2021 Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie, Beaujolais, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

100% Gamay from a 2.7 hectare vineyard of a south-west facing named area called Les Garants in Fleurie on pink granitic soil rich in mica and quartz. Integrated vinegrowing, goblet pruning, manual harvest at full ripeness Traditional vinification of Beaujolais: half-carbonic maceration with two pumping per day, maceration from 10 to 12 days in concrete vats, no chaptalization, minimum of SO2.

This cuvée should reconcile anybody who’s ever been disappointed with Beaujolais. It shows that there are truly great terroirs within the Crus, like that of Les Garants which used, in fact, to be part of the Moulin à Vent AOC area. This is a really complete Fleurie, which combines finesse and elegance with concentration and depth. It is very enjoyable in the fruit of its youth but holds back a few surprises to unveil after a few years cellaring.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Present in the Beaujolais region since the 17th century, the Vissoux-Chermette family has been taking care of vineyards for generations. The family's love story with wine began in the 1870's, when Claude-Marie Vissoux built his own cellar in a small locality called "Le Vissoux", so he could store his wine production. His son, Pierre-Marie Vissoux, inherited the estate a few years later but he unfortunately died in combat in 1914. Left alone, his young widow had to take care of the entire business and make sure the lights stayed on. Faced with such a task, she was forced to put the estate on hold.

In 1947, Eugénie Vissoux, the daughter of Pierre-Marie, married Maurice Chermette. The newlyweds decided to resurrect Eugénie's family wine estate and planted a slew of new grapevines in the fallow fields. The wine they produced was sold to many wine sellers in the region and thus the Chermette name started to become a brand in itself. Maurice even won third place in a Beaujolais wine contest, in 1960.

Pierre-Marie Chermette, son of the Vissoux-Chermette couple, became the new manager of the family business in 1982. Although he was only 20 years old at the time, he had very specific things in mind. First of all, he wanted to sell his wine at the estate, cutting the middleman. Then, he did everything he could to get closer to nature, with a level of perfectionism that brought him to make highly-precise and impressive cuvées. 1986 was Pierre-Marie's coronation year, so to speak, as all the classiest bars and restaurants in Paris were now selling his wines.

Four years later, in 1990, Martine Chermette, Pierre-Marie's wife, quit her job at Boiron Laboratories and joined her winemaker of a husband full-time at the estate. With her love for everything natural, Martine was a very important influence on Pierre-Marie's work. That same year, the couple invested money in three new but quite old parcels of vineyard (Rochefolle, Plageret and Fagolet). Many other appellations would follow, such as Fleurie Poncié, Moulin à Vent Rochegrès, Fleurie les Garants, La Rochelle, Brouilly...

Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette make wine that can truly let the vineyard express itself. That's the reason why their winemaking process is very reasoned and as non interventionist as possible. In 2013, husband and wife laid the groundwork for the Terra Vitis certification (which they obtained in 2019) followed by the HVE certification (for "High Environmental Value"). Their son Jean-Étienne Chermette is now working with his parents, since 2017. His name even figures in the new estate's moniker, which has gone from "Domaine du Vissoux" to "Domaines Chermette".