Marcel Lapierre "Raisins Gaulois" Vin de France Rouge 2024

"It’s a wine... that you drink like a beer... when you don’t really want to drink a beer." That is how Marcel Lapierre is said to have pitched this young Beaujolais to Kermit Lynch.

Pale crimson in color and coursing with energy, the 2024 has an enticing perfume and each sip delivers mouthfuls of cranberry, raspberry and a minerality that lingers on the palate. A wine as inviting as this one opens itself to endless pairing possibilities, from midweek takeout burritos to a cheese platter at apéro hour to your next picnic. At my house, it provided the perfect conclusion to a long, sun-filled afternoon of gardening. No corkscrew necessary, just a light chill.

The name "Raisins Gaulois" roughly translates to “Gallic Grapes,” a nickname inspired by the ancestors once inhabiting the region, the Gauls, who used to store whole bunches of grapes in stone vats before fermentation. This technique later evolved into today’s carbonic maceration, a fruit-enhancing practice for which the region is famous. To vinify this ultra lightweight red, young vines were allowed to grow freely and reach yields beyond the strict limits for the appellation, which unburdens them from intensity and concentration.

Every decision the Lapierres make in the vineyard and the cellar is aimed at capturing Gamay at its most irresistibly drinkable. For this cuvée, start with fruit from vigorous young vines that produce beyond the strict limits of the Morgon appellation, and finish by aging the wine for just two months in cuve. This may seem like barely enough time for grapes to transform into wine, but that’s the point: to deliver the freshest Gamay possible. It’s almost as if the fanciful bon vivant who graces this label crushed that grape cluster directly into your mouth rather than his own.

There is something rebellious about the Beaujolais, about its wines that make you want to drink from your heart and not with your head. They’re wines that have the power to satisfy something deep within—the carnal instinct to imbibe, perhaps. And while there is no shortage of fabulous cru and village Beaujolais to choose from in the Kermit Lynch Beaujo-sphere, there is one that seems to embrace the uninhibited essence of the region like none other: Lapierre’s Vin de France “Raisins Gaulois.”

Pure Gamay bottled unfiltered with a convenient screw cap and iconic label to boot. You can take it anywhere: the beach, a grassy field, a movie theater? It’s a wine for the present to keep parched palates hydrated with something raw and refreshing. Cheers to that!