Bonnet & Cotton Beaujolais Rouge ‘Bas les Masques’ 2023
The Wine
Fermented in concrete and aged in barrels for 8 months. Dark blue fruits and fresh blueberries come together to create a lively, energetic thirst quencher - so juicy with just the right touch of earthy undertones adding intrigue. Fun enough to even take a chill but still retains a serious edge. A delicious tonic, slurpability factor 10/10!
The Details
Variety - Gamay
Country - France
Region -Beaujolais
Extra - Cork
Year - 2023
Volume - 750mls
About the Wine Maker 
The Cottons have been making wine in Beaujolais since 1895 - and it was in 2014, after a brief stint as a motorcycle mechanic, Pierre Cotton (pictured above with partner Marine) reclaimed one hectare of Cote de Brouilly from his family to create his first cuvée.
Inspired by wines from young Beaujolais producers like Yann Bertrand, Jules Metras, and Keke Descombes, Pierre farms organically and uses minimal sulfur in vinification (some cuvées have none and never exceed 10g/l). Pierre took over the family domaine in 2015 and in recent years, he has collaborated with his agronomist partner Marine Bonnet, who officially joined the domaine in 2020, to enhance their vision for the Domaine.
Marine, with her expertise in viticulture, has helped implement significant changes. In 2022, they planted 500 trees in their Brouilly vineyards to restore animal habitats, particularly between lower elevation streams and wooded hilltops typical of Beaujolais crus. Together, they’ve encouraged neighbors in Brouilly and nearby villages to adopt similar practices, aiming for a collective effort against climate change and the challenges of recent difficult vintages.
All their wines are fermented with native yeast, without SO2, in concrete tanks, and aged in century-old large foudres originally built for beer and repurposed in the 1950s.
Pierre & Marine represent the ‘new face’ of Beaujolais and are seriously worth checking out!
