Yvon Metras has long been Beaujolais' elusive man of mystery. To French winemakers (and drinkers) he is, along with neighbors Lapierre and Foillard, one of the "fathers of natural wine".

For decades, other than a brief stint with Kermit Lynch, he all but refused to export his wines to the US. Some say that's because he didn't want to be bothered by the paperwork. Others say it was more political. We don't know.

We also don't know all that much about Metras’ methods. There's some overlap with Foillard and the gang, of course — old vines harvested healthy and ripe, and patient, semi-carbonic fermentation. There are minimal chemical interventions and fastidious monitoring, like watching the fermentation's progress under a microscope. But only Yvon knows the exact techniques that yield wines of such depth and finesse.

We don't even know who is doing what in the vines or in the cellar these days. Yvon will, apparently, retire soon. His son Jules has been working with him for a decade and bottles some wine under his own label. Jules' wines are delicious and have a lot in common with Yvon's. But how much overlap is there in farming and winemaking? We don't know.

What we do know is that the wines of both père and fils are extraordinary, and among the most sought-after in Beaujolais. We know that Beaujolais’ 2023 vintage is shaping up to be a great one, with lots of great ready-to-drink wines, but also many with serious aging potential.

Jules Métras, Beaujolais-Villages 'Bijou', 2023 $49.99
The name means "jewel," which this wine surely is. Blended from a long-abandoned vineyard just outside his cellar, which Yvon recuperated, together with a site bequeathed to Jules by Jules Chauvet.  

Yvon Métras, Fleurie Vieilles Vignes, 2023 $79.99
Very limited. Do we known exactly how old Yvon's fruit is? Of course not! But we've seen reports that some of the vines date back to the 19th century. Anyway, this is one of France's great wine.