Description
The wine
Côte de Brouilly is one of the ten Beaujolais crus — the volcanic granite soils of Mount Brouilly produce Gamay of real structure and mineral depth, closer in character to a serious Pinot Noir than the light, fresh Beaujolais most people expect.
The fruit comes from the vineyard of Le Conroy on the southwest slope of Mount Brouilly, where old bush vines are rooted in broken-down pink granite and diorite, eroded over eons from the slopes above, over a deep granite bedrock. The vineyard is organically treated and managed with a minimalist philosophy — the soil is uncultivated, with just a mowing in late summer and sheep in the winter months for weed control and fertilisation. Wildflowers unfurl in waves throughout the summer. A pollinator’s paradise.
For the vinification, Andrew and Emma took their cues from the writings of Jules Chauvet — a scientist and négociant-winemaker who in the 1960s pioneered a no-sulfites-added method of vinifying Beaujolais wines and is considered the father of the natural wine movement. What drew them was not romanticism but Chauvet’s evidence-based, scientific approach — his belief that sulfites inhibited the process of turning grapes into the perfumed and pure glass of wine that was his life’s work. Using his fermentation notes from the 1972 vintage as a touchstone, the hand-harvested grapes were chilled overnight to 12°C and placed into a concrete vat under CO2, left untouched for 21 days without pump overs or punch downs — what Chauvet called a fermentation aromatique. After 21 days the vat was emptied and pressed, with the must finishing fermentation in concrete vats before ten months with fine lees in old 300L barrels.
Winemaker’s note
”For this wine we took our cues from the writings of Jules Chauvet, a scientist and négociant-winemaker, who in the 1960s pioneered a no-sulfites-added method of vinifying Beaujolais wines, and is considered the father of the natural wine movement. What inspired us was his evidence-based, scientific approach to his method; it wasn't for romantic reasons that led him down this path, but a belief that sulfites inhibited the process of turning grapes into the perfumed and pure glass of wine that was his life's work.
— Andrew Nielsen, Le Grappin
Vineyard & vintage details
Appellation: Côte de Brouilly AOC
Lieu-dit: Le Conroy, Côte de Brouilly
Grape: 100% Gamay
Training: Old bush vines
Soils: Pink granite and diorite over deep granite bedrock
Farming: Organically treated · no plowing · mown late summer · sheep in winter months
Harvest: Hand-harvested · chilled overnight to 12°C
Vinification: Concrete vat under CO2 cover · 21 days fermentation aromatique · no pump overs or punch downs · pressed · fermentation finished in concrete vats
Élevage: 10 months with fine lees in old 300L barrels
Closure: DIAM
Fining / Filtration: Unfined · unfiltered · minimal effective SO2
Tasting notes
Dark cherry, violet, a hint of spice from the granite soils. Bright acidity, fine-grained tannins, long mineral finish. More structured than a village Beaujolais — this one rewards a slight chill and thirty minutes of air. The Le Conroy terroir gives it a mineral precision that sets it apart from the more exuberant Beaujolais styles. Drink now through 2028.
Service: 14–16°C. Charcuterie, roast chicken, duck, soft cheeses. Excellent slightly chilled.
2023 vintage note
2023 was a triumphant vintage in Beaujolais — elegant, expressive, and generous. For Côte de Brouilly with its volcanic granite soils, the vintage produced wines of real freshness alongside the depth the appellation is capable of. For a vineyard managed with as light a touch as Le Conroy, the vintage’s natural generosity translates directly into the glass.
About Du Grappin
Du Grappin is Andrew and Emma Nielsen’s more accessible range — wines from Beaujolais, the Mâconnais, and Vézelay made for the table, the by-the-glass list, and everyday drinking. The same organically farmed growers, the same obsessive attention in the cellar, at friendlier prices.
Andrew and Emma Nielsen founded Le Grappin in 2011. They source from the same organically farmed single parcels every year, work without additions, and bottle everything by hand. Named one of The 10 Best Unsung Burgundy Producers by Wine-Searcher.
