The Luminaries of Morgon
by Tom Wolf
Take 20% OFF wines in the Beaujolais Picnic Collection, now through the end of the month
Click to apply this promo code to your order
Click to apply: PICNIC20 Valid through Sunday, June 30thPromo code terms
Enter just about any thoughtful restaurant or wine bar around the world and the chances are you’ll find a bottle from one of the Morgon-based growers Kermit long ago dubbed the Gang of Four on the list. It doesn’t matter if the establishment is filled with white table cloths or mesh patio tables, if they serve inventive tasting menus or simple charcuterie and cheese boards. The reds from these four families, graced with timeless labels and possessing both complexity and exuberance, can be dressed up or down with more ease than just about any other wine. And even on the off chance you don’t spot a bottle bearing the name Lapierre, Foillard, Thévenet, or Breton, many of the names on the list will have undoubtedly been inspired by the “gang” and their trailblazing practices in the vines and cellar over the last four decades. Their wines are beloved for being at once remarkably fresh, convivial, classy, and profound. It’s not a stretch to say the Lapierres, Foillards, Thévenets, and Guy Breton have been the most influential group of growers in the world over the last thirty years.
And yet, when you spend time with the members of these families, you would never know it. They are an uncommonly laid-back bunch, who relish sitting around a table and sharing glass after glass of divine cru Beaujolais while passionately discussing their approaches to producing it. Thanks to differences of philosophy, technique, terroir, or vine age, the four domaines’ wines are in the same family, but akin to four siblings each with their own personality. Even though, for instance, the Thévenets’ and Guy Breton’s Morgons could both be called perfumed and silky, you wouldn’t mistake them for each other after tasting them side by side. Thévenet’s 2022 rendition is so graceful and refined while Breton’s is uncommonly fragrant and plush.
The same goes for Mathieu and Camille Lapierre’s “Le Beaujolais”—bright, vivid, and red-fruited—and Jean Foillard’s Beaujolais-Villages, which is a little earthier and spicier, with notes of blood orange, pomegranate, rhubarb, and black tea.
We almost never have the wines of all four domaines in stock at the same time, so take advantage of this brief window—and this month’s Beaujolais discount—to become acquainted, or reacquainted, with these true French icons.
The Luminaries of Morgon
by Tom Wolf
Lapierre, Breton, Thévenet
© Gail Skoff
Jean Foillard
© Joanie Bonfiglio
Guy Breton
© Gail Skoff
Charly Thévenet, Alex Foillard, Camille LaPierre
© Jimmy Hayes
Take 20% OFF wines in the Beaujolais Picnic Collection, now through the end of the month
Click to apply this promo code to your order
Click to apply: PICNIC20 Valid through Sunday, June 30thPromo code terms
Wines In The Collection
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
Floral and succulent, bursting with notes of little red berries, but it is also delicate and light on its feet.
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
“Le Beaujolais” is silky, perfumed, and incredibly fresh, exhibiting the pleasure factor we expect from every bottle to come out of the Lapierre cellars.
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
Silky and seductive, with notes of rose petals, red berries, and stones.
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
When you don’t know what your hosts are serving for dinner and they’re fun and friendly people, bring this juicy, silky, and minerally old-school Beaujolais and know you'll be invited back.
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
Charly Thévenet and his father, Jean Paul, now bottle a range of five different wines in their cellars in Villié-Morgon
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
An opulent, mouth-filling expression of granitic terroir, this bottling has the delicate floral nuances and fine-grained tannin that differentiates Fleurie from the other crus.
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
This juicy red—loaded with bright, playful fruit—is low in alcohol and delightfully refreshing.
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan says nostalgia is the longing for a past that never was. But, hand to god, this year's Cuvee Marylou tastes just like the raspberry thumbprint cookies my mother used to make for Christmas.
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
Savor it while you can, because your glass will be empty before you know it, leaving you only with the spicy, mineral-laden aftertaste of a bottle that went down way too easily.
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
The high-toned nose suggests an absolutely electric wine, full of delicate florals and tart berries, and the juice hits the palate like a dreamy cloud of Gamay.
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
A relatively new addition to Guy Breton’s Beaujolais lineup, this exuberant Côte de Brouilly is flat-out delicious.
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
If Beaujolais were Burgundy, we might consider Morgon to be Vosne-Romanée, with its haunting perfume and silky texture, the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove.
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
Leave it to Breton to take summer heat and turn it into a light summer breeze in a glass.
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
An opulent, mouth-filling expression of granitic terroir, this bottling has the delicate floral nuances and fine-grained tannin that differentiates Fleurie from the other crus.
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
The newest addition to the Thévenets’ Morgons, La Roche Pilée is lush and light at the same time, with a balance of soft minerality referenced in the name (which means crushed rock).
France | Beaujolais
Floral and succulent, bursting with notes of little red berries, but it is also delicate and light on its feet.
France | Beaujolais
“Le Beaujolais” is silky, perfumed, and incredibly fresh, exhibiting the pleasure factor we expect from every bottle to come out of the Lapierre cellars.
France | Beaujolais
Silky and seductive, with notes of rose petals, red berries, and stones.
France | Beaujolais
When you don’t know what your hosts are serving for dinner and they’re fun and friendly people, bring this juicy, silky, and minerally old-school Beaujolais and know you'll be invited back.
France | Beaujolais
Charly Thévenet and his father, Jean Paul, now bottle a range of five different wines in their cellars in Villié-Morgon
France | Beaujolais
An opulent, mouth-filling expression of granitic terroir, this bottling has the delicate floral nuances and fine-grained tannin that differentiates Fleurie from the other crus.
France | Beaujolais
This juicy red—loaded with bright, playful fruit—is low in alcohol and delightfully refreshing.
France | Beaujolais
French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan says nostalgia is the longing for a past that never was. But, hand to god, this year's Cuvee Marylou tastes just like the raspberry thumbprint cookies my mother used to make for Christmas.
France | Beaujolais
Savor it while you can, because your glass will be empty before you know it, leaving you only with the spicy, mineral-laden aftertaste of a bottle that went down way too easily.
France | Beaujolais
The high-toned nose suggests an absolutely electric wine, full of delicate florals and tart berries, and the juice hits the palate like a dreamy cloud of Gamay.
France | Beaujolais
A relatively new addition to Guy Breton’s Beaujolais lineup, this exuberant Côte de Brouilly is flat-out delicious.
France | Beaujolais
If Beaujolais were Burgundy, we might consider Morgon to be Vosne-Romanée, with its haunting perfume and silky texture, the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove.
France | Beaujolais
Leave it to Breton to take summer heat and turn it into a light summer breeze in a glass.
France | Beaujolais
An opulent, mouth-filling expression of granitic terroir, this bottling has the delicate floral nuances and fine-grained tannin that differentiates Fleurie from the other crus.
France | Beaujolais
The newest addition to the Thévenets’ Morgons, La Roche Pilée is lush and light at the same time, with a balance of soft minerality referenced in the name (which means crushed rock).
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