Before he returned to his Beaujolais birthplace and set up shop in Fleurie—right across the road from one of my all-time favorites, Clos de la Roilette—Grégoire was a well-known consultant for Jaboulet in the Rhône Valley and several top estates in Burgundy. When it came to the raw material for his Cru Beaujolais wines, he assembled a small but enviable collection of vineyard parcels, including acclaimed sites in Fleurie and some treasured old vines in Morgon’s “Corcelette,” perhaps the most iconic Beaujolais cru of them all (thanks to local legend Jean Foillard, among others). This coupling of producer and vineyard was truly meant to be: Hoppenot’s farming is Certified Organic and his methods in the cellar aim for maximum transparency, allowing a profound dose of granitic minerality to mingle with a rich dollop of wild-berry fruit. I’d heard the hype, now I’m a believer: My advice is to hoard as much of this as you can before everyone else catches on!  

Having worked for many years in more of a négociant (merchant) context, Hoppenot has opted for the more peaceful, less-itinerant life of the vigneron. Not far from his homestead/winery on a ridgetop in Fleurie are some of that village’s top vineyard sites, including “Poncié,” in which Hoppenot has a monopole (sole ownership) called “Clos de l’Amandier.” His parcel in Morgon’s “Corcelette,” meanwhile, comprises less than a hectare: It is a high-elevation site (400 meters), and quite steep, or as Hoppenot himself puts it, “…a real wall.” The schistous soils are littered with pieces of the granite “mother” rock, which also shows itself in larger outcroppings throughout the vineyard. Perhaps only the “Côte du Py” vineyard, also in Morgon, is a more famous site for serious, structured Cru Beaujolais.

One thing Hoppenot mentions when describing his wines is that he makes them “sans fard” (“without makeup”). I love that. Today’s wine was fermented on ambient yeasts in concrete vats, then aged about eight months in a combination of tanks and used pièces bourguignonnes (228-liter Burgundy barrels). In the glass, the 2018 is a bright, deep ruby-purple moving to magenta at the rim, with a wonderfully complex nose of black raspberry, red and black cherry, Damson plum, damp violets, dried herbs, black pepper, and crushed stones. It is deeply flavored and medium-plus in body, with a persistent mineral/floral finish and lots of focus—the juicy fruit is framed nicely by freshness and a pinch of fine-grained tannin. Right now, the wine is in a youthful, “primary” phase and will benefit from 30+ minutes in a decanter, after which it starts to really sing at 60 degrees in a Burgundy glass. Meanwhile, it is going to really hit its stride in 3-5 years’ time, so do yourself a favor and grab more than one bottle today. Among other things, this will be the most versatile red wine in your entertaining arsenal, pairing beautifully with everything from skirt steak or burgers to coq au vin and roast pork. I see this becoming a staple on my table with dishes like the attached. It’s got everything I need and nothing I don’t—Cru Beaujolais in a nutshell!