Notify me
2021 Brouilly
Alex Foillard
Alex Foillard epitomizes the new generation of talent coming of age in the Beaujolais. Growing up in the Foillard household, he had privileged access to the brightest minds of natural wine, but that did not prevent him from exhibiting some ambition of his own. In order to really spread his wings, he purchased his own vineyards, including a one-hectare plot of fifty-year-old vines in Brouilly, a cru novel to the Foillard cellars. You might detect a slight southern accent in this release—a generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping its granite core—along with the deluxe silkiness that characterizes all Foillard bottlings.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
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: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2023 Beaujolais
France | Beaujolais
May Adventures Club ~ Dupeuble’s rouge is thirst-quenching and tangy with loads of violet and réglisse.

2022 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
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.

2023 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
Light and living, charged with herbs, cranberry, and strawberry.

2021 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.

2023 Morgon “Cuvée Corcelette”
France | Beaujolais
Sweet, earthy fruit and sensuous, velvety texture.

2023 Morgon “Côte du Py”
France | Beaujolais
Serious minerality, with earthy stone and plum notes.

2022 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
France | Beaujolais
Here is a rich, bold Régnié, saturated with luscious fruit and earthy spice.

2023 Fleurie “Les Moriers”
France | Beaujolais
This Fleurie beautifully combines high-toned finesse with a potent depth. Can a wine be delicately intense?

2024 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
France | Beaujolais
Sourced from the pink granite terroir of Brouilly, this rosé is simply delicious, with good grip and notes of summery red berries.

2020 Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping a granite core.
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.
More from Beaujolais or France
2023 Brouilly “Reverdon”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon “Cuvée Corcelette”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Chénas “Les Blémonts”
Domaine Thillardon France | Beaujolais
2022 Côte de Brouilly
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2023 Fleurie
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2024 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Brouilly “Reverdon”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon “Cuvée Corcelette”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Fleurie
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Chénas “Les Blémonts”
Domaine Thillardon France | Beaujolais
2022 Côte de Brouilly
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2023 Fleurie
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2024 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2023 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
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