Elisa Guérin grew up in Moulin-à-Vent; her childhood friends were Ophelie Dutraive (daughter of Jean-Louis Dutraive, of Domaine de la Grand Cour) and Alex Foillard (son of Jean Foillard, one of Kermit Lynch’s Gang of Four and a pioneer of the natural wine movement). She left home to study in Dijon and work in Paris, but she always knew that one day, she’d return to Beaujolais to craft great wine.

And from her inaugural vintage (2018), that’s precisely what she’s done. She immediately began the conversion to organic farming, and dedicated herself to making wines of great purity, delicacy and terroir expression. From the moment we first tasted them, we’ve found ourselves enamored with these classic iterations of Gamay.

Many of us fell in love with wine through Beaujolais — the best versions are simultaneously easygoing and profound. Elisa’s wines offer exactly that kind of pleasure, with transparent red fruit, silken texture, balanced acidity and just a hint of structure. She personally designed her labels, and these graceful wildflowers, meant to symbolize a wild garden, are as beautiful as the wine inside.

We have two of Elisa’s wines to offer today: a Beaujolais-Villages from vines in the villages of Lantignié and Quincié-en-Beaujolais, and a Moulin-à-Vent she calls ‘La Vigne de Mon Père’, or ‘my father’s vines’. The Beaujolais-Villages is supple and snappy, with classic carbonic maceration flavors of candied strawberries and kirsch; the Moulin-à-Vent, on the other hand, has all the striking minerality and structure of that appellation, with Elisa’s trademark delicacy tempering its steely core.

If you’ve been craving fine-boned, classic Beaujolais with lift and tension, Elisa Guérin is your girl. 

Elisa Guerin, Beaujolais-Villages, 2022 $28.99

Elisa Guerin, Moulin-à-Vent "La Vigne de Mon Père", 2021 $34.99