Julien Sunier’s story is an encouraging one. He didn’t come from a family with land, nevertheless expert as a winemaker in his native Bourgogne, the place he labored with Nicolas Potel and Christophe Roumier. He discovered Beaujolais when he was despatched their by Mommesin to start out out an operation for them throughout the space. Befriending some key pure people – Lapierre, Thévenet and Métras – was an in for him on the subject of getting some rented vineyards, and in 2008 he cease the day job to make his private wines.
Julien now has 7.5 hectares of organically farmed vines in Regnié, Fleurie and Morgon. After I first visited him in 2016, he emphasised how exhausting it is to work organically in Beaujolais, and easily how once more breaking the work is perhaps. ‘We now have options to rent on account of people are getting earlier,’ says Julien, who talks excess of his youthful brother. ‘Youthful people are beginning to attain in Beaujolais. It’s pretty trendy and we now have now a superb group of pure winemakers, nevertheless everytime you see the size of the vineyard, we might just like the youthful expertise to return again proper right here.’
He says that organics is unusual in Beaujolais on account of the vineyards are powerful to deal with. The issue is handbook weed administration with the densely planted bush vines. ‘We’re very proud to farm organically,’ he says. ‘It is almost double the value throughout the vineyard nevertheless our value isn’t twice as quite a bit.’
In his small winery he works semi-carbonically (starting off fermentation carbonically nevertheless later pumping over and plunging as you may do in Burgundy), believing that full carbonic can hazard dropping the terroir. He solely supplies sulfur dioxide at bottling.
Julien’s wines are literally elegant and expressive. They’ve purity and categorical their terroirs moderately nicely.
Julien Sunier Beaujolais Villages Wild Soul 2022 France
Lovely intense crimson cherry and raspberry fruit on the nostril. Vivid and pure on the palate with structured, linear fruit. Modern and vivid. 93/100
Julien Sunier Fleurie 2022 Beaujolais, France
Modern, supple and stylish with fairly direct raspberry and cherry fruit. Truly excellent with good tannin and depth. 95/100
Julien Sunier Morgon 2021 Beaujolais
Vibrant, vivid and up to date with a vigorous, barely wild crimson cherry nostril. Juicy and stylish, excellent and up to date on the palate. 94/100
Julien Sunier Régnié 2021 Beaujolais
Supple and refined with good magnificence, and a sappy edge to the crimson fruits. Such poise and magnificence proper right here. 94/100