Here at SommSelect, we use rigid criteria for wine curation. Tasting delicious is a no-brainer, but price-to-quality, sustainability, and authenticity are just as important to our team. Finding such reliable consistency on a regional spectrum can be maddening at times, but it’s becoming the norm inside the world of Beaujolais. Over the past decade, few regions have succeeded in simultaneously capturing the attention of new drinkers and industry vets alike, though once you scratch the surface, it all makes sense.
Located in the southern reaches of Burgundy, this region has become a hotbed for young, eco-conscious producers with an eye trained on the natural wine movement. The bright, gulpable, and varietally correct Gamays of Domaine de Colette have long been at the top of my list. In fact, I’ve been working with their wines since the beginning of my career because when you find something with this level of typicity, consistency, and value, you cling to it for dear life! But today’s new cuvée, which pushes their vision to the extreme, has me more excited than ever: It’s from the buzzed-about, Morgon-adjacent village of Lantignié, and it’s naturally fermented and bottled without any addition of sulfur. In other words, if you’re looking for one of the cleanest and most vibrant expressions of Gamay, the Beaujolais buck stops here!
Owned by Jacky and Evelyne Gauthier, Domaine de Colette is based in the village of Latignié, located due west of Villié-Morgon and Régnié-Durette. If Beaujolais were to ever add an 11th cru—and there have been whispers—this would be it. Here, vineyards are cultivated at higher elevations than Fleurie and Morgon, located a bit more into the mountains. Lantignié wines are very similar to those from Régnié. They’re fresh, fruit-driven, and mind-blowingly perfumed. In total, the Gauthiers farm 14 hectares of vines with an “integrated vine-growing” mentality, where chemicals are forbidden and only organic treatments and occasional plowing are used. In the cellar, the wines are rather classic, with full carbonic maceration followed by six months of aging in cement vats prior to unfiltered bottling.
“Nature” is one of the newest additions to the Colette lineup and we’re in love with it. This cuvée is the brainchild of Jacky and Evelyne’s son, Pierre-Alexandre. After working at Domaine Thivin, Pierre-Alexandre returned home with a fresh mentality towards vinification. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Domaine Thivin, it is one of the benchmark estates for clean, high-quality natural winemaking in all of France. Inspired by his time there, Pierre-Alexandre crafted this cuvée all naturally and entirely without sulfur. (Note: Sulfur is a byproduct of fermentation and will therefore always exist in small quantities in wines, even those bottled with none added.)
One thing to note about sans soufre wines is that most winemakers will add a touch of CO2 in its place for the sake of preservation, so if you pop this and there’s a slight prickle on the center of the tongue, don’t worry. Simply decant the wines for 15-30 minutes and allow the effervescence to dissipate—though I must admit, there’s something undeniably refreshing about this dash of texture, especially when sipped with a chill on a warm day. Above all, this wine should be kept consistently cold, so keep your parcel cellared (or the darkest, coolest nook in your home) until you’re ready to pull the cork. In the glass, the wine shows a bright ruby red core with pink hues on the rim. On the nose, classic aromas of red cherry, wild strawberry, and wildflowers lead to a concentrated palate loaded with flavors of red fruits, wet granite, violets, and a touch of underbrush. The wine is vinified entirely in cement which really allows the fruit to shine through. To me, this is the ultimate roast chicken wine, especially when it comes to Zuni Café’s recipe, though you can’t go wrong with burgers, either. Don’t worry about storing this wine for too long. This is a bottle to be consumed young—and upon first sip, you’ll likely want to gulp down your stash pretty quickly. Cheers!
