M. & C. LAPIERRE

Little would we know that when Marcel Lapierre took over the family domaine from his father in 1973, he was on the road to becoming a legend. In 1981, his path would be forever changed by Jules Chauvet, a man whom many now call his spiritual godfather. Chauvet was a winemaker, a researcher, a chemist, and a viticultural prophet. It was he who, upon the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the 1950s, first spoke out for “natural wine,” harkening back to the traditional methods of the Beaujolais. Joined by local vignerons Guy Breton, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Jean Foillard, Marcel spearheaded a group that soon took up the torch of this movement. Kermit dubbed this clan the Gang of Four, and the name has stuck ever since. These rebels called for a return to the old practices of viticulture and vinification: starting with old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and disdaining chaptalization. Sadly, the end of the 2010 vintage was Marcel’s last. He passed away at the end of the harvest—a poetic farewell for a man that forever changed our perception of Beaujolais. His son Mathieu and daughter Camille confidently continue the great work that their father pioneered, now introducing biodynamic vineyard practices and ensuring that Marcel's legacy lives on.

The methods at Lapierre are just as revolutionary as they are traditional; the detail and precision with which they work is striking and entirely different from the mass-produced majority of Beaujolais on the market today. Decomposed granite comprises most of their eleven hectares, and the vines are an average of 45 years of age. Grapes are picked at the last possible moment to obtain the ripest fruit, which is a trademark of the estate style. The Lapierres age their wines on fine lees for at least nine months in oak foudres and fûts ranging from three to thirteen years old. These wines are the essence of Morgon: bright, fleshy fruit with a palatable joie de vivre that was undoubtedly inherited from their creator. In the words of KLWM salesperson Sam Imel, “They are meant to be devoured.”

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Vin de France “Raisins Gaulois”	Gamay	15 years	Sandy decomposed granite	9 ha
Beaujolais “Le Beaujolais”	Gamay	70 years	Sandy decomposed granite	2.5 ha
Morgon	Gamay	70 years	Sandy decomposed granite	15 ha
Morgon “Cuvée Marcel Lapierre”	Gamay	100 years	Sandy decomposed granite	2.5 ha
Morgon “Cuvée Camille”	Gamay	50 - 75 years	Sandy decomposed granite	1 ha
Juliénas	Gamay	60 years	Volcanic, Schist	5 ha
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• Certified organic by Ecocert since 2004, the estate has worked in accordance with organic viticulture (A.B. label) since the 1980’s
• No chemical fertilizers, synthetic products, or weed killers are used
• To keep soils alive, they use compost and surface plow their vines
• Only non-aggressive treatments are used in order to preserve indigenous yeast populations on grapes and other organisms
• Once the grapes have reached maturity, they are harvested exclusively by hand and put into small containers to prevent any damage to the fruit before vinification
• The bunches undergo a rigorous sorting process “because a clean harvest and an appropriate maturity are essential in our quest for quality during the vinification”
• Only indigenous yeasts are used in fermentation
• The estate vinifies using the traditional “semi-carbonic” method, meaning the majority of berries remain intact and are then saturated with CO2 inside of a closed vat. In this atmosphere, the enzymatic activity manages to start the fermentation
• Wines are bottled unfiltered

Vin de France “Raisins Gaulois”

• Grapes are hand-harvested and meticulously sorted
• Semi-carbonic maceration without SO2, for 4-6 days
• 2 months in “cuve”
• Almost all the grapes for this cuvée come from within the Morgon cru, but the wine is not entitled to the Morgon appellation because yields surpass the accepted limit of 56 hl/ha. This is intentional: the high yields prevent excessive concentration and yield an easy-drinking, fruit-driven red with low alcohol.

Beaujolais “Le Beaujolais”

• Sourced from three parcels that are just across the village line of Morgon in Lancié, a neighboring commune of Villié Morgon.
• Semi-carbonic maceration without SO2, for 10-21 days, and spends 6 months in “cuve”
• Unlike with the entry-level Raisins Gaulois cuvée, this wine is bottled in the spring instead of winter.
• It is the mid-way cuvée between “Raisins Gaulois” and Morgon

Morgon

• Semi-carbonic maceration without SO2, for 10-21 days
• Ages 9 months in 216 liter barrels

Morgon “Cuvée Marcel Lapierre”

•Only produced in exceptional vintages from the domaine’s oldest vines (100+ years) sourced from the Côte du Py and lieu-dit “Le Douby” near Fleurie.
•Semi-carbonic maceration without SO2, for 15-36 days
•Ages 9 months in 228 liter barrels

Morgon “Cuvée Camille”

•Sourced from an old parcel on the Côte du Py with a south-west exposure and shallow soil
•Long cuvaison in wood fermenter
•Named after Camille Lapierre, Marcel’s daughter, but also her paternal grand-father, also named Camille

Juliénas
•Sourced from the lieu-dit Côte de Bessay
•Produced in only three vintages, 2016, 2017, and 2018

MISCELLANEA

Nobody’s wines taste like Marcel Lapierre’s. He is the source of a whole new school of winemaking, turning the hands of time back to wine the way Mother Nature envisioned it. Tasting it can change the way you taste wine.

Kermit Lynch

Our ideal is to make wine from 100% grape juice.

Marcel Lapierre