It seems every week we taste killer Cru Beaujolais from a new rising star, but one has recently shone brighter than all the rest in our office: Yohan Lardy. Upon tasting his 2020 Fleurie “Le Vivier,” we were all ready to appoint him as the “next big thing” despite residing in a region bursting at the seams with worthy contenders. Juicy, thirst-quenching, and almost Chambolle-esque in its filigree, this is a bottle ready to assume its rightful place next to Beaujolais legends like Lapierre and Breton.

A wine like “Le Vivier,” I’d argue, is the raison d’etre of clean, conscious winemaking: spontaneously fermented, unfined, unfiltered, and dosed with a minuscule amount of sulfur at bottling. But it seems the rest of the world hasn’t quite caught on yet, which is why this biodynamically farmed, old-vine, single-vineyard cuvée from one of Beaujolais’ most illustrious crus costs this little. I have a strong hunch there will soon come a day when we have to dole out allocations of Lardy’s pristine juice, so go deep on it now!

Truth be told, Fleurie (Morgon gets an honorable mention) is probably my consistently favorite Cru. Here, all of my favorite aspects of Gamay—high-toned florality, vibrant complexity, and sinewy elegance—are cranked into overdrive. It’s no mystery that Fleurie is considered “the Queen of Beaujolais.” Pink granite soils, sheltering mountain ranges, and the moderating influence of southerly Mediterranean winds all prevent Fleurie from being wallopped by heat as the burlier Crus can often be. Beaujolais has been one of the most exciting, dynamic regions in the wine world for going on 20 years now, and Fleurie is where much of the change happens. Although once obscure, a whole host of producers here—from Sunier to Clos de la Roilette to Dutraive—can now be found in the cellars of the most elite restaurants in Paris and New York. It’s time to add Yohan Lardy to that list!

Yohan is the fifth generation of the Lardy family to grow grapes in Beaujolais, but the first to bottle it under his surname. He’s a young upstart in a region full of them, having only established his domaine in 2012 with the purchase of 100-year-old Gamay vines in Moulin-à-Vent. Now, he farms just over eight hectares spread across Moulin, Fleurie, and Chénas. He works as all the best producers in the Crus do: whole clusters are given semi-carbonic maceration then fermented without any sulfur additions, and aging takes place in neutral wood for a year. The results are beautifully clean yet naturally unbridled expressions of Gamay in its most chiseled and detailed form.

I would definitely serve Yohan’s 2020 Fleurie “Le Vivier” with a slight chill, around 55 degrees, out of Burgundy stems. It pours a vivid violet, and before you even lift the glass to your nose it’s leaping out at you. Think violets, potpourri, iris, pomegranate, sweet cherry, boysenberry, star anise, and cola. The palate is sappy and loaded with sweet red berry fruit, and medium-plus acidity carries the ripeness through to a long and mineral-laden finish. The tannins are present but sneaky, just providing a little frame to the fruit. Both complex and deeply refreshing, this bottle demands to be drunk with abandon. It’ll be absolutely delicious served with the Lyonnaise classic, poulet au vinaigre. Drink up!