2021 Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Les Griottes

WINEMAKER: Pierre-Marie & Martine Chermette
REGION: Beaujolais, FR
VARIETAL: Gamay
VITICULTURE: Certified Organic

As opposed to his age-worthy Crus from Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie, et al., Chermette’s aim here is to produce something light-bodied, bright and cherry-fruited with reach-for-another-glass charm. So exuberant you could be tasting out of barrel, the nose is flush with sappy red fruit, hemmed by perfumed floral notes. The palate tells the same, delicious story through a prism of vibrant cherry fruit, tangy acidity and a crunchy, scented finish. Va-va-voom.

The late Marcel Lapierre once said of Beaujolais, “Ça se bois sous la douche” (It’s a wine you can drink under the shower). While this captures the simple deliciousness of much Beaujolais, it doesn’t do justice to the wines being produced by the finest artisans like Pierre-Marie Chermette. Of the wines of this grower, we would be more likely to say, “Il est trop bon pour être bu sous la douche!” (It’s too damn good to be drunk in the shower!). Beaujolais can be the most joyful, compelling and life-affirming of wines. Yet in the hands of a master, it can also be a wonderfully refined, long-lived Burgundy. Domaine du Vissoux is a producer capable of fashioning such wines.