Jean Foillard, Morgon ‘Corcelette’

Jean Foillard, Morgon ‘Corcelette’ shows a racy softness that still has plenty of vigor. This is because of the soil and the terroir. Here, we are dealing with 80-year-old vines, planted in sandy soil. As a result the aromatics soar and the texture is silky and fine. Foillard’s Côte du Py has long served as his flagship, but since acquiring Corcelette not so long ago, the wine has served as the perfect counterpoint to the Côte du Py. In most vintages, the dividing line is drawn in stark relief. His Côte du Py is one of the monuments of Morgon. It is a powerhouse, deep and meaty with a certain sternness and structure – drink it with a fork and knife. In contrast, Corcelette is among the most elegant renditions of Gamay on planet earth.

Jean Foillard and his wife Agnès started their handkerchief-size domain in Morgon in the 1980’s. Undeterred by their surroundings, Jean and Agnès decided to embark on their own path. They returned to honest vine growing and wine making the way their grandparents did. The vines are grown organically. The same attention is paid in their cellar. There are no pumps to move the wines at any stage of the chain. Every move of the wine in the cellar, from racking to bottling, is done by gravity. There are no additives in the cellar to hide shortcuts in the vineyards because there are no shortcuts in the vineyards. The hand-harvested grapes are fermented using natural yeasts only.