Notify me
The Quintessential Summer Red
The Quintessential Summer Red
by Tom Wolf by Tom Wolf
2019 Beaujolais-Villages
2019 Beaujolais-Villages
Jean Foillard
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais | Beaujolais-Villages
Jean Foillard is, without a doubt, among the most talented vignerons in the Beaujolais. Since we began importing his wines in the early 1990s, Jean has toiled away in his two core crus, Morgon and Fleurie, perfecting the marriage of natural viticulture and winemaking to the region’s noblest terroirs. This combination yields wines that reach, year in and year out, the pinnacle of hedonistic, intoxicating, and soulful Beaujolais.
Jean has recently added another sublime expression of Gamay to his lineup—a Beaujolais-Villages. It’s a blend of carefully selected and organically farmed parcels from across the region that delivers the ultimate introduction to the area’s reds through Foillard’s quintessential house style. He takes the gorgeous hue, heady perfume, and silky texture of his structured Morgons and Fleuries and channels them through a lighter, more ethereal frame. Boasting bright and fresh flavors of black cherries, brambly fruit, and spice, this Beaujolais-Villages is astonishingly versatile, as dreamy alongside the French classics as it is with weeknight burritos or the spicy jambalaya I paired it with earlier this month.
Jean Foillard
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Beaujolais-Villages |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Jean Foillard |
Vineyard: | 20 to 55 years old, 7 ha |
Soil: | Granite |
Aging: | Aged 7 months in concrete tank |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
France | Beaujolais
An electric lightning bolt of Gamay from a steep, windy hillside.
2020 Morgon “Eponym”
France | Beaujolais
This cuvée shares the satin texture of all Foillard Morgons, and should age similarly well for those willing and able to wait.
2021 Brouilly
France | Beaujolais
A generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping a granite core.
2021 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Beaujolais
If Beaujolais were Burgundy, we might consider Morgon to be Vosne-Romanée, with its haunting perfume and silky texture, the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove.
2022 Vin de France Blanc “Perle de Gamay”
France | Beaujolais
Notes of stones, pear, and citrus... Enjoy as a refreshing, mineral apéritif or alongside your favorite fresh seafood.
2021 Morgon “Eponym”
France | Beaujolais
This cuvée shares the satin texture of all Foillard Morgons, and should age similarly well for those willing and able to wait.
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
France | Beaujolais
This drinks like a Gamay infusion with lovely hints of potpourri, spice, and fresh grapes.
2021 Fleurie
France | Beaujolais
Light and living, charged with herbs, cranberry, and strawberry.
2021 Beaujolais Blanc “Terrain Rouge”
France | Beaujolais
Charly Thévenet and his father, Jean Paul, now bottle a range of five different wines in their cellars in Villié-Morgon
2021 Côte de Brouilly HALF BOTTLE
France | Beaujolais
Cassis, blueberry, violets, plum, and blackberry. In other words, a whole lot of Beaujolais in one bottle!
About The Producer
Jean Foillard
About The Region
Beaujolais
After years of the region’s reputation being co-opted by mass-produced Beaujolais Nouveau and the prevalence of industrial farming, the fortunes of vignerons from the Beaujolais have been on the rise in the past couple of decades. Much of this change is due to Jules Chauvet, a prominent Beaujolais producer who Kermit worked with in the 1980s and arguably the father of the natural wine movement, who advocated not using herbicides or pesticides in vineyards, not chaptalizing, fermenting with ambient yeasts, and vinifying without SO2. Chief among Chauvet’s followers was Marcel Lapierre and his three friends, Jean Foillard, Guy Breton, and Jean-Paul Thévenet—a group of Morgon producers who Kermit dubbed “the Gang of Four.” The espousal of Chauvet’s methods led to a dramatic change in quality of wines from Beaujolais and with that an increased interest and appreciation for the AOC crus, Villages, and regular Beaujolais bottlings.
The crus of Beaujolais are interpreted through the Gamay grape and each illuminate the variety of great terroirs available in the region. Distinguishing itself from the clay and limestone of Burgundy, Beaujolais soils are predominantly decomposed granite, with pockets of blue volcanic rock. The primary vinification method is carbonic maceration, where grapes are not crushed, but instead whole clusters are placed in a tank, thus allowing fermentation to take place inside each grape berry.
Much like the easy-going and friendly nature of many Beaujolais vignerons, the wines too have a lively and easy-drinking spirit. They are versatile at table but make particularly good matches with the local pork sausages and charcuterie. Though often considered a wine that must be drunk young, many of the top crus offer great aging potential.
More from Beaujolais or France
2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon Tradition
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2021 Brouilly
Foillard, Alex France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Bernard Diochon France | Beaujolais
2022 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon Tradition
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2021 Juliénas “Beauvernay”
Domaine Chignard France | Beaujolais
2021 Brouilly
Foillard, Alex France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
Quentin Harel France | Beaujolais
2022 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes”
Bernard Diochon France | Beaujolais
2022 Côte de Brouilly “Cuvée Zaccharie”
Château Thivin France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.