Stéphane Aviron, Chénas 2020

Adopting Burgundian methods in the winery, Stéphane Aviron makes wines that are a far cry from the lighter easy-drinkers that Beaujolais had become best known for.

Stéphane is from Beaujolais stock, the son of a broker and grower in the appellation, who saw from close up that his home region had an image problem. Having studied at the Lycée Vinicole in Beaune (alongside Nicolas Potel, the Burgundian winemaker and négociant, more of which later) he returned to Beaujolais with a clear-eyed determination to make the best wines possible, focussing entirely on cru vineyards and old vines, farmed organically and biodynamically.

His wines are not made by the tannin-softening carbonic maceration method of many Beaujolais, and after time in oak, about a quarter of which is new, have the structure to age well. They are clearly expressive of their place and the quality of fruit that old vines can bring.

Low yields, sometimes almost down to 25 hl/ha, contribute to the concentration of the fruit and for some wines some 10 months in oak, several months longer than most Beaujolais winemakers employ, contributes to the ageability of the wine, contributing tannins as well as development.

More recently Stéphane has joined forces with Nicolas Potel to create a négociant business with the aim of finding plots of old vines throughout Beaujolais and wherever possible getting the winemakers at each site to apply their exacting standards to the making of the wine.