Coquelet farms two hectares of Beaujolais Villages around the Côte de Brouilly which he supplements with grapes he buys from his friend and natural winemaker Nicolas Chemarin. Hand harvesting, native yeasts and zero intervention in the cellar with little or no sulphur added at bottling are all par for the course here and the delicious and medium Beaujolais Villages is juicy and pure with just a little spice and gentle tannins making this a delight to drink now and over the next 3-4 years.
Lurid ruby-red. Spice-accented cherry, red berry and lavender scents show very good clarity. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering sharply focused bitter cherry, red currant and floral pastille flavors that become sweeter on the back half. The floral quality carries through a long, nervy, gently tannic finish that leaves behind a hint of spicy white pepper.
90 points, Vinous (March 2018)
The 2016 Beaujolais-Villages was showing very well, bursting with expressive aromas of sweet red-black fruit, orange rind and loamy soil. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, supple and charming, with juicy acids and an open-knit, generous profile.
90 points, Wine Advocate (September 2018)
Damien Coquelet is part of a generation breathing new life into Beaujolais; now one of the most dynamic and exciting wine regions in France. Coquelet started young, working in the cellars of his stepfather, Georges Descombes, from the age of ten before starting his own domaine in 2007 when he was just twenty years old. Descombes, who is based in Morgon and makes excellent Beaujolais himself was a disciple of the late great Marcel Lapierre - one of the original, Beaujolais Gang of Four – and was inspired by Lapierre's philosophy of organic viticulture, hand harvesting, native yeasts, zero intervention in the cellar and little if any sulphur at bottling.
Working alongside his stepfather and brother, Kevin Descombes, under the one roof of their cellar in the tiny village of Villié Morgon, Coquelet now farms 9 ha of vines (he owns 2.5) in Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, Chiroubles and Morgon and that are farmed along biodynamic principals. In the winery, Coquelet is totally non-interventionist allowing natural yeasts to ferment whole bunches without temperature control or protection, and no sulphur during élevage and little if any at bottling. These pure and energetic natural wines can be enjoyed young or with 4-5 cellaring.
