Alex Foillard Cote de Brouilly Beaujolais, France 2020

VINTAGE : 2020

COUNTRY : France

REGION/APPELLATION : Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly

VARIETALS : Gamay

Alex Foillard epitomizes the new generation of talent coming of age in the Beaujolais. Growing up in the Foillard household, he had privileged access to the brightest minds of natural wine, but that did not prevent him from exhibiting some ambition of his own. In order to really spread his wings, he purchased his own vineyards, including a one-hectare plot of fifty-year-old vines in Brouilly, a cru novel to the Foillard cellars. You might detect a slight southern accent in this release—a generous dash of plump, sun-ripened fruit enveloping its granite core—along with the deluxe silkiness that characterizes all Foillard bottlings.

Just south of Morgon lies the Côte-de-Brouilly, a cru whose imposing slopes and strikingly rocky soil imbue Gamay grapes with power and drive that, in examples like this one, can be more reminiscent of Rhône wines than of your stereotypical dainty Beaujolais. Alex Foillard fashions a Côte-de-Brouilly that strikes a deeper register, saturating the senses with tooth-staining fruit, gritty earth, and just a touch of the good funk. A note of iron lends itself to hearty gulps alongside braised pork shoulder, spice-crusted brisket, or a rare ribeye. You’ll appreciate another take on Beaujolais.