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2019 Beaujolais-Villages “Les Grandes Terres”
Quentin HarelFor those of you still unacquainted, Quentin Harel is the latest addition to our Beaujolais portfolio. His wines first caught our eyes—or rather, our noses—when I chanced upon a bottle of his Morgon, a perfumed little beauty that stood no chance after being uncorked at the family dinner table one summer evening. Around the same time, my colleague Dixon informed me he had tasted a particularly juicy, downable Beaujolais-Villages from a young grower. Upon comparing notes, we realized Quentin was the man behind both bottles. As it turned out, he had recently taken the reins of the family domaine and begun making Beaujolais just the way we like it: farmed organically, vinified naturally with whole clusters, and bottled with minimal added sulfur. The nose, the palate, and the price encourage unbridled quaffing.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Beaujolais Villages |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Quentin Harel |
Vineyard: | 7 to 70 years, 40 years average; 3 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Aged 12 months in 70 hL cement tank and 20 hl enamel tank |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Morgon Tradition
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.
2021 Brouilly “Reverdon”
France | Beaujolais
The 2021 vintage proved an elegant one for Thivin’s Brouilly, with all the suppleness and tonicity you’d expect from this storied estate.
2022 Morgon
France | Beaujolais
Silky and perfumed, with no rough edges, this is dangerously swallowable.
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 Morgon “La Roche Pilée”
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).
2021 Côte-de-Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
March Rouge ~ Nicole Chanrion crafts delicious Beaujolais the traditional way, by hand-harvesting, fermenting with whole clusters, and patiently aging in large oak foudres.
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.
2021 Côte de Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A relatively new addition to Guy Breton’s Beaujolais lineup, this exuberant Côte de Brouilly is flat-out delicious.
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
France | Beaujolais
Floral and succulent, bursting with notes of little red berries, but it is also delicate and light on its feet.
2022 Beaujolais-Villages “Cuvée Marylou”
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.
About The Producer
Quentin Harel
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
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
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2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
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2021 Morgon “Eponym”
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2021 Morgon Tradition
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2021 Beaujolais-Villages
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2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie “Les Moriers”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “La Roche Pilée”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon Tradition
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Fleurie “Les Moriers”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “La Roche Pilée”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.