David Beaupère

On any given day, you can see Louis-Clément and his mother tending the family vineyards.

The good news is that you can do this all day if you like, since the domaine also serves as a lovely bed-and-breakfast!

But Clément didn't set out to be a winemaker; he studied commerce and engineering (and sold sliced bread?!) before realizing that the vineyards at his family's house were his true calling. The domaine, including the 4 hectares of vineyards, was bought by his grandfather after having sold off their land in Algeria by the end of the independence war.

When Louis-Clément took over the vineyards, he immediately started converting to organic farming - the vineyards were simply too close to the house to keep spraying with herbicides... The domaine and the wines are now certified organic (the only domaine in Juliénas!), and Clément is moving steadily towards more and more natural winemaking. He just likes the wines from fellow winemakers who have taken the 'natural' approach.

The Domaine makes one Juliénas (named 'Trois Verres'), two wines from 'La Bottière' (one from young vines and one from older vines), plus one from a very (very!) steep vineyard full of blue volcanic stones called 'Vayolette'. Recently, a Beajolais-Villages and the yearly Nouveau have been added to the portfolio.

All of Louis-Clément's wines are quintessentially high-quality Beaujolais. Very juicy, but also much more serious than your average glou-glou Gamay friend from an unknown appellation (which can also be awesome, of course!). Leaning slightly less towards a feminine Burgundy-style, and more towards true, classy and mineral Beaujolais than some of the other top natural Beaujolais producers, we believe Clément is a bright shining star in the making!