LAURENCE & RÉMI DUFAITRE
Laurence and Rémi met as harvesters in Fleurie and fell in love. Together, they started their domain in 2003. They converted to organic farming from the start and sold their grapes to the négoce until they felt the vines were healthy enough to make the type of wines they prefer to drink. Their first commercial bottling was in 2010.
Every stage of wine production is with intention. There are no pumps because they bruise wines. The wines in the chai move by gravity every stage. There are no vibrating sorting tables in the chai because bad grapes are eliminated in the vineyards. All stages of wine move quietly and naturally. All these minute thoughtfulness may be common intellectually but rarely practised. It is too much work. It is not crowded along the extra mile. The proof is in their wines. They sing with clarity, liveliness and deliciousness.
BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES BLANC
100% Chardonnay from the vines grown on very sandy soil in the village of Saint-Etienne-des-Oullières. The vineyard is at the foothill of the cru Brouilly. It is rare to see Chardonnay Beaujolais-Villages. It is even rarer to see Chardonnay planted in sandy soil. Élevage is in both concrete vessel and barrels for about six month prior to bottling with no filtration. Production is tiny from 1 hectare surface.
BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES PREMICES
From the various parcels on the foothills of the cru of Brouilly, where the soil is a mixture of sand and volcanic granite. Vines are about 70 years, yielding tiny berries of concentration. Hand-picked grapes are sorted in the vineyard and gently placed in vats to ferment with ambient yeasts, like all of Laurence & Rémi Dufaitre's wines. Aged in concrete vats to bring out the fruit forwardness.
BROUILLY
Raised in neutral barrels for about six to eight months, depending on vintages. From the 70 year vines on a very steep slope. Drink this Brouilly while waiting for the Côte de Brouilly to settle down.
COTE DE BROUILLY
A little more masculine and complex than the Brouilly. From the 80 year vines on the cru of Côte de Brouilly. Côte de Brouilly is the crown or the top parcels surrounding Brouilly. Raised in neutral barrels for about six to eight months, depending on vintages. From the vines on a very steep slope.
BROUILLY BOLDNESS
Laurence & Rémi have a tiny surface on the cru of Brouilly that has peculiarly a little surface soil with granite underneath. This parcel is so steep that the tractor cannot access. So, a plough is attached to a cable to till the vineyard. The vines struggle to look for nutrients and moisture here. Harvest is always a week later than the rest of their parcels on Brouilly. So after many years of this observation, Laurence and Rémi decided to vinify this parcel separately for the first time in 2016. The vinification is the same as Brouilly but the results are distinctive.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Region: Beaujolais
Appellations: Beaujolais-Villages, Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Julienas
Size: 12 hectares
Viticulture: Organic, not certified
LABELS
Region: Beaujolais
Appellations: Beaujolais-Villages, Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Julienas
Size: 12 hectares
Viticulture: Organic, not certified
LABELS
(The labels are not current vintages and are shown for illustration purposes only)
