Pierre-Marie Chermette, Beaujolais Coeur de Vendanges 2022

A masterful 5th generation grower, Pierre has maintained the strict traditions of his ancestors and of the region, with more tenacity than most. Despite fashions changing, Pierre has, for his entire life, adhered only to the classic methods handed down from his family. This means farming in as sustainable a manner as possible, only using indigenous yeasts for every wine, long fermentations and making whole-cluster (semi-carbonic) wines in the old foudres built by his great-grandfather. Pierre Chermette's yields are so low and the grapes so naturally ripe that he does not chaptalise. The wines are bottled with little or no filtration and the addition of no sulfur or very little depending on the cuvée.

Given the life Pierre imbues upon the wines, they are as stable as Premier Cru Burgundy and age for nearly as long in many cases. Pierre's son, Jean-Etienne, has now joined him and succession is in well-trained hands.