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Domaine de Vernus 2019 Régnié, Beaujolais, France
- Winemaker: Guillaume Rouget
- Varieties: Gamay
- Farming: Organic
- Terroir: 40yr old vines in granite soil
- Vinification: 90 De-stemmed, whole cluster 10%. Wild yeast natural fermentation over three weeks.
- Aging: Ten months in oak barrels
- Notes: A silky, impactful Gamay with aromas of sandalwood, black cherry and baked raspberry.
Domaine de Vernus Régnié, Beaujolais, France 2019
This is an exciting wine. First, I will start off by saying that unlike many Beaujolais, this 2019 is a BABY and it would serve you well to lay her down for 5-10 years as its nervous tension tells me this will be a long-lived Gamay. Crafted by Guillaume Rouget, son of the Côte de Nuits’ Emanuel Rouget and great-nephew of Burgundy’s legendary Henri Jayer, this is a Beaujolais with Burgundian sensibilities.
Guillaume grew up in the vineyards, and in 2011, upon completion of studies in enology and viticulture, Guillaume joined his family’s estate. Now, a decade later, he is also making wine for Dijon-born Frédéric Jammeton, a wine lover who retired from a career in insurance brokerage to invest in a winery some 160km south in the village of Régnié. Domaine de Vernus’s main house dates to 1872, but the vineyards and land lay fallow for decades. Plot by plot, Frédéric has leased vineyards from established wine growers in the region and hired Guillaume to oversee all winemaking. He’s spared no expenses in the construction of the wine cellars, bringing in new stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels, modernizing the winemaking process in the meantime so Guillaume’s transition from Pinot Noir to Gamay production is perfect.
The village of Régnié sits in northern Beaujolais on an outcropping of granite, bringing an intense fruitiness for an elegant yet vibrant, easy-drinking style. The hand-harvested wines are about 90% destemmed, meaning only 10% of the fruit picks up the stronger stem tannin, proving a silky and more “Burgundian” style in the bottle. Everything ferments naturally with wild yeast, primarily in stainless steel tank, then moved to French oak for 10 months.
Spicy morello cherries, candied strawberries, and violets leap from the wine, and bright acidity and moderate tannins create a sensual mouthfeel. Give this wine a few years in bottle, but it’s not as sturdy in structure as its Morgon counterpart, so the wait will pay off quicker, say up to 3 more years in the cellar if you cant wait 10 years. OR decant the bottle and serve in big Burgundy goblets if you’re super impatient. Serve with duck à la orange, duck rillette, ratatouille, or Coq au Vin. This is a classic Cru Beaujolais that is light, but packs a punch. —Cara Patricia
