Michel Tête is widely considered to be the best producer of wines from the Beaujolais Cru known as Juliénas. As tempting as it may be stick with your known favorites -- Foillard, Lapierre, Coudert --... Read More

Michel Tête is widely considered to be the best producer of wines from the Beaujolais Cru known as Juliénas. As tempting as it may be stick with your known favorites -- Foillard, Lapierre, Coudert -- Tête offers a slightly different twist on Cru Beaujolais.

Like those other masters, Tete has very old vines -- for this wine they are about 50 years old. He also makes the wines traditionally and with very little intervention in the winery. The differences come from the soils, as Tete is the only one in this group to boast blue volcanic soils under his vines.

These things make a difference. Those soils seem to intensify the wine's aromatics and structure.