Gamay from the granite slopes of Côte de Brouilly, where Guy Breton trades the earthier power of his Morgon for silky tannins and dark fruit. Dark cherry and plum without the grip you'd expect from this cru. The texture is sensuous, the aromatics ethereal, the finish juicy and alive: this is what Beaujolais tastes like when a winemaker refuses to let structure become an obstacle to pleasure.
Winemaker Notes
Compared to Guy’s benchmark cuvée, the Morgon, this wine shows the dark fruit and firm structure typical of the Côte de Brouilly. And yet its silky tannins and sensuous texture are characteristic of Guy’s wines, differentiating it from the more earthy, tannic examples of this cru. The ethereal aromas and juicy freshness are textbook Breton and the result of many factors—an early harvest, cool fermentation, shorter maceration, neutral oak aging—but particularly of Guy’s fermentation technique.
About the Producer
Guy Breton is known by his friends as P’tit 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 o…
