Grapes: Gamay
Region: Beaujolais, France
Vintage: 2023
Viticulture: Organic
Soils: Shallow soils on granitic bedrock at the top of plot and clay soil at the bottom
Vinification: The harvest is placed cold (7-8°C) in concrete vats. Carbonic maceration
Aging: 7 months in concrete vats
Fining or Filtering: None
Notes from the Importer: It’s never too late for a renaissance. Nearing the age of 60, Jean-Louis Dutraive has done just that. After prying him for what has happened over the last five years, there seems to be no other answer outside of pure inspiration and enlightenment. You get the feeling it was always there but has just emerged over the last years. This extremely humble and hard-working vigneron has unintentionally become (for me) an iconoclastic vigneron within Beaujolais. He has found his own unique style of winemaking and has pushed his wines to a place that knows no equal. He has abandoned conventional farming in favor of organic many years ago and has become at one with his vines and his wines. He has come to realize and practice that with near perfect work in the vineyard of a great terroir, one must observe more and react less.
The climate of Beaujolais is semi-continental and is warmer than the rest of Burgundy. In fact, it is one of the warmest places in France during the summer months. Thankfully, they are the eastern foothills of the Massif Central which helps the vineyards cool down at night following hot days.
