Today’s wine is precisely the type that excites sommeliers the most: It’s made by a passionate, self-made upstart who changed careers to pursue a life of wine; is crafted in the purest and most natural way possible; and carries a prestigious vineyard designation without the inflated price to go with it.
Some readers may recognize the name, Frédéric Berne, from our offer of his 2014 Morgon “Corcelette” last year—his first commercial release, which we were exceedingly proud to help debut in the US. After more than a decade working for other people, Berne added his name to a growing roster of noteworthy newcomers in Beaujolais, and of the small collection of vineyards he’s assembled, his .64-hectare slice of “Corcelette” (a site made famous by the iconic Jean Foillard) is his crown jewel. As you might expect, results in the blockbuster 2015 vintage were nothing short of stellar: It is one of the most memorable cru Beaujolais wines I’ve tried in a while, and the importer’s decision to release it a little later than many other ’15s seems to have done it good: It is deeply concentrated but not as inky and overblown as many of the 2015s we’ve tasted. Its proportions are spot-on and it promises to keep getting better. For now anyway, this wine is still way underpriced given its quality; I don’t expect that to last, so do as I’m doing and stock up now!
Born on a farm in Beaujolais, Berne initially sought a profession outside of agriculture—working very briefly for IBM—but realized his heart and soul were grounded in the earth. From that point on, he worked with Robert Perroud in Brouilly to expand his grape-growing and winemaking skills, as well as with Bret Brothers in Mâcon to understand the principles of natural winemaking and biodynamics. When Berne was ready to take this knowledge and craft his own wines, family friends at Château des Vergers—a 17th century mansion with cellars dating to 1604—extended a helping hand. Located in the tiny hamlet of Lantignié, this ancient cellar is where Berne crafts his wines: Working with the castle’s old screw press, in cellars imbued with indigenous yeasts, Frédéric ferments his wines “semi” carbonically—meaning that he uses whole grape clusters but doesn’t seal up the fermentation vats (traditional ‘carbonic maceration’ in Beaujolais involves fermenting the wine in closed tanks under a blanket of CO2, which creates a plumper, more fruit-juicy style).
On a recent trip to Beaujolais, I toured the vineyards of Morgon and Fleurie and visited the Corcelette site. Parcels like this are in a league of their own and this is one of the most famous lieu-dit (named) sites in all of Beaujolais. Situated at 400 meters’ elevation with a soil composition of mixed granite and sandstone (as opposed to granite and schist, which is found at lower elevations), this terroir creates a highly aromatic wine with a great balance of elegance and power. A warm growing season in 2015 yielded perfectly ripe grapes and wines of serious concentration and structure. For my palate, I’ve found many 2015s to be a little much, but that is not the case here Berne’s 2015 Corcelette was aged in used barrels (4-8 years old) for about 13 months, and was bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with the absolute minimum addition of sulfur.
In the glass, the 2015 Morgon Corcelette has an opaque dark purple core with magenta highlights on the rim. The nose bursts with lots of wild fruit, full of slightly dried black cherry, blackberry, cranberry, and pomegranate. Fragrant wildflower aromas with hints of grape stem, damp mushroom, underbrush, forest floor, wild lavender, and wild herbs also abound—the list goes on and on! Every time you put your nose in the glass, new layers unfold. Full-bodied with intense structure, the 2015 Corcelette nevertheless has plenty of lift and freshness, with very focused tannins and notes of purple fruit, wild berries, and wild herbs. This is cru Beaujolais structured like great red Burgundy (which, of course, it is) and should not be passed up. Be sure to decant it 45 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems just above cellar temperature, ideally 60-65 degrees. If you don't have a cellar, put the wine in the fridge for 30 minutes before decanting, as temperature is incredibly important for this wine's aromatics to really blossom. While this wine is too big for chicken, it could pair with the likes of rib eye and roast lamb, but the most ideal pairing would be a Shanghai-Style Braised Pork Belly. Check out the attached recipe and be sure not to miss this wine!
