2016 Château Cambon Beaujolais

Region: Beaujolais < Burgundy <France
Grapes: Gamay Noir
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic/biodynamic farming; soil a mix of clay-granite and calcareous-sand; 80+ year-old vines that have never seen chemicals or inorganic fertilizers; whole cluster, carbonic fermentations in enamel tanks, each parcel separate from the other. Some pumping over to stimulate activity before the wine is moved to 200 year-old oak foudre to rest on lees; zero added SO2 or anything else.
Winemaker: Jean-Claude Chanudet

Château Cambon is the project of three friends and natural wine forefathers: the late, great Marcel Lapierre, Joseph Chamonard, and Jean-Claude Chanudet (with his wife Geneviève, daughter of Joseph Chamonard). They bought the 13-hectare parcel upon realizing that it was a great parcel of land, planted in 1914 with excellent clay/granite and calcareous sandy soils, but could be bought on the cheap because it lies just outside the grand cru status. Lapierre and Chamonard have both since passed, so now Jean-Claude and Geneviève are running the show, continuing the tradition of meticulous, zero-zero farming and winemaking, producing some of the most expressive, elegant and pure Gamay around. This is a super clean, traditional Beaujolais, soft and pretty with some cherry cola, violets, earth and velvet. The slightest chill – 20 minutes in the fridge – really makes the flavors pop.