2023 Vissoux (Pierre-Marie Chermette) - Fleurie Poncie (750ml)

The Chermette family has grown grapes in southern Beaujolais since the seventeenth century, with the estate's identity crystallizing in the 1870s when Claude-Marie Vissoux built the original cellar at the hamlet of Le Vissoux. Pierre-Marie Chermette took over the family domaine in 1982 at just twenty years old, later joined full-time by his wife, Martine, in 1990, and the couple built a reputation as fifth-generation traditionalists who refuse to chaptalize, ferment only with native yeasts, and still use whole-cluster semi-carbonic vinification in old foudres built by Pierre-Marie's great-grandfather. Their son, Jean-Étienne, joined in 2017 and formally took the reins in February 2023, continuing the family's minimal-intervention philosophy under the newer Domaines Chermette name.

This bottling comes from the Poncié lieu-dit in Fleurie, planted with vines around forty years old on pink granitic soil rich in mica and quartz, facing southwest. The vineyard is farmed sustainably under HVE3 certification, hand-harvested, and pruned in the traditional gobelet style. In the cellar, the grapes undergo a half-carbonic maceration lasting ten to twelve days in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts, a method that favors silky tannins and floral lift over heavier extraction.

The 2023 shows red currant, bruised black cherry, and pomegranate aromas, layered with red spice and a touch of stone, backed by a chalky tannic texture and vivid acidity. Pair it with roast chicken, pork tenderloin, or a fresh goat cheese.