Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvee Corcelette, Beaujolais, France 2021

Jean and Agnès Foillard took over his father’s domaine in 1980, and soon thereafter began to make Kermit Lynch customers very happy. Most of their vineyards are planted on the Côte du Py, the famed slope outside the town of Villié-Morgon and the pride of Morgon. Following the example of traditionalist Jules Chauvet, Jean and three other local vignerons Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton, soon hoisted the flag of Chauvet’s back-to-nature movement. Kermit dubbed this clan the Gang of Four, and the name has stuck ever since. The Gang called for a return to the old practices of viticulture and vinification. The end result is a rustic structure, spicy notes, and mineral-laden backbone.

Foillard’s Morgons represent brilliantly crafted expressions of Beaujolais’ grandest terroirs.Technical details cannot adequately communicate this wine’s raison d’être—instead, consider a typical evening chez Foillard: Guests gather. Corks pop. Charcuterie emerges. Stories are told. Laughter rings out. Old vintages turn up. More corks are pulled. More food. Moderation takes a back seat. More laughter. Cheese. Sleep. And that’s what this Morgon—beyond its sweet, earthy fruit and sensuous, velvety texture—is all about.