Frédéric Berne, Beaujolais Lantignié `Pierre Bleue`

Raised on a farm in Beaujolais, Frédéric Berne has always felt a natural connection to the land around him. Attracted by wine’s ability to express its surroundings and soil complexity, he decided to become a winemaker. After a few years working throughout southern Burgundy, Frédéric set up his eponymous domaine in 2013. He now owns nearly eight hectares of certified organic vineyards across Beaujolais-Villages, Lantignié, Morgon, Régnié and Chiroubles.

Frédéric’s vineyards are planted on variations of granite bedrock laced with quartz, which lend elegance and purity to the final wines. All the grapes are hand-harvested before being macerated for between 5 and 15 days, depending on the fruit. Frédéric follows a policy of minimal intervention in his winemaking, using only indigenous yeasts during fermentation.

The Lantignié ‘Granit Rose’ comprises a blend of different parcels grown on pink granite soils, fermented using 100% whole-bunch in stainless steel tanks. The resulting wine is defined by an exuberant red fruit character, with the granite soil lending fine tannins. Frédéric’s Lantignié ‘Pierre Bleue’ uses the same techniques as the ‘Granit Rose’. The Gamay for this wine is grown on predominantly clay soils, creating a more fragrant expression with notes of bramble and black cherry compote. Frédéric has also recently begun producing the Lantignié Gamay Noir. Unoaked and made with 100% whole bunch, it offers fantastic value and supports Frédéric’s conviction that Lantignié deserves to be the 11th Beaujolais Cru.

The Régnié ‘La Pierre’ is sourced from a 1.5-hectare parcel planted at an elevation of 300 metres on granite and quartz soils. Aged in used oak barrels for 12 months before bottling, this unique site lends intense purity of fruit and notable concentration to the final wine. The 2024 Morgon reclassification, in which six climats were subdivided into 60 lieux-dits, means that Frédéric’s ‘Corcelette’ wine is now known as Morgon 'Saint-Joseph' to reflect the location of the vineyard. The fruit is pressed using the estate’s old screw press before fermenting on its skins for 14 days and ageing for 12 months in oak barrels (of which 10% is new). The resulting wine is rich with bright fruit, expressing the power and concentration of this site with stunning precision.