Beaujolais adventures (8) Nicolas Chemarin
Nicolas Chemarin is one of the rising stars of the natural wine scene in Beaujolais, and I visited him on a lovely summer’s day, and the visit began like all good visits do, walking the vineyards. He’s outside the crus in the west of Beaujolais in a village called Marchampt, but the vineyards here are spectacular, on slopes, and are well farmed. It’s not easy working in Beaujolais on the slopes without using herbicide, because of the slopes, and the fact that the vines are close planted and not trellised.
He’s fourth generation on this land. His great grandfather did subsistence polyculture, his grandfather focused on viticulture, and his father continued with grapes and wine, handing over to the young Nicolas in 2015 on his retirement. So Nicolas began with 4 hectares, and since has doubled the vineyard area he looks after. He’s also switched his farming to organics, and his winemaking to natural.
His background is a degree in enology and then working in Pouilly-Fuissé, and later running the cellar at natural producer Louis Tête. He’s been fully focused on his own domaine since 2008.
THE WINES
Nicolas Chemarin Chardonnay P’tit Grobis 2022 Vin de France
11.5% alcohol. Unfiltered and 10 mg/l sulfites just before bottling. They have half a hectare down at the bottom of the village, planted in the 1990s, on a flat land. The parcels were planted by his father, so he had a lot of fun macerating Chardonnay on skins. Here there’s no clay or limestone here to give complexity. Half grapes macerated for a week (carbonic) and half direct press. First vintage was 2019. Full yellow, slightly cloudy. Lovely focus here: bright citrus fruit with some orange peel and a hint of herbiness, as well as some chalky notes and a touch of salinity. Lovely intensity to this wine with good acidity and a crystalline citrus core and lively acidity on the finish. Such precision and balance. 94/100
[This could be Beaujolais but the tasting panel don’t like anything that isn’t classic. The next project is to buy some Gewurztraminer from a friend in Alsace and blend this with Chardonnay.]
Nicolas Chemarin P’Tit Grobis Beaujolais Villages 2022 France
12% alcohol. Main production of the domaine. In between the two hill tops. Whole bunch 10-15 days, then pressed to concrete. The tank is inerted, then for the first 4-5 days juice is withdrawn, temperature is kept cool. No added sulfites but some made be added before bottling depending on the vintage. Stony and mineral with bright red cherry fruit, showing great elegance and purity, with lovely red cherry and redcurrant fruit and a bit of grainy, gravelly structure. Light, bright, elegant and fine spicy framing to the fruit. 94/100
Nicolas Chemarin On the Rock Again Marchampt 2021 Vin de France
This is from the two hilltops, 30-35 year old vines, plus a little plot of very old (70 years) vines. Vin de France because it’s the first wine he made without sulfites and didn’t want to put it through the tasting panel. The loss of yield when turning organic is about half at first, and because of the added disease pressure this was very low volumes. Lively, spicy, vivid aromatics with sweet cherry and raspberry notes as well as some herbs. The palate is lively, spicy and intense with a lovely peppery detail, some redcurrant and strawberry, just a hint of volatile acidity adding a lively sweet spicy acid line, as well as a bit of structure. So distinctive, a bit edgy, but also with drinkability. 93/100
Nicolas Chemarin La Haute Ronze Régnié 2021
From a lieu dit in Regnie close to Morgon Les Charmes in the north of the appellation. There’s some clay in the soils here. 20 days maceration. Half goes to concrete and normally half in wood, so there’s more oak ageing here because of the low yields and the wine needing more time to open up. This is quite structured with lovely bright cherry and raspberry fruit. Nice purity with some fine spices framing the fruit. Quite sophisticated and assured with a nice acid line. Has a sense of brightness and focus, with some spicy acidity on the finish. 93/100
Nicolas Chemarin Le Rocher Beaujolais Villages 2019
Higher-up vineyard, On The Rock, 35-55 days maceration in a fibreglass vat that acts like a cement mixer, then ageing in amphora. No 2020 because of issues with volatile acidity, and 2021 wasn’t the right vintage for this wine, so next bottling is 2022. Beautifully textured with a core of dense, sweet strawberry and red cherry fruit with some wet stone minerality and a lively, spicy edge with fine grainy notes and a lovely sense of ease and finesse. Beautifully expressive with some generosity but also elegance. 94/100
Nicolas Chemarin Morgon Corcelette 2018
This is the current vintage for sale. 40 days maceration in 2018. This has lovely structure and depth to it with some savoury, spicy, phenolic notes and a touch of wildness under the black cherry and blackberry fruit. There’s some tannin here with a herbal twist and a touch of mint and olive, finishing firmly savoury. It’s satisfying and food friendly with a grippy finish. 92/100
Nicolas Chemarin Je Tai dans La Peu 2021 Vin de France
Chardonnay, 30-35 days of maceration, which is how long it took to ferment all the sugar, then aged 14 months in barrel. He started to tressage some of the Chardonnay this year, and this is a trial to see if there’s a difference in the wine. People always say Chardonnay isn’t good for maceration, but what about this wine? Full gold in colour. This is so distinctive. There’s a dense lime and spice character with some volatility, giving a sweet spicy acidity. This has a slight sternness from the structure. Honey, nuts, apple, spice and a touch of cedar. There’s some sour cherry and some spiciness. Very bold and distinctive, with a strongly savoury twist. Gastronomic. 93/100
