Jean Foillard Fleurie 2021

Jean Foillard's name is welded to Morgon's Côte du Py, but his Fleurie earns the same attention: a single hectare in the lieu-dit Champagne planted to Gamay vines from 20 to 70 years old in pink granite. Farming and cellar work follow the playbook Foillard helped write with the Gang of Four under the influence of Jules Chauvet: certified organic viticulture, selective hand harvesting, whole-cluster fermentation over three to four weeks, six to nine months in used barrels, no filtration, minimal sulfur. The 2021 is Fleurie at its most ethereal, just 12 percent alcohol, with fresh hay and moss on the nose and a light, living palate of cranberry, strawberry, and herbs. The master of Morgon, working in a gentler register.