Producer: Damien Coquelet

Where?

Damien Coquelet represents the new generation of organic and natural Beaujolais, continuing to follow in the footsteps of pioneers Jules Chauvet and Marcel Lapierre, and later his mentors Jean Foillard and Georges Descombes. The latter, who is none other than his father-in-law, introduced him to winery work at the age of ten, and Damien was only nineteen when he produced his first vintage in 2007. He began devoting himself to his own wines in 2009. In the meantime, he earned a vocational certificate in viticulture and oenology, worked for a time with Guy Julien in Beaumes-de-Venise, and then at Château des Jacques in Beaujolais.

To better understand natural Beaujolais, it is worth recalling the crucial importance of this wine-growing region in the history of natural wines in France. The traditional practice of carbonic maceration certainly plays a large part in this. It involves storing whole grapes, with their stems, in a vat where they macerate anaerobically. The intense fermentation that occurs in this airtight environment produces supple, fruity, delicious, and easy-to-drink wines. Thus, at the beginning of the harvest, "pieds de cuve" are created, which are used to inoculate the following vintages. When Jules Chauvet, a great pioneer of natural wines in France, studied carbonic maceration in depth (and in Beaujolais), he revealed, among other things, that it made it possible to avoid the addition of sulfur. Moreover, since its success requires impeccable grapes and therefore exclusively manual harvesting, organic viticulture is a natural choice. If the "natural" movement in France began in Beaujolais, it was no coincidence.

Terroir, plots, and grape varieties

Damien Coquelet's estate covers nine hectares in Morgon, on the granite-sandy soils (sand resulting from the erosion of granite) that define the great Beaujolais crus. Of this area, he owns two and a half hectares, the rest consisting of vines leased from the Pierre Savoye estate. In total, four hectares are located in the legendary Côte du Py climate, two hectares in Chiroubles, two hectares in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, and one hectare in the Beaujolais appellation. The cold, dry winters with north winds and the hot, generally dry summers are favorable to the health of the grapes (mainly Gamay, the Beaujolais grape variety par excellence). Damien also produces Chénas and white Beaujolais.

Growing Methods

All of Damien Coquelet's vines are in the process of being certified organic and "real organic" from the outset. Respectful work with nature was already the rule when the estate was founded: good blood can tell. The average age of the vines is seventy years old.

Vinification

In true Beaujolais style, the fermentation is carried out with whole grapes, using full carbonic maceration and indigenous yeasts. No sulfur is added, except for a minimal amount when absolutely necessary. Bottling is done fairly early to capture the freshness of the fruit rather than the structure provided by barrel aging. However, barrel aging is practiced for certain vintages. While Beaujolais Villages, Morgons, and Chiroubles are generally bottled in January following the harvest, the old-vine cuvées (Morgons and Chiroubles) are aged in barrels and bottled eighteen months after the harvest.

The Wines

Damien Coquelet's Beaujolais wines are unanimously acclaimed; it remains to be seen whether those who swear by his Morgons are the ones who prefer his Chiroubles are the ones who prefer them. Everyone agrees that they are lively, silky, absolutely fresh, easy to drink, with a crisp fruitiness and a magnificent sweetness, and easy to digest to boot. The nose also excites them: black or red cherry, violet, pepper, thyme, cedar, lavender… The terms “crisp” and “fruity” come up in the descriptions of Chiroubles while Morgon receives the qualifiers of clean, bright, obvious and of a beautiful length. If many still underestimate Gamay (quite wrongly) and are still wary of Beaujolais, especially Beaujolais Nouveau (nose of banana or Tagada strawberry, purplish color), reconciliation is the key with winemakers like Damien Coquelet, Jean Foillard, Philippe Jambon, Nicolas Chemarin or Benoît Camus (almost all at Culinaries). Nature is the true nature of Beaujolais.