DOMAINE JEAN FOILLARD, Morgon

Jean Foillard is a disciple of Jules Chauvet, guru figure to all natural winemakers, and one of the Beaujolais “gang of four”. He makes a small number of cuvées from the Côte de Puy, the unique volcanic terroir, a mix of schist and granite, that is the source of all of Morgon’s best wines. He worked conventionally until 1985, when he started to develop his use of organic/biodynamic vineyard techniques, and the kind of attention to detail that sets great winemakers apart. The wine is made using traditional techniques more common to Burgundy than Beaujolais, but taken even a step further, with minimum intervention at all levels – no fining or filtration, and little or no use at all of sulphur dioxide. It is extraordinary, and really doesn’t resemble Beaujolais in any way. A dark, red/black colour, it has a striking nose of kirsch, ripe cherries and raspberry coulis. On the palate it has a wonderful purity of sweet, alluringly complex fruit, both textured and rich, yet elegant and expressive, and a haunting complexity on the finish which leaves you wanting more when the bottle is empty.