Guy Breton "Régnié" 2023

Deliciously light and enegertic, a must try for the Beaujolais lovers. Something about the chemical properties of carbonically fermented Gamay from ancient vines in granite soils, bottled unfiltered with barely any sulfur, causes the stuff to evaporate from the bottle at an accelerated rate. Savor it while you can, because your glass will be empty before you know it, leaving you only with the spicy, mineral-laden aftertaste of a bottle that went down way too easily.

Guy Breton is a legendary natural winemaker from Beaujolais, one of the founding fathers of the whole natural wine movement. Guy took over from his grandfather in 1986 and wanted to revitalize the reputation of Beajolais. He focused on using native yeasts, minimal intervention in the cellar, no herbicides or pesticides in the vineyard, and really letting the terroir speak for itself.

Breton took over his family domaine in 1986, which had until then been selling fruit to a large cooperative. He was instrumental in increasing the quality of Beaujolais overall and was included in Kermit Lynch’s Gang of 4 producers, typically producing the lightest-bodied and most finesse-driven wines of the four.

The grapes were sourced from the hills between the Côte de Brouilly and the Côte du Py of Morgon, around the village of Régnié-Durette. Breton's grandfather handed down the two parcels that go into this wine: one with 100-year-old and the other with 35-year-old vines. The shallow soil of sand and decomposing stones gives the vines easy access to the bedrock, creating firm wines with more grip and acidity than in Morgon.