As the name suggests, this cuvée was born from the uncommonly bad conditions that last year presented. This is a blend of all of the Gamay and Chardonnay that Romuald was able to harvest from the hundred-year-old vines surrounding his home in Beaujeu and the parcel he farms just down the hill in Quincié, which usually make up his Beaujolais Villages. With the fruit grown between 400-500 meters above sea level, the vintage has produced a featherweight wine of rare energy and gorgeous perfume.

Romuald Valot

Originally from Burgundy, Romuald Valot has spent the last decade forging a new path in the remote hills of the Beaujolais.

Born into a family of vignerons, he spent decades working for classic producers in Burgundy and was left disenchanted by the number of chemicals used in the vineyards and the tricks being played in the cellar. In 2013 he bought a small cottage, cuverie, and three hectares of vines in the hills above Beaujeu, way out in Beaujolais’ west.

The vines are planted over granite and are a hundred years old. At five hundred meters above sea level, they are amongst the very highest in the region but most importantly, they are a world away from most in the area, allowing Romauld to be alone with nature. He has since acquired a further eight hectares of vines elsewhere in the region and also farms a hectare in the Côte de Beaune’s Ladoix, from which he produces a sublime Pinot Noir.

Romuald practices his own extreme take on organic agriculture. Refusing to spray even copper and sulfur on the vines, he experiments without plowing or pruning in some parcels. In the event he does treat the vines, he does so with his own infusions of wild plants, which he gathers and mixes with spring water, whey and clay.

Romuald’s winemaking is comparatively simple. He picks early in the morning, fills each cuve with whole bunches, and fastens the cap. After a fortnight of infusion, the grapes are pressed slowly over several hours and the wine is moved to old barrels for a year of élevage.

Whilst his approach to farming might be radical, the wines are anything but. Vibrant, fragrant, and nuanced, they are an exercise in purity and thrillingly unique.