2024 Domaine Jean Foillard - Morgon Corcelette (750ml)

Jean Foillard took over his father's family domaine in 1980 alongside his wife, Agnès, inheriting vineyards on the Côte du Py, the celebrated granite and schist slope outside Villié-Morgon considered the pride of the entire Morgon appellation. Early in his career Jean fell in with the teachings of Jules Chauvet, the Beaujolais traditionalist and godfather of the natural wine movement, alongside three fellow vignerons, Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton, a group the importer Kermit Lynch famously dubbed the "Gang of Four." Together they championed a return to old-school practices: organic farming, late harvests, rigorous sorting, and winemaking without chaptalization or heavy sulfur use, a philosophy Foillard still applies across his roughly fourteen hectares today.

Corcelette comes from a single vineyard within Morgon, planted with Gamay vines around eighty years old on granite and schist soils, a site some consider the appellation's unofficial grand cru. The grapes are harvested late and sorted by hand, then undergo a traditional whole-cluster fermentation lasting two to three weeks with native yeasts and no destemming. The wine ages for six to nine months in used oak barrels and large foudres sourced from Burgundy, chosen specifically to minimize overt oak character, then bottled unfiltered.

The wine shows redcurrant, crushed strawberry, and floral notes over a mineral finish typical of Corcelette's terroir. The texture is silky and lacy, velvety and structured, with real depth despite its youthful approachability. It pairs well with charcuterie, roast chicken, or soft cheeses.