2024 Marcel Lapierre - Vin de France Raisins Gaulois (750ml)

Domaine Lapierre was founded in 1909 in Morgon, in the heart of Beaujolais, and it was Marcel Lapierre who transformed the estate's philosophy after meeting Jules Chauvet, the researcher often called the spiritual godfather of natural winemaking. Chauvet's influence pushed Marcel toward organic farming, late harvests, and fermentation without added sulfur or commercial yeast, ideas he championed alongside fellow growers Jean Foillard, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton, a group importer Kermit Lynch nicknamed the Gang of Four. Since Marcel's passing in 2010, his children Mathieu and Camille have carried the estate forward with the same uncompromising, low-intervention approach.

Raisins Gaulois, whose name translates loosely to "Gallic grapes," is made from young Gamay vines across the domaine's roughly eighteen hectares, mostly within the Morgon appellation. Because the fruit is sourced beyond the strict yield limits of the cru, the wine is bottled under the more flexible Vin de France designation rather than as Morgon. The grapes undergo a brief semi-carbonic maceration of just four to six days with no added sulfur or yeast, followed by roughly two months of aging in vat before bottling unfiltered under screw cap.

Pale crimson in the glass, the wine bursts with cranberry, raspberry, and fresh red fruit, carried by a light, energetic palate and a lingering mineral edge. Serve it lightly chilled with charcuterie, a burger, or a simple cheese platter.