Baptiste Bertrand
For decades now Beaujolais has been a hotbed of winemaking talent, full of free spirits who gravitate to the hilly, granite-filled vineyards looking for a patch of dirt to call their own. Sustained by a... Read More
For decades now Beaujolais has been a hotbed of winemaking talent, full of free spirits who gravitate to the hilly, granite-filled vineyards looking for a patch of dirt to call their own. Sustained by a seemingly unending well of talent, the region is now among the most respected producers of red wine from everyday thirst quencher to the beguiling and complex worthy of a long slumber in the cellar. One of these souls, totally new to us, is Baptiste Bertrand, and we are in no small way completely impressed by this young man's incredible talent.
An ecologist by training, specializing in environmental management and cartography, Baptiste spent a decade working for organizations and nonprofits around France. He eventually found himself back home in Beaujolais, where he spent three years managing a project related to local vineyards. When that project came to an end, a friend suggested that he take over some vines from a retiring winemaker.
The vines are located in Charentay, a small commune that makes up part of a swath of Beaujolais-Villages vineyards between Mont Brouilly to the south and Morgon to the north. He quickly began to work on improving the health of the vineyard and converted everything to organic practice, becoming the first certified grower in the commune. With his years spent managing vineyards, he knew that in order to produce the wines he wanted to make and drink, the fruit must be of the highest quality; healthy and pristine.
That's because Baptiste makes wine with very little human interference. The winery is housed in a large, century-old winemaking complex that a friend had purchased to renovate into several apartments, then offered to let Baptiste use the existing press room and cellar for its original purpose. The grapes are crushed in a vintage wooden basket press, then all wines are fermented in large concrete tanks. Aging take place in concrete with a small portion going into used barrels as well as the winery's newest addition, some fiberglass eggs.
The name Bertrand might seem familiar to those who pay attention to the goings on of Southern Burgundy. His second Cousin Yann is a certified superstar, so exceptional winemaking is no stranger to the family. While Yann makes wines that are brooding, structured, and intensely complex, Baptiste's wines remind me a lot of why I fell in love with the wine of Beaujolais in the first place. His wines are filled with crunchy fruit and floral aromas and flavors that are backed up by an energetic streak of dark minerality. They are filled with irreverent sensibility with labels to match, highlighting the antiestablishment streak that has always characterized the best of Beaujolais.
An ecologist by training, specializing in environmental management and cartography, Baptiste spent a decade working for organizations and nonprofits around France. He eventually found himself back home in Beaujolais, where he spent three years managing a project related to local vineyards. When that project came to an end, a friend suggested that he take over some vines from a retiring winemaker.
The vines are located in Charentay, a small commune that makes up part of a swath of Beaujolais-Villages vineyards between Mont Brouilly to the south and Morgon to the north. He quickly began to work on improving the health of the vineyard and converted everything to organic practice, becoming the first certified grower in the commune. With his years spent managing vineyards, he knew that in order to produce the wines he wanted to make and drink, the fruit must be of the highest quality; healthy and pristine.
That's because Baptiste makes wine with very little human interference. The winery is housed in a large, century-old winemaking complex that a friend had purchased to renovate into several apartments, then offered to let Baptiste use the existing press room and cellar for its original purpose. The grapes are crushed in a vintage wooden basket press, then all wines are fermented in large concrete tanks. Aging take place in concrete with a small portion going into used barrels as well as the winery's newest addition, some fiberglass eggs.
The name Bertrand might seem familiar to those who pay attention to the goings on of Southern Burgundy. His second Cousin Yann is a certified superstar, so exceptional winemaking is no stranger to the family. While Yann makes wines that are brooding, structured, and intensely complex, Baptiste's wines remind me a lot of why I fell in love with the wine of Beaujolais in the first place. His wines are filled with crunchy fruit and floral aromas and flavors that are backed up by an energetic streak of dark minerality. They are filled with irreverent sensibility with labels to match, highlighting the antiestablishment streak that has always characterized the best of Beaujolais.