Cru Beaujolais in Six Acts

This is a fine, perfumed Beaujolais from an excellent grower displaying hallmark freshness and supple texture. Poncié is one of the most prized vineyards in Fleurie. It is south facing and overlooks the village. Much of the slope is owned by various branches of the Bouchard family but the best example comes from Beauregard. The 2023 shows pretty florals, crunchy red fruit with chalky, fine tannins.

The Côte du Py vineyard in Morgon produces wines of controlled power and minerality. From the 2024 vintage, only growers with vines on the top of the hill - in the lieu dit of Côte du Py itself - can label their wines as such, whereas previously a much larger area was designated Côte du Py. Burgaud has 6 hectares of hilltop vines in the lieu-dit which which bring a brilliant freshness and enlivening acidity to the wine. The 2024 is tightly coiled and athletic, with a mineral core of crushed rocks. Predominantly red-fruited, but with darker brambly flavours too, and black-tea-leaf perfume, this is intense and long, and wears the inherent power of this famed site with elegance. This always has great ageing potential and especially so in this vintage.

From one of the top names in Beaujolais, father and son team Alain and Alexis Coudert, comes this classic, delicious Brouilly. Made with 100% whole bunches, the 2024 vintage of this 1-hectare vineyard is scented with dark fruit and mixed spice. Fresh and juicy on the palate with delicious ripe blackberry and bramble fruit, there is an edginess - and bite - to the tannins this vintage. In Alain's own words, 2024 has delivered wines which are 'très très Beaujolais' - that is to say the Beaujolais of a bygone era, when temperatures were cooler: energetic, nimble, crunchy wines with modest alcohol levels and inherent freshness - and it's a vintage we love.

A deep, complex Moulin-à-Vent from the celebrated Les Thorins vineyard, with dark brambly fruit in 2024, a moreish savouriness, and a long, structured finish. The 1.5 hectares of Les Thorins - based on highly decomposed granite with some clay - which Famille Guerin farm were bought by the family in the 1980s and we've been following this brilliant, and brilliant value wine for some time. Elisa, fourth generation and daughter of Philippe Guerin, is now at the helm, and she is one of the most exciting new young talents in the region.

Régnié is Beaujolais' most recently recognised cru but remains lesser known in the wider wine world. This beautifully perfumed example from Piron in the small-yielding 2024 vintage (only a few thousand bottles were made) leads with spicy aromas of fennel, white pepper, fresh herbs and a vivid raspberry-fruit profile, complemented by the zip and zest of pink grapefruit on the palate. Supple, charming and delicious.

Like Elisa Guerin's much-loved Moulin-à-Vent, her ethereal Chiroubles is unfined, unfiltered and bottled with only minimal SO₂. Incredibly floral with rose petals dancing over strawberry purée and wild rosemary, this has barely-there tannins and a gentle, seamless mouthfeel. There is an appetising savouriness on the palate and an underlying earthy spice. Fresh and invigorating, this comes from old vines situated at 400m altitude, on slopes comprising sands and granite – planted by her grandmother in the 1960s. Elisa, fourth generation and daughter of Philippe Guerin, is now at the helm of Famille Guerin and she's turning heads with her thoughtful approach to producing fine Beaujolais. Elisa places biodiversity and soil health at the heart of her work, working the vineyards by hand without pesticides and embracing a low-intervention philosophy in the cellar. As this wine is bottled with very minimal additions of sulphites, we recommend drinking it on the day that you open it, rather than over two or more days.