Bonneau du Martray

The affable Laurent Martray, formerly winemaker at Château de la Chaize, has a small holding of five hectares, centred around a prime south/south east facing plot called La Folie, next door to Château Thivin. In addition there is a single hectare planted on Mont Brouilly, from where his Côte de Brouilly ‘Les Feuilles’ Cuvée hails, which was planted in 1916. The soils are extremely rocky, giving rise to a wine with a strong inner core of typical Côte de Brouilly minerality. Artisan and traditional, Laurent hand harvests and then ferments with de-talked and whole bunches, followed by macerations of up to 16 days. After ageing the wines in large used oak foudres and demi muids for up to 16 months, bottlng is carried out without filtration. These are vivid and really soulful Cru Beaujolais that speak clearly of terroir and craftsman ship. They are bursting with personality but are also produced with drinkability in mind.

2017 Vintage

The first vintage under new ownership since Stan Kroenke purchased it in January 2017 though it must be made clear the same winemaking team are still in place - the current winemaker having worked with previous owner Jean-Charles Le Bault de la Morinières for eight years. The reds were harvested on the 30th and 31st of August and after a couple of days’ break they tackled the whites. A vintage the team at Bonneau du Martray are clearly proud of; despite the drought it is a vintage here, both for Pinot and Chardonnay, that shows a lot of freshness.

2018 Vintage

Generous yields have been few and far between at Bonneau du Martray over the last decade, but 2018 bucks the trend. It feels like a good crop has been a really beneficial factor in the quality of the final white blend, which has a distinctly juicy, plumptuous but fresh feel to it. Harvest started on the 28th August and was spread over six days. A team of 40 pickers harvesting in stages between the top middle and bottom parcels on the hill, from the south-western facing Le Charlemagne plots through to the western En Charlemagne ones. The replanted middle block of the red Corton will not be going into the final blend so there is even less of this available this year than usual. The white will be bottled in April after 18 months élévage.