Domaine Dupeuble
In
the hamlet of Le Breuil, deep in the southern Beaujolais and perched above a
narrow creek, the Domaine Dupeuble has been running almost continuously since
1512. The name of the domaine has changed just three times in its history, most
recently when the last heir, Anna Asmaquer, married Jules Dupeuble in 1919.
Anna’s son Paul, and her grand children Ghislaine and Stéphane Dupeuble, manage the domaine. Kermit first met Ghislaine and Stéphane’s father, Damien, for lunch in Paris in the late 1980s, and thus began the annual tradition of blending the KLWM Beaujolais Nouveau.
Tradition runs deep in the
family, but each generation has also managed to add something new, including
increasing the property. Today it is comprised of one hundred hectares, about
forty percent of which is consecrated to vineyards. Strong advocates of the lutte raisonnée approach to vineyard
work, they tend their vines without the use of any chemicals or synthetic
fertilizers. The vineyards, planted primarily to Gamay, face Southeast, South,
and Southwest, and about two thirds of the property is on granite-based soil.
The grapes are harvested manually and vinified completely without SO2.
The wines are not chaptalized, filtered, or degassed and only natural yeasts
are used for the fermentation. The wines of Dupeuble represent some of the best
values in the Beaujolais today and are widely regarded for their very high
quality and eminently reasonable price.

In the hamlet of Le Breuil, deep in the southern Beaujolais and perched above a narrow creek, the Domaine Dupeuble has been running almost continuously since 1512. The name of the domaine has changed just three times in its history, most recently when the last heir, Anna Asmaquer, married Jules Dupeuble in 1919. Anna’s son Paul, and her grand children Ghislaine and Stéphane Dupeuble, manage the domaine. Kermit first met Ghislaine and Stéphane’s father, Damien, for lunch in Paris in the late 1980s, and thus began the annual tradition of blending the KLWM Beaujolais Nouveau.
Tradition runs deep in the family, but each generation has also managed to add something new, including increasing the property. Today it is comprised of one hundred hectares, about forty percent of which is consecrated to vineyards. Strong advocates of the lutte raisonnée approach to vineyard work, they tend their vines without the use of any chemicals or synthetic fertilizers. The vineyards, planted primarily to Gamay, face Southeast, South, and Southwest, and about two thirds of the property is on granite-based soil. The grapes are harvested manually and vinified completely without SO2. The wines are not chaptalized, filtered, or degassed and only natural yeasts are used for the fermentation. The wines of Dupeuble represent some of the best values in the Beaujolais today and are widely regarded for their very high quality and eminently reasonable price.
Technical Information
Wine | Blend | Vine Age | Soil Type | Vineyard Area* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Beaujolais Blanc |
Chardonnay | N/A | Clay, Limestone | 2 ha |
Beaujolais Nouveau |
Gamay | 50 - 100 years | Granite, Clay, Limestone | 42 ha |
Beaujolais Rosé |
Gamay | 3-70 years | Granite | 3 ha |
Beaujolais Rouge |
Gamay | 50 - 100 years | Granite, Clay, Limestone | 42 ha |
Beaujolais “Cuvée 1512” |
Gamay | 70 years old | Granite, Clay, Limestone | 2 ha |
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres |
VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION
• Vines are fertilized with natural compost
• Yields are severely limited by both pruning and green harvest, even for the grapes that go into the Nouveau
• Grapes are harvested manually and vinified without SO2
• Wines are fermented naturally
Beaujolais “Cuvée 1512”:
• Fermenation lasts 3 weeks
• Wine is aged 6 months in cement tank
• Only produced in exceptional years
Beaujolais Blanc:
• Grapes are pressed, and held in stainless steel tank for a brief cold-soak
Beaujolais Rosé:
• Rosé made by direct press
• Full malolactic fermentation
• Vinified and aged in stainless steel tank
• Aged for 3 months before bottling
Beaujolais Nouveau:
• Fermented naturally (carbonic maceration) and aged in stainless steel
• Fermentation lasts 5 days
• Bottled unfiltered
Beaujolais Rouge:
• Fermented naturally (carbonic maceration) and aged in cement and stainless steel
• Fermentation lasts 8 – 12 days
• Bottled unfiltered
MISCELLANEA
The Dupeuble Beaujolais towers majestically over every
other red on the market today yet retains the quaffable ‘légèreté’ we demand
from this monumental appellation. At the same time, how can one ignore its
eyeball-riveting color, its super concentrated body engorged with blackberries,
blueberries, raspberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, cinnamon, cherry pit,
violets, petunias, red currants, black currants and graham crackers? There is there, one might say, there.
Multi-layered layers of sublime simplicity, a blood-boiling aftertaste, this is
a palate hummer.
Kermit Lynch
The Dupeuble Beaujolais towers majestically over every other red on the market today yet retains the quaffable ‘légèreté’ we demand from this monumental appellation. At the same time, how can one ignore its eyeball-riveting color, its super concentrated body engorged with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, cinnamon, cherry pit, violets, petunias, red currants, black currants and graham crackers? There is there, one might say, there. Multi-layered layers of sublime simplicity, a blood-boiling aftertaste, this is a palate hummer.
General Information
- Country
- France
- Region
- Beaujolais
- Appellation(s)
- Beaujolais
- Producer
- The Dupeuble Family
- Founded
- 1512
- Annual Production
- 25,000 cases