2015 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Chalumaux”Comtesse de Chérisey
France | Burgundy
$120
Producers
Madison's Pick Easy-drinking, bright, and juicy. Slightly chilled, Marylou is a most reliable friend at table. I have matched bottles with grilled pork and veggie kebabs, turkey sandwiches from the deli, spicy buffalo wings, freshly fried fish tacos...even fully-loaded breakfast burritos for a satisfying at-home boozy brunch. Keep a few on hand for whatever is on the menu.
I don’t like tannins. I never imagined I would hear a winemaker utter such words, much less one who produces only red wine. But Guy Breton is not shy about his preferences, and he crafts wines aiming to please himself—and possibly some buddies with whom to share a couple bottles and a plate of charcuterie. Marylou, named for his eldest daughter, epitomizes his taste for lithe, perfumed reds with low alcohol that can be glugged down effortlessly. Juicy, fruit-driven, and full of joyous energy, it has little tannin to speak of—nothing to grab hold of your palate as it passes over, making it all too easy for it to slide right down the hatch.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Beaujolais-Villages |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Guy Breton |
Winemaker: | Guy Breton |
Vineyard: | 45 years, 0.5 acres |
Soil: | Granite, Rocks |
Aging: | Wines are aged on fine lees in Burgundian barrels |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 11.5% |
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais | Chiroubles
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Brouilly
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais | Juliénas
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
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.
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais | Fleurie
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais | Côte de Brouilly
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais | Chiroubles
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Nicole Chanrion France | Beaujolais | Côte-de-Brouilly
Jean-Paul & Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais | Régnié
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais
M. & C. Lapierre France | Beaujolais | Morgon
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais | Juliénas
Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.
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