Jean Foillard Beaujolais Villages 2023
We have 10 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
The Beaujolais-Villages label usually signals the tier below the ten crus, but the line between them is drawn by administrators, not by geology. Jean Foillard's Beaujolais-Villages comes from high-elevation, granite-heavy sites just outside the crus, and recent releases have drawn on parcels in Villié-Morgon, Lancié, Saint-Amour, and Saint-Étienne-la-Varenne, spread from the northern edge of the region down toward Brouilly. Granite weathers into a coarse, acidic sand that drains quickly and keeps yields in check, and the higher sites stretch out the growing season so the fruit ripens slowly and holds its acidity. The result is Gamay from Beaujolais-Villages with the clarity and stony lift of a cru, priced for Tuesday night rather than the cellar.
The Wine
Jean Foillard Beaujolais-Villages 2023 is 100% Gamay, made with the same long, cool, whole-cluster carbonic maceration Foillard uses for his Morgons, then raised for seven months in concrete tank. That is a far more patient élevage than most regional Beaujolais gets: concrete keeps the fruit vivid with no wood character, and the time settles the texture. The 2023 season gave the region heat early, with the hottest June since 2003 and 2017 and early véraison, then a cool, wet spell in early August that let the vines recover before harvest began in early September. Yields came in about 20 percent above 2022. Look for rose petal, pomegranate, and red cherry, a silky middle framed by fine tannin and bright acidity, and a stony finish at 13 percent alcohol.
The People
This is the wine where Jean Foillard's career began. He started out making Beaujolais Nouveau, then decided the same Gamay deserved more time and more care, and the Beaujolais-Villages became the result. He and his wife, Agnès, took over his father's Villié-Morgon domaine in 1980 and moved it toward organic farming and Jules Chauvet's natural methods through that decade. The next generation is now in place. Their son Alex officially joined the domaine in 2016 after time working in Australia and a stage in Japan, and he has since built his own label on old vines in Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly, wines showing a firmer, more chiseled side of Gamay than his father's Morgons.
Food Pairing
Give it a 20-minute chill and put it on the table with almost anything. Thanksgiving turkey with cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce is the classic match for a reason: the bright acidity refreshes a heavy plate and the red fruit echoes the cranberries. Tandoori chicken thighs with cucumber raita work because the low tannin never clashes with the spice. A croque monsieur with a sharp green salad lets the acidity cut through the béchamel and Gruyère. Grilled salmon over green lentils with a shallot vinaigrette shows how a red this light can go with fish. This is the bottle to buy by the case in November, because it disappears faster than you plan.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Beaujolais stands on its own as a unique source of the world's greatest Gamay wines and one of the birthplaces of the natural wine movement. The 10 crus on the north side provide the most serious versions including Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent, but the more basic reds further south are vibrant and affordable. There's also a rare white made from Chardonnay.
Beaujolais
A red wine grape most associated with Beaujolais, Gamay makes fresh, fruity red wines with berry and violet aromas. It is grown around the world outside of France where it is often a darker and less tannic cousin to Pinot Noir in cool climate regions such as Oregon and Victoria.
Gamay
Practicing Organic vineyard farming involves growing grapes using organic methods—avoiding synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides—but without formal certification. Wineries adopting this approach prioritize environmental health, soil vitality, and biodiversity, using natural practices such as composting, cover cropping, and manual pest control. Many small wineries opt for practicing organic methods rather than pursuing official organic certification, primarily due to the significant cost, paperwork, and time commitment involved in certification processes. As a result, practicing organic is a popular choice among boutique and artisanal producers who remain committed to sustainable agriculture while managing budgetary constraints.
