(2024) This Villages appellation Nouveau marches to a different beat from some of the cheaper examples, fermented with wild yeasts and with no added sulphites. It comes from a vintage when the vineyards were ravaged by torrential hail at just the worst time: this estate lost 70% of its crop on one day, the 31st July. Quantities are therefore small, but thankfully the surviving fruit was a of very good quality. Lightly leafy and floral with a cool, crisp aspect to the fruit, a touch of Indian ink suggests a dry and savoury style. In the mouth it maybe lacks a little of the fleshiness that this Nouveau often boasts, but makes up for that with a pure quality of black cherry and cranberry, dry and gravelly, vivid acidity etching the finish. It is another fine Beaujolais from this estate, especially given the problems of the vintage.