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2020 Beaujolais-Villages “Les Grandes Terres”
Quentin HarelIf you’re looking for a fun experiment that requires drinking plenty of Beaujolais, please consider the following: get a bottle of each of the three wines on this page, pop the corks, and enjoy a comparative tasting. I’ll bet you’ll want to dive into the crystal-clear purity of Lake Breton. I’ve got a hunch you’ll be seduced by the dark side of Foillard’s force. And I guarantee you’ll do a double take of Harel’s “Grandes Terres” (be sure to taste it last). Why? I’ll let you in on a little secret: the “Grandes Terres” parcel is an old field blend with Pinot Noir, a few old Swiss varieties, and some teinturier vines hidden amongst the Gamay. Not too many of course, but just enough to add another dimension, some complexity, and some stuffing to this turducken that makes it stand out and, most important of all, fun to drink!
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Gamay |
Appellation: | Beaujolais Villages |
Country: | France |
Region: | Beaujolais |
Producer: | Quentin Harel |
Winemaker: | Quentin Harel |
Vineyard: | 7 to 70 years, 40 years average; 3 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Aging: | Aged 12 months in 70 hL cement tank and 20 hl enamel tank |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Morgon “Charmes - Infusion”
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This classic, cool-weather vintage of Quentin Harel’s one hectare holding in Morgon spends three months macerating in concrete amphora. The result is a distinct softening of its crunchy, mineral-laced bramble.
2022 Beaujolais
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This Beaujolais offers the drinkability of the most effusive Morgons with the frankness of a chiseled Moulin-à-Vent.
2022 Brouilly “Reverdon”
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This bottling is classic Brouilly, balanced and old-school, and showcases the beauty of Gamay
2015 Côte-de-Brouilly
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Nicole's thick, chewy Côte de Brouilly is a delicious and satisfying wine aging at a glacial pace.
2021 Beaujolais Blanc “Terrain Rouge”
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Charly Thévenet and his father, Jean Paul, now bottle a range of five different wines in their cellars in Villié-Morgon
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For lovers of old-fashioned Beaujolais in all its elegant, high-toned, terroir-driven glory.
2021 Côte de Brouilly
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A relatively new addition to Guy Breton’s Beaujolais lineup, this exuberant Côte de Brouilly is flat-out delicious.
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
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This drinks like a Gamay infusion with lovely hints of potpourri, spice, and fresh grapes.
2022 Beaujolais Blanc “Clos de Rochebonne”
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Different from the whites of neighboring Mâcon, this blanc is firm but also a touch fleshy.
2022 Beaujolais-Villages “Cuvée Marylou”
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French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan says nostalgia is the longing for a past that never was. But, hand to god, this year's Cuvee Marylou tastes just like the raspberry thumbprint cookies my mother used to make for Christmas.
About The Producer
Quentin Harel
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.
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2022 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes”
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2021 Fleurie
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2022 Régnié “En Voiture Simone”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2021 Chiroubles “Cuvée Léa”
Guy Breton France | Beaujolais
2021 Régnié “Grain & Granit”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Morgon “La Roche Pilée”
Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet France | Beaujolais
2022 Beaujolais MAGNUM
Domaine Dupeuble France | Beaujolais
2020 Brouilly
Alex Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Morgon “Eponym”
Jean Foillard France | Beaujolais
2021 Beaujolais-Villages
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2022 Beaujolais-Villages “Cuvée Marylou”
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. 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.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171