Saint Amour Grain de Folie 2024 Domaine Pierre Vessigaud

The Saint-Amour Grain de Folie 2024 from Domaine Pierre Vessigaud is the most surprising and compelling cuvée from a domaine built on the reputation of Mâconnais Chardonnays. Pierre Vessigaud is a Chardonnay specialist, yet when the Beaujolais crus lie just beyond his door, he cannot resist seeking finesse in Gamay Noir from the northernmost cru. This is 100 percent Gamay, vinified with the same organic rigour as the domaine's whites, proof that Pierre and Simon Vessigaud master both colours equally. The terroir and vines

Saint-Amour is Beaujolais' northernmost cru. Situated in southern Burgundy, Grain de Folie is a blend from three lieux-dits: En Paradis, A La Folie, and Au Bonnet, on clay, sandy, and granitic soils. The vineyard covers 1.12 hectares with a density of 8,500 vines per hectare, at 200 metres altitude. The vines are between 35 and 80 years old, rooted in clay-sandy terroir with pink granite, south-west facing. That pink granite is the aromatic signature of Grain de Folie: granitic soils drain perfectly, naturally discipline Gamay's vigour, and give the wine a mineral tension, freshness, and finesse that set it apart from the rounder, more confected expressions found in southern Beaujolais. The three lieux-dits are skilfully complementary: En Paradis for generosity and fruit, A La Folie for structure and spice, Au Bonnet for freshness and granitic minerality. Carbonic maceration for 10 days leads to fermentation, then 12 months' ageing in 10-year-old oak, creating a structured wine with the crunch and fruit typical of Gamay. Vinified without added sulfites.

Tasting profile

The robe is a bright ruby red with violet glints, vivid and luminous. Aromas of red fruit, cherry, morello, blackcurrant. On the palate, a supple and powerful wine. This is gourmand in character, with the beautiful presence of red fruit typical to Gamay. Whole-bunch carbonic maceration gives the cuvée its crisp, juicy, immediately seductive nature: bright red fruit and floral aromas, a supple and velvety texture, fine and melted tannins that remind you Saint-Amour is Beaujolais' finest and most elegant cru. Twelve months in old oak adds depth and complexity without weighing down the fruit, giving it structure and backbone to age gracefully over five to six years.

The domaine

Françoise and Pierre Vessigaud, now joined by their son Simon, have maintained family viticulture at the Hameau de Pouilly in Solutré-Pouilly for five generations, beneath the Roche de Solutré. Since taking the helm in 1998, Pierre has progressively committed the domaine to rigorous organic practice: soil respect, no synthetic herbicides or pesticides, hand harvesting, and controlled yields. Across 10 hectares shared between Pouilly-Fuissé, Mâcon-Fuissé, Mâcon-Charnay, and this Saint-Amour, the domaine produces wines of such coherence and sincerity that it stands among the great references of southern Burgundy.

Food pairing

This Saint-Amour Grain de Folie pairs beautifully with pork tenderloin with herbs, roast poultry, grilled entrecôte, lamb rack with gentle spices, or game birds. It works equally well with a country spread of charcuterie and cheese. Served between 14 and 15 degrees Celsius, lightly chilled, it reveals all the fruited crispness, tannin finesse, and natural elegance of a Saint-Amour made with care and conviction by a vigneron whose passion for Gamay rivals his love of Chardonnay.