Notify me
2018 Beaujolais-Villages
Alex FoillardAnytime you hear the words “Foillard” and “Beaujolais” in the same sentence—or read them on the same label—you can expect to be in for a treat. That holds true when the Foillard in question is not Jean but his son, Alex, and when the Beaujolais is not a Morgon, but a brand-new bottling of Beaujolais-Villages. Alex tracked down an excellent old-vine parcel situated just beneath the cru of Régnié, between Morgon and Brouilly. The delicate fragrance betrays his light touch in the cellar; this drinks like a Gamay infusion with lovely hints of potpourri, spice, and fresh grapes. Serve it cool, naturally.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Beaujolais-Villages |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Alex Foillard |
Vineyard: | 70 years old |
Soil: | Limestone, Sand |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
France | Beaujolais
This drinks like a Gamay infusion with lovely hints of potpourri, spice, and fresh grapes.
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
France | Beaujolais
This classic, cool-weather vintage of Quentin Harel’s one hectare holding in Morgon spends three months macerating in concrete amphora. The result is a distinct softening of its crunchy, mineral-laced bramble.
2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
France | Beaujolais
Different from the whites of neighboring Mâcon, this blanc is firm but also a touch fleshy.
2020 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
Alex Foillard fashions a Côte-de-Brouilly that strikes a deeper register, saturating the senses with tooth-staining fruit, gritty earth, and just a touch of the good funk.
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
April Club Gourmand ~ Soulful and savory, with notes of cherries, iron, and smoke, this is cru Beaujolais built to last.
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
France | Beaujolais
This cuvée shares the satin texture of all Foillard Morgons, and should age similarly well for those willing and able to wait.
2020 Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping a granite core.
2022 Beaujolais
France | Beaujolais
This Beaujolais offers the drinkability of the most effusive Morgons with the frankness of a chiseled Moulin-à-Vent.
2021 Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping a granite core.
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
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.
About The Region
Beaujolais
After years of the region’s reputation being co-opted by mass-produced Beaujolais Nouveau and the prevalence of industrial farming, the fortunes of vignerons from the Beaujolais have been on the rise in the past couple of decades. Much of this change is due to Jules Chauvet, a prominent Beaujolais producer who Kermit worked with in the 1980s and arguably the father of the natural wine movement, who advocated not using herbicides or pesticides in vineyards, not chaptalizing, fermenting with ambient yeasts, and vinifying without SO2. Chief among Chauvet’s followers was Marcel Lapierre and his three friends, Jean Foillard, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet—a group of Morgon producers who Kermit dubbed “the Gang of Four.” The espousal of Chauvet’s methods led to a dramatic change in quality of wines from Beaujolais and with that an increased interest and appreciation for the AOC crus, Villages, and regular Beaujolais bottlings.
The crus of Beaujolais are interpreted through the Gamay grape and each illuminate the variety of great terroirs available in the region. Distinguishing itself from the clay and limestone of Burgundy, Beaujolais soils are predominantly decomposed granite, with pockets of blue volcanic rock. The primary vinification method is carbonic maceration, where grapes are not crushed, but instead whole clusters are placed in a tank, thus allowing fermentation to take place inside each grape berry.
Much like the easy-going and friendly nature of many Beaujolais vignerons, the wines too have a lively and easy-drinking spirit. They are versatile at table but make particularly good matches with the local pork sausages and charcuterie. Though often considered a wine that must be drunk young, many of the top crus offer great aging potential.
More from Beaujolais or France
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Vin de France Rouge “Raisins Gaulois”
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais-Villages “Cuvée Marylou”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Vin de France Rouge “Raisins Gaulois”
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais-Villages “Cuvée Marylou”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch