Beaujolais
As a young man, André Guillard wanted to become a vigneron, working the family domaine in the southern end of the Beaujolais, in the village of Pouilly-le-Monial. Since production was small, there were only enough resources for André’s father and brother to farm it. Accepting the situation as it stood, he became a baker, but his dream never died. At the ripe age of fifty, André was finally given his chance to be part of the domaine. His grandson, Cédric Vincent, was just a tot, but the two were quite close. Cédric’s parents were going through a divorce, but early memories of longing to join his grandfather in the vineyards brought the young Cédric solace. Today, after completing his advanced studies in enology, Cédric works side-by-side in the vineyards and the cellar with André, now in his late eighties. Cédric takes his role at the domaine seriously, while resuscitating ancestral tradition and his family’s legacy with great heart.
Guy Breton is known by his friends as Petit Max – though he is anything but petit, by the way. He took over the family domaine from his grandfather in 1986. Until that point, the family was selling their fruit to the large cooperative wineries which dominated the region and were gravitating towards a uniform style. The rise of imported yeast cultures to impart flavor and aroma, the use of high-tech carbonic maceration, and the widespread commercialization of Beaujolais Nouveau debased the region’s reputation, and Beaujolais came to be seen as one-dimensional, lacking any expression of the native terroir. Following the example of traditionalist Jules Chauvet, Guy and three other local vignerons, Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Jean Foillard, soon hoisted the flag of this back-to-nature movement. Kermit dubbed this clan the Gang of Four, and the name has stuck ever since. The Gang called for a return to the old practices of viticulture and vinification: starting with old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and refusing both chaptalization and filtration. The end result allows Morgon to express itself naturally, without make-up or plastic surgery: rustic, spicy, loaded with schist minerals and at the same time, refreshing and deep-down delicious.