The darkest, most brooding and structured of Elisa's cuvées, this is the only one that sees any time in barrel. The grapes come from a single 1.5 hectare plot of 60 year-old vines in Moulin-à-Vent, planted over a very specific soil type known locally as 'gorrha' - a dusty, iron-rich mix of decomposed granite, quartz sands and clay. Beginning with a 15-day whole-bunch carbonic maceration in concrete before a 12-month élevage, 70% of the wine remaining in concrete tanks and 30% transferred to old oak barrels.
Wearing the heat of a hot 2022 well, its more prominent structure is immediately apparent, suggesting that this wine will develop nicely over the coming years - particularly in this large-format bottle. True to the cru, there is an elegant muscularity on display, with dark red fruits and spice intermingling over a rusty mineral streak. Comparisons to Burgundy are well-founded.
Unlike many of the better-known dynasties of natural winemakers in Beaujolais, Elisa Guerin is not being passed the baton of established family tradition, she is forging a new path. The Guerins, based in Chénas, farm 4 hectares of vines across the Moulin-à-Vent and Chiroubles appellations that have been in the family since the early 1900s. Elisa, a trained agronomist, is the first generation to break out to pursue her vision of chemical-free viticulture over these sites and natural methods in the cellar. Very much at the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating journey, in 2019 Elisa began the long process of converting the land, with the long-term goal being to have the estate completely turned over to organics. With a strong focus on environmental impact, the plan extends to diversifying the landscape and encouraging biodiversity with the planting of hedgerows and fruit trees, and to experiment with new methods of fertilisation, using plant-based extracts and treatments. There will also be some white grapes popping up alongside all that Gamay, with plantings of Aligoté and Melon de Bourgogne. She has begun with a small production of Beaujolais-Villages, from 50 year-old vines in conversion - the first to be bottled under her own name - as well as a couple of other cuvées from a mixture of small parcels in Moulin-à-Vent, plus a wine from the higher elevation cru of Chiroubles. As the reins are, piece by piece, handed over from her father, Philippe, Elisa is also changing the way the wines are vinified; fermenting only with native yeasts, raising the wines in concrete rather than barrels and scrupulously minimising any additions, seeking to create expressions of Gamay that reflect this varied terroir of granite, limestone and schist. The wines themselves are a real labour of love and make for compelling representations of the region; a precise balance of elegance, concentration and purity of fruit, with an underlying mineral aspect. They are, above all, a real pleasure to drink and we’re so happy to be bringing them all to the UK for the first time. We can’t help but feel Elisa is destined for great things.
