2025 Marcel Lapierre Cuvee Marcel

Around 300 cases for the US, depending on the vintage. Vibrant and juicy on entry — cherry, raspberry, violet, licorice, and a whisper of earthiness — then firming up beautifully with chalky mineral grip, suede-like tannins, and a long savory finish that is more Burgundy than anything Beaujolais is supposed to be. The 2025 Marcel Lapierre "Cuvée Marcel" is certified organic 100% Gamay from the estate's oldest Morgon vines — century-old plants in the Côte du Py and Le Douby lieu-dit on decomposed granite, vinified without added sulfur, nine months in old oak vats, zero filtration. Made only in exceptional years from 2.5 hectares of the domaine's most prized parcels — this is the cuvée that Mathieu and Camille Lapierre named after their father, the man who walked away from the chemical viticulture of industrial Beaujolais in the 1980s, followed Jules Chauvet back to whole cluster fermentation and native yeasts, and in doing so changed the entire direction of natural wine. Marcel passed in 2010. His children make this every year worthy of him — which means they don't make it every year. The 2025 sunny vintage concentrated the fruit without adding weight. Cellar to 2030 or decant and open it on a night that deserves it.