France

100% Gamay

Vineyard: 

The vineyards face south west and cover 12 hectares. The Beaujolais-Villages is sourced from densely planted bush vines, which seem to give a degree of bramble-fruit potency more akin to the region's Cru wines. The average age of these goblet-trained vines is 45 years with an average yield of 50 - 55 hectolitres per hectare. Soils here are poor, stony and granitic, accounting for the perfume and finesse so characteristic of the good wines of this region. The grapes are all hand harvested.

Vinification:

Pre-fermentation maceration of the whole bunches was followed by semi-carbonic maceration. Dominique allowed the temperature to rise for a couple of hours only, which helped with the extraction of colour, aroma and tannins. Then, after chilling, the fermentation took place over seven to eight days. Minimum handling techniques were employed and the wine stayed in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks after fermentation.

Producer: 

At its best, Beaujolais is a deeply pleasurable wine and Morel's wines encapsulate this style better than most. Dominique Morel has 12 hectares of vineyard in Beaujolais and Fleurie. The vines are up to 70 years old, something that accounts for the intensity of his wines. To sum up his philosophy, Morel says: "I make wines that I like to drink, with lots of fruit, good colour and a rounded mouth-feel''.

100% Syrah/Shiraz. The ‘Petit Ours’ (little bear), is 100% Syrah sourced from organically farmed vineyards and worked using biodynamic methods, in keeping with Matthieu’s philosophy.

The wine has a very expressive nose with layers of blackberry and black cherry fruit. The palate has smooth and well-integrated tannins with juicy black fruit and a touch of black pepper on the finish.

Vineyard: 

The grapes were hand-harvested and de-stemmed before fermentation with indigenous yeasts in concrete vats. After about 15 days, the wine was lightly pressed and aged for eight months in concrete vats to preserve its freshness and purity of fruit.

Vinification:

All the grapes were hand harvested. In 2018, whole bunches were placed in stainless steel vats and underwent semi-carbonic maceration for one day. Following this, the grapes were pressed in a traditional wooden, vertical press. Frédéric follows a policy of minimal intervention in his winemaking and uses only natural yeasts. Fermentation took place in concrete tanks, where the wine aged for six months prior to bottling.

Producer: 

Matthieu Barret of Domaine du Coulet also works with trusted growers who share similar viticultural and winemaking principles to produce a range of négociant wines from the Northern and Southern Rhône. The concept is light-hearted, as shown by the joyful bear on the label (“a self-portrait”, jokes the short and stocky Barret), with wines intended to be more approachable in their youth.

100% Pinot Noir. Bright ruby red in colour with pronounced aromas of wild strawberry and raspberry with hints of black pepper. On the palate, flavours of juicy red fruits and sweet spice are well-balanced with bright, lifted acidity and round, silky tannins. An excellent value Red Burgundy.

Vineyard: 

The fruit for this wine comes from old vines, mostly from the Côte de Nuits, which ensures that the quality of the blend is far higher than that of a standard Bourgogne. The vineyard management here is stringent and uses specific techniques to control yields, guaranteeing good concentration of flavours in the grapes. These techniques include debudding, cluster thinning, little or no use of fertiliser and environmentally-friendly vine protection.

Vinification:

The grapes were hand harvested and collected into small 20kg crates. Sorting took place in the vineyards and then again at the winery. Grapes were 100% destemmed but not crushed, then gravity-fed into vats. Maceration lasted a total of 24 days including one week cold maceration at 12°C to develop aroma and good colour. Fermentation took place with indigenous yeasts with infrequent punching down of the cap. The wine was aged on lees for eight months in lightly toasted French oak barrels (15% new) before being lightly filtered and bottled.

Producer: 

Jean-Claude Boisset was radically transformed with the arrival in 2002 of viniculteur Grégory Patriat, one of the best viticulturalists/winemakers of his generation in Burgundy. Grégory had spent the previous three years working in the vineyards at Domaine Leroy and still spends a great deal of his time in the vineyards, paying his growers by the hectare in order to ensure low yields. He also prefers to work with organic growers, as he finds they produce better fruit. Unlike other Burgundian négociants, Grégory specialises in making wines from 'lieu-dits' or tiny plots of vines, something which accounts for the limited production of most of his wines.