When a famous winemaker wanders far from home to make a totally new wine, you can be skeptical. When Gaja makes Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany, how much of Gaja’s magic really ends up in... Read More

When a famous winemaker wanders far from home to make a totally new wine, you can be skeptical. When Gaja makes Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany, how much of Gaja’s magic really ends up in the final wine? It can be hard to say.

It's not hard to say with Lafarge's Beaujolais: Yes, they bottled their magic.

Lafarge, of course, has been making magic in Volnay for decades. But with small holdings, frost and hail, they don't get to make enough of it to go around. So they headed a little south to the Beaujolais, where they bought vines and named their new Domaine Lafarge-Vial (Vial is Chantal’s maiden name).

It shouldn't come as a big surprise that they've done such a good job. The family has made one of the greatest Bourgogne Passetoutgrains for generations; they know Gamay.

More important, Beaujolais isn't that far from home. So they have no problem being actively involved in the farming (same organic and biodynamic practices as in Volnay) and the winemaking. As a bonus, Gamay in Beaujolais ripens at a slightly different time than their grapes in Volnay, so they can do one harvest after another without missing a beat.