Yvon Metras - Beaujolais Rouge - Magnum 2024
Yvon Métras' estate is one of the legendary signatures of Beaujolais, crowned with an almost mythical status among natural wine enthusiasts. Located around Fleurie and Romanèche Thorins, the winemaker cultivates a few hectares of Gamay on granitic terroirs of great purity, worked with artisanal precision. Yields are deliberately very low, soils are plowed, vines are cared for without any synthetic inputs, in an approach that places soil life and fruit expression at the center of everything. The Beaujolais Rouge is one of the estate's most emblematic cuvées, offering an immediate, delicate, and vibrant reading of Gamay. Presented here in magnum, this 2024 gains in breadth, freshness, and aging potential, the large format ensuring a slower and more harmonious evolution of the wine.
Yvon Métras Beaujolais Rouge Magnum 2024 comes from Gamay grapes harvested at perfect maturity, handpicked with meticulous sorting essential for natural vinification. Whole clusters make up the bulk of the vat, allowing a traditional semi-carbonic maceration that preserves the juiciness of the fruit, the floral dimension, and the lively energy characteristic of the estate. No selected yeasts are used; only indigenous yeasts drive the fermentation, while sulfur is reduced to the strict minimum according to the natural balance of the vintage. Aging, exclusively in vats, guarantees total transparency of the fruit and texture. Bottled in magnum, the wine gains in grain finesse, aromatic brightness, and the ability to age gracefully over the years, while retaining the crystalline and airy style typical of Métras.
On tasting, the Beaujolais Rouge Magnum 2024 shows a clear ruby robe, luminous, almost watercolor-like. The nose offers a burst of small red fruits: raspberry, redcurrant, fresh cherry, enhanced by notes of wild strawberry, peony, and violet. On the palate, the attack is lively, fluid, with pure and crunchy fruit unfolding on a silky and perfectly smooth texture. The tannins are remarkably fine, almost powdery, while the natural freshness brings tension and length without ever compromising the wine's indulgence. The finish, tangy and floral, is very light while maintaining a beautiful persistence, a signature of the beautiful granitic soils of Beaujolais. At the table, this magnum ideally accompanies fine charcuterie, pâté en croûte, roast chicken, seasonal bistronomic cuisine, roasted vegetables, or lightly aged soft cheeses. It expresses itself magnificently slightly chilled and gains even more depth the next day.
Grape variety: 100% Gamay
