2015 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Chalumaux”Comtesse de Chérisey
France | Burgundy
$120
Producers
The son of “gang of four” Morgon producer Jean-Paul Thévenet, Charly had early exposure to the world of organic farming and natural winemaking. Passionate about the family business, he struck out on his own as soon as the opportunity presented itself, purchasing a parcel of eighty-year-old vines in the neighboring cru of Régnié. Today, he works side by side with his father, collaborating in the production of both wines. As with the Morgon, Charly’s Régnié grapes are harvested when fully ripe, by hand, then vinified via whole-cluster fermentation, in typical Beaujolais fashion. The wine is aged in concrete tanks before bottling without fining or filtration. The 2018 vintage gives us a rich, bold, and spicy Régnié, saturated with luscious fruit and earthy funk. Serve it with grilled sausages, or let it sit in your cellar for three or four more years before uncorking.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Régnié |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Charly Thévenet |
Vineyard: | 80 yrs +, 3 ha |
Soil: | Granite |
Aging: | Aged in concrete tanks, no fining or filtration |
Farming: | Biodynamic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 13% |
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais | Juliénas
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais-Villages
La Soeur Cadette France | Beaujolais | Juliénas
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.
Domaine Robert-Denogent France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais Villages
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais | Fleurie
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais-Villages
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais | Juliénas
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Brouilly
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais | Côte-de-Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais-Villages
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
Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
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