Photos from Jean Foillard

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 08-12-2014

Earlier this month, I spent 10 days eating and drinking my way through France. (See here for details on my July 4th tour of Paris’ natural wine bars and retailers; Click on the winery names for photos of my July 9 visits to Chateau Thivin, Domaine Chignard, and Domaine Diochon.)

On the morning of July 10, I headed to Domaine Jean Foillard.

Together with his wife Agnès, Jean Foillard took over his father’s 35-acre domaine in 1980. Kermit Lynch had just started importing wines from the region, and it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with Foillard’s wines. Together with a handful of other producers in Morgon, Foillard was rejecting the temptation to churn out industrialized, oak-soaked wines designed for mass appeal. Lynch dubbed Jean Foillard, Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton the “gang of four” — and praised them for holding onto Beaujolais’ ancient practices of viticulture and vinification.

The moniker stuck, and the four men helped save Beaujolais from itself.

I’ve been a huge fan of Foillard for years, and tasting the wines at the domaine was a spectacular experience. Below are some photos from my visit.

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A rainy morning in Morgon.

Waxing the bottles.

Waxing the bottles.

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The wines we tasted.

 

Comments (2)

  1. Would you have any TN’s for the 2010’s you’ve tasted and recommendations for ageing? I’ve got both in my collection and I’m curious regarding your thoughts.

  2. Hi, Im heading to the area for the weekend and havent been able to find the address of Jean Foillard. I imagine Iwill get oriented once I arrive in Morgon-Ville but was wondering if you had a contact for the Domaine Jean Foillard so we could see if they are open for a visit. Im very excited!