Gamay, Beaujolais, France

Beaujolais to some, may be about cheap & cheerful glou glou but wines from Morgon are a different situation entirely. These rich, aromatic and mineral-driven red wines are among the most powerful expressions of Gamay, immense and intellectual, emotional and poetic. Calling for a return to traditional viticulture and vinification—joined by the late and legendary Marcel Lapierre, Paul Thévenet & Guy Breton, known as the ‘Gang of Four’—Foillard focused on cultivating old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting at harvest, using minimal sulphites & completely eschewing chaptalization (adding sugar to grape must during fermentation to increase alcohol content) or filtration. Otherworldly, inscrutable red fruit from the Red Room, the earth shifting beneath your feet, wistful joie de vivre , a subtle but felt change in atmospheric pressure & a hint of Dutch black liquorice. This is your sign from the universe to nag your chef friend to roast a pheasant for you just for an excuse to pop this bad boy.