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Domaine Chamonard

The Domaine Joseph Chamonard in Villié-Morgon has a long winemaking tradition and is a veteran of the Beaujolais region. However, the domaine’s real rise to prominence didn’t begin until 1989, when Jean-Claude Chanudet, the winemaker’s son-in-law, joined Chamonard as a winemaker. Le Chat—as the not-so-cat-like winemaker is also known—was a close friend of Marcel Lapierre and part of the movement that championed natural and sustainable viticulture in Beaujolais starting in the 1990s. Chanudet’s wines are calm, robust, and structured Gamays that offer great finesse and elegance and can age for decades without any trouble.

Joseph Chamonard
69910 Villié-Morgon, France
Phone +33 474 691397

Winery Size 5,5 ha

Domaine Chamonard has been farming its 5.5 hectares of vineyards organically for decades, but has no interest in seeking certification. The vines in all of the vineyards are at least 60 years old, and the oldest plots will soon celebrate their 100th anniversary. Five hectares of the vineyard area are located in the Morgon appellation, and the warm granite soils—with their slate and gravel inclusions—produce powerful and compact wines that yield Chamonard’s fuller-bodied and more masculine cuvée. In the commune of Fleurie, the domaine also has half a hectare of Gamay planted on pink granite; this wine is always more delicate and refined than the Morgon—a feminine Gamay with a fragrant nose and a lean structure.

At Chamonard, the grapes are, of course, harvested by hand, because the berries must remain intact to allow for carbonic maceration with whole clusters. Chanudet prefers extended contact with the must, but without extracting too much tannin. For this reason, the whole clusters undergo intracellular fermentation in a neutral vat, in the absence of oxygen and at a low temperature. After a few days, the berries are crushed, the process transitions to a classic red wine fermentation, and after about three weeks, the wine has fully fermented. Aging takes place partly in large old wooden barrels and partly in stainless steel tanks; the proportion varies depending on the vintage’s style.

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