There are many fun simple styles of Beaujolais like the ‘Nou-veau’ style used for celebrating harvest or the Carbonic wines that are super fruity. In general, the wines from the southern part of Beaujolais are less prestigious, grown on simple low-ly-ing soils. The northern part of Beaujolais is famous for 10 Cru villages with granite soils as the general base for the best vine-yards. Saint Amour is Beaujolais’ most northerly appellation and is quite versatile when it comes to complexity. The biody-namic wines of Bachelards are some of the most complex and structured of the wines coming from the Saint Amour Cru.

Deep garnet with bright reflections, the nose is intense with black soil, pepper, Iris flowers, licorice, and berry fruits. On the palate the wine is firm like the wines of Moulin-à-Vent. The wine shows great freshness, minerality, and an expressive finish with delicate tannins. Optimum at 4-5 years and capable of aging up to 15 years.

VARIETAL NOTES

A sibling to Pinot Noir, this ancient grape was gaining pop-ularity in the 14th century because it was much easier to grow and produce than Pinot Noir. In 1395, the then Duke of Burgun-dy, Philip the Bold, banned the grape entirely and declared it be, “destroyed and reduced to nothing.” He disliked the taste very much and this one man nearly brought the grape to extinction. Luckily, the Beaujolais region at the time was largely ignored so the grape survived and found a final home here.

This is Gamay at its most complex and age-worthy vinified in a classic Burgundian style.

FOOD PAIRING

A fun wine for lighter dishes and white meats. The fruit char-acter plays well with Chinese foods and mild curries. Great with fresh cow’s milk cheeses.

Saint Amour

WinemakingWinemaker:

Alexandra de Vazeilles Juice is received by gravity and vi-nified in concrete vats with native yeast and 28 days on the skins fol-lowed by 12 months in equal parts stainless steel and 500-liter casks. All estate fruit and no carbonic maceration.

Variety100% Gamay

Personally selected, hand-harvested winesfrom the best family vineyards.

France > Beaujolais > Saint Amour

TerroirOrganic farming certified by Ecocert, biodynamic certified by Demeter, from the middle of the slope on south facing hills, man-ual harvesting of fruits at optimal maturity from 40-60 year old vines on unique pink granite soils with mica and shale. The vines go deeper here than in Fleurie.

Production 850 cases

The history of Château des Bachelards is important to un-derstanding the revolutionary wines being made by Alexandra today. In the year 1100 AD, the Cluny monks established an abbey here and planted vineyards calling it Les Bachelards (The Place of God). The Platet family, during the French revolution, acquired and operated the property from 1793-2007!

Some of the vineyards existing today are still the first vines planted in the area after phylloxera, planted in 1910. In 2007 the vineyards changed ownership and were certified organic and then certified biodynamic in 2015. Countess Alexandra de Vazeilles took over the property and made her first vintage in 2014.

In order to understand these phenomenal wines of Beaujolais we will have to change our perception of the region as a whole. The northern areas here in Fleurie and Saint Amour thrive on granitic soils. The Château des Bachelards vineyards lie at the beginning of the hill similarly to where the Grand Cru vineyards are situated in Burgundy on the hills, allowing for a harmoni-ous combination of pink granite, rock, and clay. The geological complexity is comparable to the great vineyards of Alsace and the Northern Rhône like Hermitage and Condrieu.

For many decades, the wines of Beaujolais were approached in a simple way with the intent of making fun, fruity wines. These wines do not present like your typical Beaujolais Gamay. In fact, you won’t find the name Beaujolais on the bottle, only the name of the Cru village.

In the spirit of the origin of Burgundy and the Cluny monks who established Bachelards, they are vinified in a traditional manner with no carbonic maceration and the wine is bottled in a Bordeaux style bottle, believing the shape of these bottles are better for longer aging in the cellar.

Old-vines mean very low yields with increased concentration and these Bachelard wines express the greatest potential from some of the best vineyards and take Gamay to an elevated level!

Personally selected, hand-harvested winesfrom the best family vineyards.

Estate owned by: Alexandra de VazeillesWinemaker: Alexandra de VazeillesYear Founded:2014Farming and Land: Farming and Land: 12 hectares (30 acres) of very old vines averaging between 40-100 years old. Planted on granitic soils in the Cru’s of Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, and Saint-Amour. The first certified biodynamic and organic winery in the area. Ecocert (2007) and Demeter (2015).

Production:Fleurie: 1,700 casesAmour: 850 cases

France > Beaujolais