2022 Domaine Bonnet-Cotton Fleurie "Poncié", Beaujolais, France
ABOUT THIS WINE
Certified Organic. 100% Gamay. Fruit for Cotton's Fleurie Poncié comes from a beautiful old Gamay vineyard facing south towards the village of Fleurie. The grapes are vinified exactly the same as Cotton’s other wines, which showcases the difference between his native terroir of Brouilly and the softer (dare we say refined?) wines from Fleurie. All of the red wines at Cotton are vinified with native yeasts and without SO2 in concrete tanks, then age underground in century-old foudres that were originally built for holding beer, then were repurposed in the 1950s and 1960s.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
Pierre Cotton is just getting started with his domaine, but already the potential is clearly tremendous. The Sanvers family have been farming and producing wine at the same chai in Odenas since 1856. Legend has it that the large chai with its cavernous cellars was built in the 18th century to make the wines for the nearby Chateau de Pierreux, and over the years it has housed a rotating group of producers. Today, Pierre and his parents are the sole producers to make wine here.
After working for a short stint as a motorcycle mechanic, Pierre spent two years in the Loire Valley before returning to the domaine. In 2014, he reclaimed 1 hectare of Côte de Brouilly for his first cuvée - 100% Cotton. In 2015, he reclaimed another 2 hectares of Brouilly from the family holdings, and in 2016, he purchased 1 hectare of Regnié, and 1 hectare of Beaujolais. Starting in 2017, he will harvest 0.3 HA of Beaujolais Blanc on a unique vein of limestone near the domaine, with the possibility to plant more Blanc in the future.
Inspired by tasting wines with compatriot friends Yann Bertrand, Jules Metras, and Keke Descombes, Pierre’s wines are all farmed organically and made without any sulfur. Vinification is semi-carbonic in large cement tanks, and then the wines are aged for 8-9 months in old foudres that range in size from 14 to 42 hectoliters.
65 years old-vines. Organic, vinified without sulfur and unfiltered. Cotton’s parcel is on a unique terroir of “corne verte” that Pierre says is found nowhere else in the Beaujolais. Corne Verte is a blend of pink granite and diorite. Elevage for 8 months in used foudres. Annual production of 2,700 bottles.