Gamay Wine

Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages — Beaujolais, Burgundy 2024

Louis Jadot is one of Burgundy's most celebrated négociants, and their Beaujolais Villages is the house's calling card for everyday drinking done right. Sourced from the granite-rich hillside vineyards of the Beaujolais Villages appellation — a step above basic Beaujolais — this 100% Gamay is vinified to highlight the grape's natural exuberance: bright acidity, low tannins, and an irresistible cascade of red and black fruit. Chill it for 20 minutes and it becomes one of the most versatile, crowd-pleasing bottles on the table.

The nose opens with ripe strawberry, raspberry, black plum, rosehip, and white blossoms — fresh, fragrant, and immediately inviting. On the palate, the wine is juicy and medium-bodied with firm red and black fruit, a lively acidity, and a clean, fruit-forward finish. It is the kind of wine that disappears fast — and for good reason.

Wine Enthusiast — "A good, hearty and muscular Beaujolais that would pair with grilled vegetables and meats. Nose of black plum, rosehip, strawberry and blossom. On the palate the wine is firm with red and black fruit predominating." (Vintage 2024). 

• Producer: Louis Jadot, Beaune, Burgundy, France
• Vintage: 2024
• Appellation: Beaujolais Villages AOC
• Region: Beaujolais, Burgundy, France
• Varietal: 100% Gamay
• Style: Juicy, fruit-forward, low-tannin red wine
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Strawberry, raspberry, black plum, rosehip, white blossoms, bright acidity, clean finish
• Best Paired With: Grilled salmon, roast chicken, grilled vegetables, charcuterie, soft cheeses

A benchmark Beaujolais Villages at an honest price — Louis Jadot's Villages bottling is the go-to for effortless, food-friendly French red wine any night of the week.

Marcel Lapierre Raisins Gaulois VdP de Gaul Organic 2025

Marcel Lapierre is one of the founding fathers of the natural wine movement in Beaujolais, and Raisins Gaulois is his most joyful, approachable expression. Sourced from 60-year-old Gamay vines on granitic soils, the 2025 is vinified without sulfur using semi-carbonic maceration — the result is a wine that is pure, vibrant, and made to be drunk with abandon. Think red cherries, clementine zest, and a whisper of earth, with silky tannins and a refreshing finish. Serve slightly chilled.

• Producer: Marcel Lapierre
• Grape: 100% Gamay
• Region: VdP de Gaul, Beaujolais, France
• Vintage: 2025
• Size: 750ml
• Farming: Certified Organic, No Added Sulfur
• Vinification: Semi-carbonic maceration, 4–6 days; 2 months in cuve before release
• Alcohol: 12.5%

Pairs beautifully with roasted cod, coq au vin, prawn dumplings with sweet chilli sauce, or your next backyard barbecue.

Domaine Jean Foillard Beaujolais Villages Organic 2024

Jean Foillard is at the pinnacle of Beaujolais winemakers. Serve chilled to 64°F — about 20 minutes in the fridge!

Jean Foillard is one of the Gang of Four — the legendary quartet of Beaujolais producers who, alongside Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet, helped define the natural wine movement in the 1980s. His Beaujolais Villages is sourced from Gamay parcels across Villié-Morgon, Lancié, Saint-Amour, and Saint-Étienne-la-Varenne, farmed organically and vinified with minimal intervention. The 2024 is everything you want from Foillard: sensuous red fruit, mouthwatering acidity, low alcohol, and a silky, dreamy finish that makes you reach for another glass.

• Producer: Domaine Jean Foillard
• Grape: Gamay
• Region: Beaujolais Villages, France
• Vintage: 2024
• Size: 750ml
• Farming: Certified Organic, Natural Winemaking

Pairs beautifully with charcuterie, roast chicken, grilled salmon, or a classic Lyonnaise bouchon spread. Serve slightly chilled.

Producer Notes

From the ever-creative and driven Julien Sunier comes Wild Soul — his ‘anytime red,’ as he fondly refers to it. Like most of Sunier’s fruit, Wild Soul is farmed organically and harvested at high altitude (400m) in the Beaujolais Villages appellation. The elevation results in exceptional freshness, aromatic vibrancy, a lithe presence on the palate, and endless pleasure. Pure, expressive Gamay at its best.

Food Pairings

• Charcuterie, pâté, or cured meats
• Roasted chicken or duck confit
• Mushroom dishes or earthy lentil stews
• Serve slightly chilled for maximum freshness

The Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée S Organic 2024 is a fantastic expression of Morgon, one of the Beaujolais Crusin France. The Morgon appellation is known for its rich, more structured wines compared to other Beaujolais wines, thanks to the granitic soils and the unique character of the Gamay grape.

The Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée S Organic 2024 is a 100% organic wine from a producer that is legendary for its natural winemaking approach. This cuvée offers a perfect balance of fruitiness, earthiness, and subtle complexity. You can expect red berry aromas (think raspberry and cherry) combined with hints of minerality and a touch of spicy complexity from the granite soils of Morgon. The wine is made using traditional, natural methods, meaning it’s fermented with indigenous yeasts and sees minimal intervention in the winery.

• Taste: On the palate, it's vibrant, with smooth tannins, fresh acidity, and a bit of garrigue or herbs in the background. It's an approachable yet deeply satisfying wine that showcases the purity and character of the Morgon terroir.

• Finish: The finish is long and fresh, with some subtle earthy notes, making it a great match with a variety of foods, from charcuterie to roasted meats.

The Cuvée S designation hints at a more selected and special vineyard parcel, likely offering a slightly more refined expression of Morgon. This wine is the epitome of the natural wine movement in Beaujolais, where you get a wine that speaks directly to the region's terroir.

Expert Review

Neal Martin writes:  The 2024 Morgon that I tasted from barrel came from the first and third pickings. There is plenty of vivacious white-tipped strawberry and Morello cherry on the nose. The palate is lively and very citrus-driven with red cherries, orange zest, noticeably "punchy" acidity and a chalky finish.  - Vinous 90-92

Memo Summary Notes

The 2024 Domaine de la Grand’Cour (Jean-Louis Dutraive) Brouilly "Vieilles Vignes" is a highly sought-after, low-intervention Cru Beaujolais. While the 2024 vintage is just beginning to reach the market (following the 2023 release), it continues the Dutraive family tradition of producing wines that are "natural" in spirit but precise and elegant in profile.

This specific cuvée is an outlier for Jean-Louis Dutraive, whose estate is primarily based in Fleurie. The fruit comes from a 1.6-hectare parcel of vines (some over 100 years old) in Charentay. Unlike the granite-heavy soils of Fleurie, this Brouilly site features limestone and clay, which lends the wine a more muscular, savory, and mineral-driven character.

Importer Notes

On more than one occasion, Jean-Louis Dutraive has been fondly referred by his peers as "the heart of Beaujolais". The Dutraive family home and the Domaine de la Grand'Cour are one in the same, and there is a constant flow of visiting vignerons from every generation for lunches, dinners, casse-croûte ("breaking of bread"), walks in the vines, and tastings in the cellar. Jean-Louis' door is always open, as are his bottles. He makes himself regularly available to young people in the region who are interested in farming naturally, and he is among the first to lend a hand, a tractor, or words of advice to colleagues. Of course, his influence is most felt by his three children with whom he collaborates on the Famille Dutraive label. Daughter Ophélie assumed the helm of Domaine de la Grand'Cour in recent years. While Jean-Louis's presence is always felt, even when he is away enjoying his retirement home in the Jura, Ophélie has a deep connection to her vines and a deft hand in the cellar.

Domaine de la Grand Cour dates back to 1969 when it was purchased by Jean Dutraive, making it one of the oldest in the village of Fleurie. Jean Dutraive was joined by his son and fifth generation vigneron Jean-Louis in 1977. By 1989, the reins were fully in Jean-Louis’s capable hands. The foundation of the property are the lieux-dits of Clos de la Grand Cour, Chapelle des Bois and Champagne which make up a total of 9 hectares of vines in Fleurie, surrounding the house and cellars. Additionally, the family has 1.6 hectares in the cru of Brouilly where the Dutraive family originates. The average age of the vines are around 40-50 years, with a good chunk over 70 years of age.

The family are regarded as trailblazers in natural viticulture, and they continue to serve as a shining example of farmers who work in tandem with nature. Harvest is done by hand and grapes are immediately placed in tank at low temperatures to begin carbonic maceration (without sulfur). The wines ferment naturally with indigenous yeast and are macerated on the skins for anywhere from 15-30 days depending on the vintage and the particular wine. The wines are then gravity fed to the cellar for a period of ageing of 6-15 months, depending on the cuvée. Elevage occurs mostly in used burgundy barrels, though the Fleurie Grand'Cour, Fleurie Chapelle des Bois and Brouilly are sometimes aged at least partially in old foudres or cement tanks depending on the vintage. S02 is rarely added during the élévage, only when necessary, though a small amount is added when the wines are racked and assembled for bottling. And in general, no fining and filtration is used unless absolutely required. In the words of Jean-Louis, he practices "low intervention, high surveillance" winemaking. 

The Dutraive lineup includes some of the most aromatically and texturally unique wines in all of Beaujolais. One whiff and the wines give an almost exotic floral and spicy aroma, followed by lush minerally Gamay fruit, sort of like a top Morey St. Denis 1er or Grand Cru nose combined with earthy, Volnay-like fruit. There is also a textural lushness and exuberance backed up by ample structure and acid. These are substantial Beaujolais, and ones that could certainly stand up to food. They also have the requisite material to develop and evolve over the medium term, i.e. 10-12 years of aging - easily! Jean-Louis and his Domaine de la Grand'Cour wines have more than earned their place in the top ranks of today's Beaujolais domaines. 

Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py Organic — Beaujolais 2024

Jean Foillard is one of the founding members of Beaujolais’s legendary Gang of Four — alongside Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton — the group of vignerons who, inspired by the teachings of Jules Chauvet, staged a quiet revolution against the industrial Beaujolais of the 1980s. Their manifesto: old vines, no synthetic herbicides or pesticides, late harvesting, rigorous sorting, minimal sulfur, no chaptalization, no filtration. The result is Morgon as it was always meant to be — structured, mineral, and age-worthy, with none of the bubblegum and banana aromas that plagued the region’s commercial wines. Jean and Agnès Foillard farm nearly 14 hectares, most of them on the Côte du Py — the famed granite and schist slope above Villié-Morgon that is the pride of the appellation. Vinous awarded the 2024 Côte du Py 92 points.

The nose is serious and mineral: earthy stone, plum, red and black fruit, and black tea leaves with crushed stone. On the palate, the wine is fresh and lively on entry, with a skip in its step — a Côte du Py with energy and precision, finishing with an assiduous sprinkle of white pepper and a long, harmonious close. Jean raises his wines in older Burgundy barrels, lending a velvety lushness that makes them irresistible young despite their considerable aging potential.

Vinous 92 — "A mélange of red and black fruit, black tea leaves and crushed stone. Fresh and lively on the entry, a Côte du Py with a skip in its step and an assiduous sprinkling of white pepper towards the harmonious finish." (Vintage 2024). 

• Producer: Domaine Jean Foillard, Villié-Morgon, Beaujolais, France
• Vintage: 2024
• Appellation: Morgon, Beaujolais
• Vineyard: Côte du Py — granite and schist soils
• Varietal: 100% Gamay
• Farming: Certified Organic, no synthetic inputs, minimal sulfur, unfiltered
• Size: 750ml
• Tasting Notes: Earthy stone, plum, red and black fruit, black tea, crushed stone, white pepper, velvety finish
• Cellar Potential: Drink now or cellar 5–10+ years
• Best Paired With: Roast chicken, duck confit, charcuterie, mushroom dishes, soft cheeses

A 92-point organic Morgon from one of Beaujolais’s most important estates — mineral, structured, and built to age.

Memo Summary Notes

• Complex bouquet of dark red and blue fruits (black cherry, black raspberry), floral notes (violets, potpourri), and earthy/mineral undertones.

• Palate: Full-bodied for a Beaujolais, with a seamless texture and a fleshy, concentrated core of fruit. Expect good acidity, subtle spice, and a tactile, mineral-driven finish. It has the structure to age for several years.

From over 50-year-old southwest-facing vines on sandy, granitic soils, La Croix des Rameaux is a rich and elegant Gamay made with close attention paid to managing extraction, so the wine maintains lift and energy.

Pair with

• Roast chicken or turkey (especially with herbs).

• Rich Dishes: Beef bourguignon, a savory mushroom risotto, or a hearty stew.

• Meats: Cured meats, lamb tongue, or any roast white meat.

• Casual: Gourmet pizza or dishes with red sauce.

Winemaker Description

Smoke, tar, and char on the nose along with stewed plums, blackberries, and figs. The palate is softer on the tongue than the nose might suggest. Berries and figs come through with a little black pepper and cinnamon. Woody tannins settle into the sides of the tongues and linger a little with a background of umami. Pair with game meats, bbq, honeyed hams, and dark chocolate.