Why it matters
The producer
Jean-Etienne Chermette joined the domaine in 2017 and took over from Martine and Pierre-Marie Chermette in February 2023. The handover connects a new generation with a range already defined by two distinct Gamay wines.
Fleurie Poncié is the more extended wine, built around older vines, a longer whole-bunch maceration and ageing in old oak tuns. Les Griottes belongs to the Beaujolais Nouveau release cycle, with five days of maceration and a drinking window that begins on the third Thursday in November. Both bottles keep Gamay at the centre, but they ask for different occasions and different expectations from the glass.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Fleurie Poncié carries the AOC Fleurie appellation, a Beaujolais cru associated here with a floral, silky style. Les Griottes carries the Beaujolais Nouveau name, which places it inside a fixed annual release cycle and signals a wine intended to be enjoyed young.
The label therefore tells part of the story before the cork comes out. Fleurie Poncié is the bottle to follow through vineyard age, maceration and élevage. Les Griottes is the quick, seasonal expression, released from the third Thursday in November and at its best within six months.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Fleurie Poncié uses whole bunches in a half-carbonic maceration lasting 10 to 12 days. The concrete vats receive two pump-overs each day, and indigenous yeasts carry the fermentation. The longer contact allows perfume, colour and tannin to build before the wine spends 6 to 8 months in old oak foudres.
Les Griottes uses the same broad Beaujolais maceration family, but for only five days in concrete tanks. There is no chaptalization or added yeast, and the wine receives minimal sulphur dioxide. The shorter cellar path preserves a supple, juicy texture and fresh small red fruit, while the skin tannins remain visible at the finish.
Wines to know
The range in view
Fleurie Poncié is the range's floral cru wine. It is 100% Gamay from 40-year-old vines, with rose, peony and violet on the nose, silky tannins through the palate, red fruit at the core, toast and undergrowth in the middle, and a peppery close. The old foudre ageing supports a broader, more settled shape without replacing the perfume of the grape and site.
Beaujolais Nouveau Les Griottes is the early-drinking bottle. Its five-day maceration keeps the wine supple and direct, with fresh small red fruit, blackberry, cherry and raspberry. Its palate is juicy, smooth and fleshy, and the finish carries skin tannins. The release date is part of its range role: it is made to arrive in November, then to be enjoyed within six months.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Fleurie Poncié. It is the bottle that connects the producer's clearest documented choices: 100% Gamay, 40-year-old vines on pink granite with mica and quartz, whole-bunch half-carbonic maceration in concrete, and 6 to 8 months in old oak foudres.