This 22 hectare domaine, founded in 1954, is masterfully run by pere Rene Berrod along with his daughter and two sons. This veritable exploitation familiale produces some of the finest, most concentrated, and most enjoyable Beaujolais wines. “This is Beaujolais at its very best,” comments Robert Parker, summarizing Berrod’s style, “and it gets my highest recommendations.”

The Beaujolais Villages comes from the Roches de Vivier lieu dit in the commune of Lancie, just outside Fleurie. The vineyard is on a south facing slope with a thin, scree and alluvial soil. The grapes are hand harvested and fermented whole, according to the carbonic method, for 5-7 days, with constant temperature controls. Parker states: “even his Beaujolais from less successful years seems to be imbued with a roundness and fragrance that transcends the wines of his competitors.”

The Fleurie comes from a southwest-facing steep slope with vines of an average age of 50 years. Ripening here is very early, and Berrod selects only perfectly mature fruit, which is hand picked. Fermentation lasts for 8-10 days in stainless steel and cement vats. Berrod looks for pure elegance in his Fleurie, a wine redolent of violets and ripe red fruits. Parker characterizes the wine as “explosively fruity, rich, velvety Fleurie.”

Berrod’s Moulin a Vent is the biggest wine in the group. It comes from the commune of Romaneche-Thorins, facing the old windmill. The vineyard is on a hillside with a granite-sand soil, rich in magnesium, giving the wines their structure and depth. The Moulin a Vent gets the longest fermentation period of 10-12 days. A grill is used on the top of the fermenting tanks to ensure maximum contact with the solids and extraction of tannins and color. The wine is also aged in tanks for several months before bottling, and will improve for 3-5 years in bottle.

The domaine’s Beaujolais Villages Nouveau is regularly acclaimed as the finest of its type and sells out quickly on release in November.

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