'Le Blanc' Beaujolais Blanc 2024

Now running her family’s 7-hectare estate near Morgon’s famed “Côte du Py,” Cosima Bassouls is at the forefront of Beaujolais’ new generation. Trained in international agro-development, she initially pursued humanitarian work before returning to France. After working in organic and regenerative viticulture, she took over the estate following her mother’s passing, determined to farm on her own terms. Since 2019, she has converted all 6 hectares to organic farming, integrating agroforestry, cover crops, and regenerative techniques to foster biodiversity, combat erosion, and improve soil health. She’s also pioneering vine-training methods, replacing gobelet with cordon, training old vines on high stakes and braiding the vine tops instead of trimming them. Her family estate, Château des Vergers, dates to 1604 and has deep winemaking roots. Lantignié, where it’s located, boasts pink granite and volcanic blueschist soils, producing Gamay with great depth and complexity. Cosima also leads a movement advocating for Lantignié’s recognition as a Cru, with organic farming as the foundation. She and 18 fellow vignerons share resources and expertise, creating an exciting energy in the region.

Produced from a single south-west facing vineyard planted by Cosima Bassouls' parents in 2006, Le Blanc comes from blue schist (pierres bleues) soils at 300 metres in Lantignié, one of Beaujolais' most exciting emerging crus. The vineyard has been organically farmed since 2019, with extensive cover crops and agroforestry encouraging biodiversity and healthy, living soils.

Whole Chardonnay bunches are hand-harvested in small crates before being gently pressed using the estate's centuries-old vertical press, producing an exceptionally clear juice that requires no clarification. Fermentation begins with a pied de cuve of native yeasts in neutral fibreglass tanks before the wine spends 12 months on its fine lees in old oak demi-muids. Malolactic fermentation is blocked, preserving the wine's bright natural acidity, tension and precision while the extended lees ageing adds texture and complexity without overt oak influence.

Beaujolais Blanc accounts for less than 5% of the region's production, making Le Blanc a rare expression of Chardonnay that combines Burgundian finesse with the freshness and mineral character of Beaujolais.

Cosima's electric Chardonnay. Bright lemon curd, crisp apple and lime zest are layered with buttered brioche, white flowers and a subtle flinty minerality. Fresh and precise, with vibrant acidity, creamy lees texture and a long, saline finish.

Grilled scallops or prawns, sushi and sashimi, or soft goat's cheese with fresh herbs and lemon.

Most famous for Beaujolais Nouveau – a wine bottle only a few weeks after fermentation and drank on the 3rd Thursday of November – Beaujolais is an intriguing wine region technically part of the Rhone commune, but has always been considered part of Burgundy. Reds here are made from 100% Gamay. Gamay produces light, fresh and floral red wines, similar in style to Pinot Noir. Most Beaujolais is produced using semi-carbonic maceration in which the grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide rich environment. This releases lots of colour and bright fruit characters without much tannic structure. Much of Beaujolais is granite with outcrops of schist in part of Morgon or Andesites in the Cote de Brouilly. In the Auvergne, gamay is planted on basalts and in the Côtes Roannaise there is again granite.