2023 Domaine de Colette Beaujolais Villages 'Coteaux de Colette'

Another ridiculous value from Beaujolais! 100% organically-farmed Gamay, from steep pink granite vineyards with an average age of 45 years—but one of the plots, called Colette, is 80 years old. Hand harvested. The grapes undergo carbonic maceration followed by a gentle pressing. Aged in concrete vats and bottled unfined and unfiltered.

This has all the hallmarks of classic, balanced Beaujolais.  It opens with bright fruit aromas of strawberry, cherry, and raspberry along with rose petal and mineral spice. The fruit and floral flavors come through beautifully on the palete with a gravelly salinity and just a perfect amount of tannin. Pair this with pepperoni pizza (Ryan’s faovrite pairing), charcuterie and creamy cheese, poutry, mushrooms, just about anything really!  

Domaine de Colette is located in the small village of Lantignié, regarded as the top village in the cru of Régnié, and less than 1 kilometer from the border of Morgon. It is owned and run by the humble Jacky Gauthier (with his wife Evelyne), whose family has been making wine for several generations. It was his father René who officially created Domaine de Colette in 1953. Gauthier began studying enology in the late 1970’s at the tender age of 17, coming to work with his parents’ on their then 8 hectares of vineyards. Since taking over the estate in the 90’s, he has purchased additional vineyards in Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent, thus bringing his total holdings to 14 hectares of vines.  The soils at Colette are worked organically in an effort to promote healthy and vigorous root systems. Only vegetable-based fertilizers are used. They shallow-plow between the vines during plant dormancy to force the roots down into the subsoil (and thus hopefully take on more of the terroir characteristics of each cru). They limit vine treatments during the year and intervene only when completely necessary. A green harvest is performed to give more concentrated grapes.