Beaujolais: Winds of change

A new generation of dynamic winemakers has renewed and revitalised the Beaujolais region, writes Lucy Shaw.

Say the word “Beaujolais” and for many, bananas and bubblegum spring to mind. While the unequivocal success of the fruity, uncomplicated Beaujolais Nouveau in Japan has created an ever-expanding cash cow for the region, its popularity in Asia has been to the detriment of the myriad boutique winemakers beavering away in the 10 cru villages, keen to produce characterful wines with a sense of place. But a quiet revolution is taking place.

The much-lauded 2009 vintage had critics reaching for superlatives and consumers reaching for their corkscrews. Its success gave the region a much-needed boost, helping to further distance the quality wines of the crus from the mass-market, short-shelf-life Beaujolais Nouveau.

Looking to capitalise on the success of 2009 are a troop of dynamic young winemakers who are re-energising the region with their experimental, forward-thinking approach. During a recent buyers trip, seven out of the 10 winemakers I visited were under 35, with the youngest two just 25 and at the helm of their respective wineries.

Not only are they poster boys for the region; they’re an exciting sign of things to come. With their enthusiasm and fearlessness, this new wave of winemakers, spearheaded by the likes of Moulin à Vent-based, minimum interventionist Richard Rottiers and Julien Sunier, who practises biodynamics across his three one-hectare old-vine vineyards in Fleurie, Morgon and Régnié, have the potential to give Beaujolais the much-needed makeover it deserves, and send the region in a very exciting direction.

Move over The Douro Boys, The Beaujolais Boys have arrived. Read on for a profile of five young winemakers to watch.

The Purist

With his piercing blue eyes and bulging biceps, Charly Thévenet would look more at home on a catwalk than in a vineyard, but the 28 year old couldn’t be more serious about wine.

He keeps things simple, producing just one wine – a 100% Gamay from three hectares of 80-year-old vines in Régnié. The resulting Grain & Granite, which is aged for four years in old Burgundian barriques then bottled unfiltered, has already caught the eye of American wine author and importer Kermit Lynch, who has snapped it up for the US market.

The son of famous “Gang of Four” Morgon producer Jean-Paul Thévenet, Charly, who worked a harvest with Piedmont producer Luigi Pira before a stint with the late “pope of natural wine” Marcel Lapierre in Morgon, chose Régnié as his canvas because he believes the lesser-known, terroir-driven cru has tremendous potential, the pink granite soils producing aromatic wines with a mineral core that show a good balance between freshness, solid acidity and structure.

One of 80 growers in the cru, which is gaining a reputation for organic winemaking, Thévenet is passionate about biodynamics. During our meeting he rushes into his house and comes back clutching a bag of manure in one hand and silica crystals in the other. “It’s a labour of love,” he confesses. “Even if biodynamics is harder, I want to work as naturally as possible and be personally involved with every stage of the wine’s life.” Despite his commitment, he has no desire to shout about his biodynamic credentials on the label.

Releasing his first vintage in 2007, he currently produces just over 500 cases annually, but is keen to expand, and is in the process of planting more vines. Going against the grain, 75% of what he makes is exported, mainly to the US, but also to Japan, Germany, Spain and Holland. “My father makes wine in Morgon but I wanted to do something different and put Régnié on the map,” Thévenet tells me. “It’s an exciting time for Beaujolais. There’s a lot of unity between the younger generation and more of an open-door philosophy. We speak a lot, taste together a lot and share ideas with each other.”

The Alchemist

Fabien Chasselay is something of an alchemist. With three years as chief winemaker at his family property, Domaine Chasselay, under his belt, the 27 year old has begun to experiment with a variety of styles, making everything from a nutty white Beaujolais to an 8% abv sparkling Gamay and a 100% Pinot Noir, while his barrel-aged Morgon and Fleurie have been taken on by online organic wine pioneers Vintage Roots.

Having worked stints in Rutherglen, Australia, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the daring young winemaker’s latest trick is a sweet wine made from Cognac and partially fermented grape must named La Mistelle d’Améthyste after Bacchus’s girlfriend.

Sporting an eyebrow piercing and a black Lost T-shirt on our meeting, Chasselay flits from one wine to the other, explaining the reasoning behind his ever-growing range with unbridled enthusiasm: “I like to keep challenging myself,” he says. “A lot of my wines are purely experimental. When I get bored, I invent a new wine. Doing the same thing year in year out is dull, you have to push the boundaries and create new things.”

At the domaine, where he makes wine from organically certified grapes with his sister Claire, weedkillers have been replaced with infusions of lavender, horsetail, seaweed and nettle. Despite having a 15-strong range, production remains small at just 5,000 cases a year from 11 hectares across Morgon, Fleurie, Brouilly and Chénas. “There used to be a lot of prejudice about Beaujolais,” Chasselay admits, “but after the success of the 2009 vintage people are starting to take us more seriously.”

The Big Gun

Angelic-looking Cyril Picard manages his family estate Château de Cercy, in Denicé. Having been in the hands of the Picard family since 1908, the 35 year old is on a mission to prove that Gamay need not equal wimpy wines by producing gutsy, structured, barrel-aged, old-vine reds from his 33-hectare estate taking in Brouilly and Moulin à Vent, where the average vine age is 80-100 years old.

Picard, who started winemaking aged just 22, is also proving his mettle in the white wine arena with a pair of oak-aged Chardonnays. “It might sound strange, but I like it when customers ask me to do a specific style of wine,” Picard tells me during a tasting at his immaculate property. “I try to adapt my wines to what the market wants.”

While all the wines in his extensive range are unique, they have a signature style: big, bold and well structured, with bright black fruit and a savoury core.

Picard, who has worked stints in Germany, the Côte Rôtie, Condrieu and Saint-Joseph, admits making wines with big personality from Gamay can be tough: “It’s a thousand times more difficult to make great Gamay in Beaujolais than great Syrah in Saint-Joseph.” In this vein, he wants to limit production in order to focus on quality.

His top wine, the 14.75% Moulin à Vent “Premium” is produced in miniscule amounts – just 780 bottles last year, which are all numbered and signed. “I’m particularly proud of this wine – it has a chocolatey character and is rich in polyphenols,” Picard beams, pointing to a near-perfect score it recently received in a well-known French wine magazine. “I think it could rival the other big wines of France.”

The Maverick

Deciding to brake away from his father’s cooperative, Paul-Henri Thillardon makes wines in the Burgundian style from six hectares of old vines in Chénas.

The enterprising 25 year old negotiated a deal to rent both the vines and the corresponding winery – a renovated space dating back to the 18th century, from a local doctor, whom he part pays in wine.

Having studied winemaking in Hermitage, Thillardon is passionate about making wines of character, which he does through extended maceration. He is currently experimenting with soil types, including pink granite, schist, granitic and alluvium. On my visit, the nattily dressed vintner was busy planning a rock concert at the winery – he looks like he could be the lead singer.

Thillardon’s range comprises four wines, but he’s experimenting with many more, including an as yet unnamed barrel-fermented Viognier, which is showing great promise.

As with many of the new generation, Thillardon is dedicated to organics and has taken to using horses instead of tractors in the vineyard à la Pontet-Canet. He chose to make wine in Chénas as he believes it to be the cru with the brightest future: “Chénas has extraordinary terroir – the region has incredible potential,” he enthuses.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Thillardon is keen to have the word “Beaujolais” on his labels, rather than just the name of the cru. “I want to change Beaujolais’ image. I want to promote the region and show how diverse it can be. I’m proud of my heritage.”

The Outsider

Colin Farrell lookalike Julien Merle is a lone star shining on the periphery of the Beaujolais region. Taking the reins at his family property seven years ago aged 23, he produces small amounts of old-vine natural wine from eight hectares in Légny in the south of the region.

The charismatic 30 year old, dressed on my visit in a flat cap, scruffy jeans and a black jumper, is passionate about promoting the quality of southern Beaujolais: “There’s a lot of snobbery towards the south in the north. They think we’re not up to scratch,” he admits.
“We’ve been making wine in the south for a long time. I’m a fifth generation winemaker – but the first to have an earring,” he quips.

Merle makes five wines, and like Picard, wants to keep production down in order to focus on quality. His top wine, Cuvée Philibert, is made from old vines and aged for eight months in French oak barriques. The 2009 is full of rich red fruit and has a lovely perfumed quality with hints of violets.

All the wines in his range display bright fruit, freshness and uplifting acidity, proving that southern Beaujolais can compete with the crus in the quality stakes. Like many of the new generation, Merle is keen to champion natural winemaking – all of his wines are sulphite free and made with indigenous yeasts. “I want to share the taste of my land through my wines.”