With Domaine de Colette, we enter the category of ‘established’ winegrowers; those who have been selling their wines in bottles for a long time (1981), so much so that today the entire production is sold in this way, with even a significant proportion exported (35%). Their range is structured on two levels: basic, fruity cuvées for quick drinking, and wines to keep, sometimes with parcellaire cuvees; the red Beaujolais-Lantignié is positioned in this ‘of guard’ range, but with a special vinification, with no inputs and in particular no sulphur.
The arrival of 24-year-old Pierre-Alexandre Gauthier coincided with the start of the conversion to organic production in 2020, but the young winemaker is keen to put things into perspective: “It’s a logical progression. My father was always careful and reasonable with chemicals. He continued to plough and plant grass to minimise the use of weedkillers. The estate was ready to go organic when I arrived.

So it’s a well-established estate, on track, that has joined the Vignerons et Terroirs de Lantignié association, where it rubs shoulders with other old-established estates, as well as ‘beginners’, for one simple reason: to exchange ideas. “You get a lot out of it, and you make much more progress in a group than on your own. What’s more, I felt that our Lantignié terroirs weren’t being promoted enough. Working together creates a real dynamic”, says Pierre-Alexandre Gauthier. Semi-carbonic maceration of whole bunches (70% on average) forms the basis of the vinification process, with the aim of producing wines that are concentrated, full-bodied and fleshy. After bottling, the cuvées are kept for six to twelve months in the estate’s cellars, with a view to selling ready-to-drink wines. A few 2017s are still being sold, and Domaine de Colette is gradually switching over to the 2018 vintage.