It’s starting to feel like Fall again -- football is back, there’s a chill in the air, and pumpkins are popping up at the market. Chez nous, the change in seasons means a change in our wine habits -- a shift towards bottles that are richer, redder, and more robust. But most importantly, autumn means Beaujolais.
We work with many winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet might be the least visible. He has no roadside, no website, no employees, and no other American importer. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.
Chiroubles may occupy the lightweight end of the Cru Beaujolais spectrum, but in a vintage as warm as 2019, that means it offers elusive balance. There’s nothing lightweight about today’s cuvée, which combines bright floral precision with inky, juicy gamay density.
It’s starting to feel like Fall again -- football is back, there’s a chill in the air, and pumpkins are popping up at the market. Chez nous, the change in seasons means a change in our wine habits -- a shift towards bottles that are richer, redder, and more robust. But most importantly, autumn means Beaujolais.
We work with many winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet might be the least visible. He has no roadside, no website, and no other American importer. We’ve gotten lost trying to find his domaine two years in a row. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.
The Gamay grape has had a turbulent history in Burgundy. In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold concluded Gamay was “evil and disloyal,” and banished it from the northern half of Burgundy. For the past six centuries it has found refuge in Beaujolais, where it produces mostly simple reds -- fruit-forward and inexpensive.
The 2018 vintage in the Beaujolais was another warm one, producing cuvées of remarkable inky intensity. On Beaujolais 2018s, William Kelley (WA) writes: “pleasure-bent, round and expressive, these are wines that will give a great deal of immediate pleasure.”
Even among a portfolio of low-profile winemakers, Jean-Marc Monnet is under the radar. We visit him every year, and we still have trouble remembering all the turns to find his domaine. He has no website, his house is unmarked, and there’s one tiny road sign.
With Thanksgiving next week and December holidays only a few weeks after, entertaining season is upon us. Whether host or guest, it’s always handy to have an inexpensive, crowd-pleasing red around. Today we suggest the a 2016 Juliénas from Jean-Marc Monnet.
Beaujolais might be the perfect wine for the fall. Crisp air and turning leaves are an excellent match for a the cool fruit and punchy mouthfeel of first-rate Beaujolais. The region is still best known for the Beaujolais Nouveau, a quaint local custom turned global marketing phenomenon. But there’s far more to Beaujolais than cheap candied red wine.
The Gamay grape has had a turbulent history. In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold concluded Gamay was “evil and disloyal,” and banished it from the northern half of Burgundy. For the past six centuries it has found refuge in Beaujolais, where it produces mostly simple reds -- fruit-forward and inexpensive.
We work with many winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet might be the least visible. He has no roadside, no website, and no other American importer. We’ve gotten lost trying to find his domaine two years in a row. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.
We work with a lot of winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet’s might be the lowest. He has no roadside, no website, and no other American importer. We’ve gotten lost trying to find his domaine two years in a row. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.
Jean-Marc Monnet is one of those winemakers an importer dreams about finding: no website, no press reviews, no American importer, not even a road sign. Located in Juliénas in the Beaujolais, Monnet’s wines are pure gamay -- clean, juicy, and bursting. They’re vibrant expressions of the lush rolling hills from which they come.
The Gamay grape has had a turbulent history. In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold concluded Gamay was “evil and disloyal,” and banished it from the northern half of Burgundy. For the past six centuries it has found refuge in Beaujolais, where it produces mostly simple reds -- fruit-forward and inexpensive.