2015 Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon "Athanor”, Beaujolais, France
ABOUT THIS WINE
Named after an alchemical furnace, the one-off 2015 Morgon Athanor has the same origins as the domaine's cuvée 3.14, but it was so atypically ripe—attaining fully 15.4% alcohol—that the Foillard family thought it ought to bear a different name. Offering up a deep and brooding bouquet of cherries, wild plums, dark chocolate and fruit compote, it's full-bodied, rich and powerful, with an ample and muscular chassis of powdery tannin, a generous core of fruit and a long finish. While it's certainly no lightweight, it has turned out well despite its extreme style. It will be interesting to see how it evolves.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
Jean and Agnès Foillard took over his father’s domaine in 1980. The biggest part of their vineyards are planted on the Côte du Py, the famed slope outside the town of Villié-Morgon. . These granite and schist soils sit on an alluvial fan at the highest point above the town and impart great complexity. Jean and three other local vignerons, Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton know as The Gang of Four, called for a return to the old practices of viticulture and vinification: starting with old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and refusing both chaptalization and filtration.
We are raving fans of Jean Foillard for his commitment to organic practices and ability to bring the best out of the Gamay grape. Beaujolais fans, Foillard is not one to miss!