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2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard
Brouilly’s La Folie vineyard is so named because it receives so much wind, thereby driving those who farm it mad. The wind also sweeps most of the topsoil off of this incredibly rocky land, rendering the wines from here unusually chiseled and firm for a cru that is otherwise known for elegance and suppleness. Even La Folie, however, can’t help but yield to the silky touch of a Foillard. Irresistibly floral, deep, and concentrated, this is Brouilly like you’ve never tasted it.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Brouilly |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Alex Foillard |
Vineyard: | 1 ha, 50 years old |
Soil: | Granite, under a thin layer of soil |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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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.

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About The Producer
Alex Foillard
The son of “Gang of Four” producer Jean Foillard, Alex had early exposure to the principles of sustainable farming and low-intervention winemaking. Alex’s involvement in the family business began at a young age, helping his father pick grapes during harvest. After studying agriculture at the Lycée Agricole in Montpellier and earning a degree in viticulture and enology in Beaune, Alex purchased his own vineyards, a hectare each in the crus of Brouilly and Côte-de-Brouilly. He works his vines according to organic principles and uses tried-and-true techniques to craft his wines: whole-cluster fermentation with natural yeasts, no fining or filtration, and no additives save for a minute sulfur dose at bottling. As a result, his cuvées have a seductive aromatic component, a silky texture, and a downright deliciousness that is unmistakably Foillard.
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.
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. 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.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171