Domaine Grégoire Hoppenot, Fleurie `Indigène`

Grégoire Hoppenot was previously director of the Chapoutier family's Beaujolais project, Maison Trénel, before founding his eponymous domaine in Fleurie. Here, he leases nine hectares of vines and a small plot in Morgon and has been described as “one of Beaujolais’ most exciting emerging talents” by William Kelley (The Wine Advocate).

His vineyards, currently undergoing organic certification, comprise several enviable parcels in Fleurie, including ‘La Roulette’ and ‘Clos l’Amandier’, all of which are part of the Fleurie 1er Cru classification, which is currently pending approval. The soils here are composed predominantly of granite and sand, giving the wines a beautiful freshness and precision. Grégoire’s approach is meticulous and gentle in both the vineyard and cellar, where he ferments with indigenous yeasts and uses minimal sulphur. He describes his winemaking as ‘intuitive’, and in 2021, he was named ‘Discovery of the Year’ in 2021’s Revue des Vins de France.

For the 2022 vintage, Grégoire’s Fleurie ‘Indigène’ has been sourced from a parcel in the ‘La Roilette’ lieu-dit, which is currently in its final year of organic conversion. The grapes are whole-bunch fermented in concrete vats before ageing for seven months in the same vessels. The resulting wine displays a vivid brightness, with abundant raspberry and cherry fruit. The organic-certified Fleurie `Clos de l’Amandier` is Grégoire’s flagship wine, hailing from soon-to-be 1er Cru vines planted on a steep, southwest-facing slope at the southeastern end of ‘Poncié’. The soils here combine granite, sand and shallow, stony clay. The grapes undergo a fifteen-day fermentation using whole bunches in concrete vats. The wine then spends eight months in a combination of concrete and third-use Burgundy barrels. The final wine is classically Fleurie in style, displaying beautifully perfumed and balanced fruit with generous depth underpinned by fine tannins and a striking backbone of acidity.