¾ of the Gang of 4

Côte du Py occupies a place amongst the greatest vineyards, not just within Morgon but all of Beaujolais, and is known for its powerful and intense expressions of Gamay. Foillard has vines up to 90 years old that form part of the wine, and it sees time on small format old oak barrels for at least 6 months. The vines are worked organically, with no sulphur added during vinification. Here, Foillard shows that Beaujolais can be truly wines of depth and complexity.

Marcel Lapierre follows a path very similar to that of Foillard, practicing élevage (the progression of wine between fermentation and bottling) in older barrels and bottling unfiltered. The domaine is certified organic and is blessed with a suite of old vines. For Lapierre’s standard Morgon, the average vine age is 60 years old while some of his parcels are now over 100 years old. Marcel passed away in 2010 but his legacy is continued on by his children Mathieu and Camille, both of whom are doing justice to what their father built over the years. The Lapierre style of supple and approachable wines continues on.

Known as “Paul-Po” amongst friends, Jean-Paul Thevenet was the more reserved of the fun-loving Gang of Four. With a tiny production of around 2,000 cases per year, he barely had wine to sell, which allowed him to focus purely on his work in the vineyard and cellars. Together with his son Charly, he further adopted organic and biodynamic practices for their vines. Their Vieilles Vignes (French for “old vines”) comes from two parcels, with one having been planted before World War I. Following a similar approach to that of Foillard and Lapierre, the wines are aged in-barrel and bottled without fining or filtration. Thevenet’s wines are known for their expressive nature of minerality drawn from Morgon’s granitic soils.