Rémi Dufaitre & Laurence Liatard
Rémi and Laurence (his now ex-wife) Dufaitre began purchasing vines in and around the Brouilly and Cote de Brouilly crus in 2006 and began to work the land organically and harvest the grapes. Rémi began by selling his grapes to the local co-op, all the while monitoring the indigenous yeast population until he felt it was healthy enough to make his own. In 2010 he made and bottled his first vintage. When Jean Foillard tasted Rémi’s wine, he immediately sought him out, recognizing the obvious talent that must be behind the wine. Jean has since taken Rémi under his wing, introducing him to his vast and diverse list of Parisian clients. Remi’s wines currently have a very avid following in the bustling Paris natural wine scene as a result. These days, Rémi is practically an unofficial member of the extended gang of four, part of a new wave of producers carrying Beaujolais into its next chapter.
Rémi makes wines in a classic carbonic style, using whole bunches, which are carefully sorted to avoid broken grapes or rot. He adds some carbon dioxide gas to protect the grapes at the beginning of fermentation, and does not use any temperature control. He avoids foot stomping the grapes unless he sees some volatility starting to creep in. His goal is to have as little juice in the tank as possible. He also performs routine analysis to see how the yeast is performing and whether or not there is any volatility. Remi makes all his wines with the same method, thus we can really see and taste the differences between the sites, with minor differences in the elevage of each cuvée. He tastes each cuvée before bottling, and may decide to add between zero and 2 mg of sulfur, depending on how stabile he judges the wine to be.
Rémi and Laurence make Beaujolais Village from vineyards just south of their estate; Brouilly, mainly in the Côte de Brouilly and since 2105 they also have 1 hectare in Juliénas. Brouilly and especially Côte de Brouilly have a higher content of volcanic soil than any of the other crus in Beaujolais and here you can also find the last active volcano in the area. The wines are elegant with lovely fruit, nice depth, soft tannins and fresh acidity. The drinkability is sky high.
