Fleurie La Madone, Domaine Chamonard JC Chanudet 2019

Jean-Claude Chanudet, known as Le Chat, a close friends with Marcel Lapierre, and they explored the world together while working along the way. Le Chat now manages Domaine Joseph Chamonard after his father-in-law's passing in 1990. He was part of the early advocates for natural wine but now opposes its dogmatic aspects, considering it a new religion.

Le Chat and Geneviève own 5ha of Morgon vines and 0.5ha of 60yo Fleurie vines on La Madone slope. Their wines undergo carbonic maceration with stems, aging in a mix of foudres, fûts, and stainless steel, adjusted annually based on fruit quality. They emphasize finesse over extraction, creating long-lasting, pale wines with excellent texture and minerality.

La Madone, the most famous plot in Fleurie, and at 430m the highest of the appellation, offers a soil of pale pink decomposed granite, on a granite bedrock. Jean-Claude (along with Marcel Lapierre one of the forefathers of the movement towards better viticulture and lower use of sulphur) produces the most elegant expression possible from his wife Geneviève’s vines. It has a gentle colour, violet note on the nose, a wonderfully supple texture, and red and black fruits backed by a strong mineral character on the finish.

Producer Domaine Chamonard J-C Chanudet

Origin Villié Morgon, Beaujolais, France

Grapes Gamay

Vintage 2019

Alcohol  12.5% ABV

Style Medium to full body natural red

Bottle size 750ml

Winemaking Manual harvested, Whole bunch carbonic maceration in enamel tanks. Fermentation with indigenous yeast.   Aged for 11 months in 80% older fûts and 20% cuve.  Very light filtration, no fining, a tiny amount of sulphur added at bottling only.

Notes Organic, Natural