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Pascal Aufranc 'En Rémont' Chénas
Grapes — 100% Gamay
Region — Chénas, Beaujolais, France
Tasting Notes — Deep ruby with real presence. Black cherry, wild raspberry, iris, and dried flowers on the nose, with an earthy mineral undercurrent and a whisper of pepper and forest floor. The palate is frank and focused — elegant and racy, with a flinty mineral finish and tannins that are structured without ever being aggressive. A Gamay that rewards patience and repays attention.
The Wine — From a single 3.5-acre southwest-facing plot called 'Pic de Rémont' at 985 feet elevation — steep, granitic soils laced with quartz and manganese that give the wine its signature mineral backbone. Chénas is the smallest of the ten Beaujolais crus, and En Rémont sits at its heart, perched on the hillside where Pascal lives and works.
Farming — Organically farmed. Pascal's hilltop isolation — surrounded by woods and fields with no neighboring vineyards — gives him the rare freedom to farm as cleanly as he chooses without interference from conventional neighbors. Cover crops, hand harvesting, and a deep commitment to biodiversity are central to his practice.
Winemaking — Whole cluster semi-carbonic maceration in concrete vats, native yeast fermentation only, cap pushed down by hand daily over 12 days. Aged 8 months on fine lees in concrete — no oak, no additions, no added sulfites. Lightly filtered before bottling.
The Producer — Pascal Aufranc works a small 10-hectare estate from a centuries-old stone farmhouse perched on the En Rémont hillside in Chénas — a property that feels, in the best possible way, like it exists outside of time. A longtime member of Terroirs Originels, an alliance of growers committed to quality and environmental stewardship in Beaujolais, his philosophy is simple and quietly radical: patience and observation over manipulation, always.
Drink It With — Duck confit, mushroom-stuffed pork tenderloin, coq au vin, aged Comté, or anywhere you'd reach for a Burgundy but want something with more soul and half the price.
Pascal Aufranc 'En Rémont' Chénas
Grapes — 100% Gamay
Region — Chénas, Beaujolais, France
Tasting Notes — Deep ruby with real presence. Black cherry, wild raspberry, iris, and dried flowers on the nose, with an earthy mineral undercurrent and a whisper of pepper and forest floor. The palate is frank and focused — elegant and racy, with a flinty mineral finish and tannins that are structured without ever being aggressive. A Gamay that rewards patience and repays attention.
The Wine — From a single 3.5-acre southwest-facing plot called 'Pic de Rémont' at 985 feet elevation — steep, granitic soils laced with quartz and manganese that give the wine its signature mineral backbone. Chénas is the smallest of the ten Beaujolais crus, and En Rémont sits at its heart, perched on the hillside where Pascal lives and works.
Farming — Organically farmed. Pascal's hilltop isolation — surrounded by woods and fields with no neighboring vineyards — gives him the rare freedom to farm as cleanly as he chooses without interference from conventional neighbors. Cover crops, hand harvesting, and a deep commitment to biodiversity are central to his practice.
Winemaking — Whole cluster semi-carbonic maceration in concrete vats, native yeast fermentation only, cap pushed down by hand daily over 12 days. Aged 8 months on fine lees in concrete — no oak, no additions, no added sulfites. Lightly filtered before bottling.
The Producer — Pascal Aufranc works a small 10-hectare estate from a centuries-old stone farmhouse perched on the En Rémont hillside in Chénas — a property that feels, in the best possible way, like it exists outside of time. A longtime member of Terroirs Originels, an alliance of growers committed to quality and environmental stewardship in Beaujolais, his philosophy is simple and quietly radical: patience and observation over manipulation, always.
Drink It With — Duck confit, mushroom-stuffed pork tenderloin, coq au vin, aged Comté, or anywhere you'd reach for a Burgundy but want something with more soul and half the price.