Beaujolais
Christian Vergier, Cru Beaujolais
Christian Vergier is a true renaissance man. Enologist, educator and entrepreneur, he is well-known and respected throughout France and France's island republics.
A graduate of the University of Dijon in viticulture and enology, Christian makes wine from his own modest vineyard holdings in the Côte de Beaune; consults young vignerons in Burgundy, the Loire Valley and Jura; and teaches viticulture, enology and analytical tasting at several of France's best wine schools. In addition, Christian runs a wine export business for Réunion and Mauritius islands in the Indian Ocean and Martinique in the Caribbean, where he is also a production advisor for internationally-acclaimed rum brands.
In 2009, Christian launched his own micro-négociant brand focused on specific terroirs in Macon and Beaujolais. These two southern Burgundy sub-regions have an abundance of vine growers, but very few quality-driven independent producers, so the majority of each harvest traditionally ends up going to local cooperatives or into the wines of large négociants. With extensive knowledge of exceptional sites in both the Maconnais and Beaujolais, Christian now rescues fruit from these superior lieux-dits for his bottlings rather than allowing it to become diluted into homogeneous regional blends.
Domaine Facts
| Wines: | Morgon Tour de Tanay: Gamay from Morgon's schistous Côte du Py Brouilly Saint Lager: Supple, elegant Gamay from the eastern base of Mont Brouilly Fleurie Sous la Madone: Violet and rose scented Gamay from respected grower in southern sector of appellation bordering Morgon |
| Soil: | Morgon plots on granite with degraded gray schists called roches pourries Brouilly parcels on granite sands with blue and black micas (diorite and biotite) Fleurie vineyard on the cru's signature pink granite |
| Harvest: | Manual harvest |
| Yields: | Average 45 hectoliters/hectare for Morgon and Fleurie Average 50 hectoliters/hectare for Brouilly |
| Vinification: | Whole cluster fermentation without crushing for all three Cru Beaujolais wines. Morgon and Fleurie vinified entirely in stainless steel, while Brouilly vinified in older, neutral oak foudres to accentuate supple character. All wines bottled in April after harvest. |
| Annual Production: | 36,000 bottles / 3,000 cases combined from Macon 24,000 bottles / 2,000 cases combined from Beaujolais |