Nicolas Chemarin Village: Marchampt Appellation: 8ha Beaujolais Villages Brouilly Regnie Morgon Grower: Nicolas Chemarin Website: https://www.instagram.com/ptitgrobis/ Downloadable PDF Nicolas Chemarin farms 5 hectares of land in the village of Marchampt and a few small plots in Brouilly, Regnié and Morgon. Marchampt is a tiny village secluded in the forested hills of western Beaujolais just past Quincié-en-Beaujolais, on the edge of the Massif Central. Nicolas is the fourth generation to farm the family property and the only male of his generation to stay in the village, a fact that has earned him the nickname “Petit Grobis” a local term of endearment having to do with small hollows in trees used by owls. It was Nicolas’ father, Lucien, who first moved the family farm away from polyculture to concentrate his activities on his vineyards and wine production. Beaujolais Villages "P'tit Grobis" The Beaujolais-Villages vineyard in Marchampt is truly something to behold. The extremely steep slopes range from a 25% to 55% grade at an altitude of between 400 and 500 meters. The vines are head pruned, “gobelet,” and are planted at a density of 8,000 plants per hectare. Their average age is 40 years. The vinification is whole cluster, using indigenous yeasts, and done without SO2. The maceration lasts 15 days after which the wine is matured on its fine lees until the spring. No sulfur is used during the entire process until just before bottling when a minimal dose is introduced. Brouilly “Saburin” The Saburin vineyard is one of the nine “lieu-dits” in Brouilly. It is located on the slopes of a south facing hill between Odenas and Quincié-en-Beaujolais. Nicolas’ parcel is at an altitude of 350 meters and faces south/south-east. The terrain is quite steep, and the predominant soil is pink granite. The vines are densely planted and pruned in the “gobelet” style. The vinification is whole cluster, using indigenous yeasts, and is done without SO2. The maceration lasts 15 days after which the wine is matured on its fine lees until the spring. Before bottling, which is done with the waning moon, a small dose of SO2 is added. The wine is un-filtered. Régnié "Haute Ronze" Nicolas Chemarin farms .43 hectares in Regnié, all in the “lieu dit” of Haute Ronze. The Haute Ronze vineyard stretches along a gently sloping hill at an elevation of 400 meters. The predominate soil is a fine, pink granite called “granite rose”. Nicolas’ plot has an average age of 45 years and is densely planted with 10,000 vines per hectare in the “gobelet” style. The grape bunches are hand harvested and the entire bunch is dropped into a cement tank for fermentation at low temperatures using indigenous yeasts. Maceration extends for 15 to 25 days after which time the wine is pressed and then matured for 9 months in 4- to-10 year old Burgundy barrels. The wine is neither fined nor filtered and SO2 (20mg/l) is added only before bottling. Nicolas recommends “carafing” the wine for a good half hour before serving. Beaujolais Villages “Primeur” (1er Jus) Normally selected from the young parcels on the slopes of Marchampt, Nicolas makes a full bodied “nouveau” with 12 days of maceration in cement vats. As with his other wines, indigenous yeasts are used and there is no heating of the vats. No sulfur is used during the entire process until just before bottling when a minimal dose (20g/l) is introduced.