large Gamayhameha 2020 Beaujolais, France
13.5% alcohol. Vineyard in Pierre Dorée. Lovely concentration here with a silkiness and depth to the bright berry fruits, showing a nice fruit sweetness, and some grippy, slightly peppery structure. It’s floral and seductive, and then it’s all stony and layered in the mouth. Lovely purity here: a fascinating expression of Gamay. 93/100

Older notes from April 2018:

David Large Côte de Brouilly ‘Heartbreaker’ 2017 Beaujolais, France
From dense, stony soils. Nice density and weight with textured sweet cherry and berry fruits. Has a slight creaminess and a richness of texture. 93/100

David Large Ça Brouilly 2017 Beaujolais
Very pretty and pure with a lively, floral nose and nice texture, as well as a stony edge. Lovely weight here: dense but quite elegant. 93/100

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