2017 Jean Foillard Beaujolais-Villages

Jean Foillard and his wife Agnes became the proprietors of Jean’s family vineyard in 1980. The 35-acre domaine has parcels outside of Villié-Morgan in the prestigious Beaujolais appellations of Morgon and Fleurie. Jean was influenced early in his career by the traditionalist vigneron techniques championed by Jules Chauvet, the late, highly influential Beaujolais negociant who believed in natural winemaking. As Chauvet advocated, Foillard carefully tends his old vines, banning all herbicides and pesticides, harvesting late and taking a very minimalist approach in the cellar. The domaine wins compliments from reviewers. Wine Advocate has noted that the domaine’s wines “are wonderful, life-affirming expressions of Beaujolais…If you are still under the misguided belief that Beaujolais cannot make world class wine, then you have not tasted the wines from Jean Foillard.”

Beaujolais is the Côte d’Or’s big, boisterous neighbor to the south. At 34 miles in length and nine miles across, it is twice the size of Rhode Island. Though it is technically a part of Burgundy, Beaujolais’ wines are quite different from the northern Burgundies. A big reason is that 99% of the grapes grown in Beaujolais are Gamay, a relative of Pinot Noir but with a lighter skin, less tannin, and lower acidity. Gamay is easier to grow and ripens before Pinot Noir, and though it is often dismissed by wine connoisseurs, it can make outstanding wines. Beaujolais is also distinctive in that most winemakers there use a process called carbonic maceration, which means that grapes are not crushed but dumped into large vats where the weight of the grapes eventually crushes those at the bottom. Unbroken grapes begin fermenting inside their skins, helping give the wines of this region their intensely perfumed, fruity character. There are numerous appellations within Beaujolais, but the most prestigious are the ten Cru Beaujolais. Each of those ten Crus has its own village or vineyard appellation. Beaujolais’ reputation suffered in the late 20th century when French wine marketers created a demand for Beaujolais Nouveau, two-month old wine made from the recent harvest and released the third weekend in November. The wines are thin and meant to be drunk immediately, and though made from Gamay, they have little else in common with the more serious Beaujolais wines.