Raphael Chopin 'Funambule' Rouge VdF 2022
The Wine
Unique blend of Gamay and Gamaret. Gamaret is a cousin of Gamay (crossing between Gamay and Reichensteiner) and is grown mostly in Switzerland with just about 400 hectares. Raphael loved it so much when he discovered it at a winemaker friend over there that he decided to plant some on is granitic terroir of Lantignié in the Beaujolais. In the winery, the wine is aged in concrete, not filtered and with no sulphur added. The result of this blend is a delicious lighter and vibrant natural wine.
The Details
Variety - Gamay, Gamaret
Country - France
Region -Beaujolais
Extra - Cork
Year - 2022
Volume - 750mls
About the Wine Maker 
Raphael Chopin, as humble as he is, shares an artistic talent just like his namesake. It was perhaps meant to be that he became a winemaker, auspiciously born on November 21st - the celebration of Beaujolais Nouveau. Add to this, winemaking was already in his blood, having a winemaker grandfather. With the encouragement of his mother and grandmother, Raphael proudly and painstakingly revived his grandfather's vineyard, restoring it to something rather special.
After studying in France, Raphael dreamed of California, but vintage was at the same time as in Beaujolais, so Australia came naturally as the place to go for a vintage stint. He then returned to Beaujolais, bringing grandfather's estate back to life with the beautiful 2009 vintage.
Chopin's original vineyard in Lantignié is a beautiful mix of 28 year old young vines, planted in 1989, as well as some rare older 110 year old vines planted in 1905, with 100% Gamay as the only red grape allowed in Beaujolais. It is from this La Savoye vineyard that the Beaujolais-Villages is made from. This pocket size vineyard produces just 11,000 bottles, with Lantigné’s vintners working on a project with the AOC board to become the 11th Beaujolais, Cru and the first Beaujolais Cru to be 100% certified.
Extending the family holdings, Chopin now also own small holdings in Morgon and Régnié, creating wines to express these diverse terroirs.
Raphael farm the vineyard organically, working towards certification. This means no use of chemicals, instead he uses essential oils, copper and limited levels of sulphur. He is tilling the soil, hand harvesting and sorting, essentially managing his small vineyard like he would a precious garden. The result is simply delicious, with purity of fruit as the trademark.
