2019 Beaujolais

This comes from a parcel of 60-year-old vines grown on the granite slopes of Mont Brouilly. These volcanic soils produce a wonderfully persistent style of Beaujolais, with the charming strawberry and cherry fruits on the nose. The palate abounds with dark juicy fruit and ripe, grippy tannins and a vibrat length. This has the structure to age extremely well.

10% whole bunch works really well here, and the Gamay has the structure and sophistication of the Boillots’ Côte d’Or Pinots, but with the juicy, pretty, peppery texture of Beaujolais. Of the four wines they make in the Beaujolais this is the most elegant, and always our favourite.

Compared to its neighbour, Morgon, Régnié is one of the less well-known crus in Beaujolais. But when well made, its wines are fragrant and light, with a tasty acidity and fine structure, thanks to the granitic soils and slight elevation. Breton’s 2019 is a case in point: pale, 12.5%, lightly scented, and wonderfully thirst-quenching.

This cuvée is all about freshness and elegance. It is lively and delicate, with pretty violet notes on the nose. There is succulent and surprising depth to the raspberry fruit of the palate. And whilst delicate, it has a refreshing frame derived from its elevation and granitic and schist soils, making it a quintessential example of Chiroubles, the highest of the Beaujolais crus, and of the Breton style.

This cuvée is all about freshness and elegance. It is lively and delicate, with pretty violet notes on the nose. There is succulent and surprising depth to the raspberry fruit of the palate. And whilst delicate, it has a refreshing frame derived from its elevation and granitic and schist soils, making it a quintessential example of Chiroubles, the highest of the Beaujolais crus, and of the Breton style.

This Morgon has an impressive concentration with some charming, light-footed tannins that are enrobed by its crunchy redcurrant fruit. It has slightly more body than previous vintages, but with more acidity too, so that it glides effortlessly across the palate. This was tasting wonderfully in its youth, but it certainly has the structure and balance to age beautifully too. A highlight chez Breton.

Like all the Breton wines, this was made using the region’s classic carbonic maceration technique, where the whole bunch berries start their fermentation under a protective blanket of carbon dioxide, and flavours of sweet strawberries, violets, blueberries, and kirsch emerge. This is a little bit wild, but deliciously crunchy and quenching. With only the lightest tannin frame, and with perfumed blueberry and strawberry fruit, it is a charming example of a vin de soif, best enjoyed a little chilled.

This is consistently one of the finest cuvées in Jean-Claude’s line-up, and in 2019 it is truly excellent. 80% whole bunch fruit in this blend results in a pretty style, which is concentrated but also so fresh and lively with raspberry and blueberry fruits. The tender fruits on the palate culminate in a long finish with some distinguishing structure beneath. Tannins and fruit are harmoniously balanced here. Poised, with granitic minerality; a classical and delicious Brouilly.

This is made from a high quality Beaujolais village parcel, but after the wine was rejected in 2012 for being ‘too pale’, Jean-Claude decided to change its classification to the much freer Vin de France, valuing the innate character of the wine over the AOC’s regulations. It remains one of the most interesting in his range. The palate is so light on its feet, with a lifted red berry energy. 100% whole bunch fruit gives it a cool, bright structure with lacy tannins. No sulphur dioxide is added at all here. Equally well suited as a chilled aperitif red or a superb lighter style to finish an evening off: this is natural winemaking at its finest, least-faddy best.

You can tell when tasting with Jean-Claude that this cuvée holds a special place in his heart. He only makes it in great years, from a selection of the best bunches he spontaneously keeps separate as the pickers pass through the vineyards. As a result, it comes from various parcels: a bit of Brouilly, a bit of Côte de Brouilly, a bit of Beaujolais Villages. Unlike his other wines, it is completely destemmed, and undergoes a seven month maceration in large clay amphorae. This unusual vinification makes for a surprisingly energetic wine, with a juicy body, and ripe, clean freshness on the palate that overflows with hedgerow fruit. It’s certainly not run of the mill Gamay.

This, unusually, comes in a Bordeaux bottle rather than a Burgundy one: a quirk from a strange request years ago that has been embraced as a fond tradition for this structured cuvée. Some of these vines were planted in 1900, and the concentration and depth of the wine are a notable distinction to his other cuvées. Cool blueberry fruit on the nose, and an emphatic, tannic structure on the palate, bursting with black cherry flavours. This is voluptuous Beaujolais.