Marcel Lapierre

Natural is the only word you can use to describe Marcel Lapierre's approach to winemaking. He is a leading protagonist in the movement for more natural wines in France, following biodynamic principles in the vineyard and bottling part of his output without the addition of any sulphur. Ordinary common or garden Beaujolais, this isn't.

The 11ha of vines - including 1ha on the Cote de Puy, Morgon's unofficial 'Grand Cru' - have an average age of 45 years and are all planted on the decomposed schist or 'rotten rocks' that mark the best terroirs in this part of Beaujolais. Turn up in spring and you are likely to see them being ploughed by a horse.

In the winery, Marcel eschews full carbonic maceration and instead uses a semi-carbonic method in old, wooden tanks. Once the inter-cellular fermentation has started, Marcel reverts to a more Burgundian process crushing the grapes and punching down the cap of skins and seeds to aid extraction. The wine is then aged in old oak barrels (between three and thirteen years old) that Marcel buys from Domaine Prieure-Roch in Vosne-Romanee.

Quite unlike the jammy, strawberry scented wines usually found in Beaujolais, this is a far more serious affair: textured and fresh with a bite of tannin and wonderful purity of fruit. It shows how close the best Beaujolais can be to Burgundian Pinot Noir.

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