We had a terrific introduction to Beaujolais’ 2023 vintage earlier this year. Visiting our growers, and many others, it was clear that most producers enjoyed the semi-luxury of making the style of wine they wanted to. Those who preferred pep and freshness started harvesting in the first days of September, capturing freshness to marry the season’s ripeness. Others, favouring power and depth, hung on as sugar levels rose and acidities softened. Chermette’s flag is nailed to the former camp, and this grower’s wines are even more drinkable and elegant than their 2022 counterparts. All the producers we met felt their 2023 wines were truer to site than the previous years. Reflecting today’s topsy-turvy extremes of making wine in France, 2024 was a different beast altogether. The conditions—a cool, rainy start followed by a textbook end to the season—favoured the kind of delicate, super-vibrant and mouthwatering wines of a classical season. L’Esprit du Beaujolais! Jean-Etienne Chermette has now assumed the day-to-day running of the Domaine. Not that his parents, Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette, have gone very far. On the day we visited, Pierre-Marie delivered wine to the Domaine’s clients in Lyon, while Marie hosted a sommelier from Sicily. Jean-Etienne has been working with his parents for almost ten years, so we shouldn’t expect a seismic change in spirit. He has, however, moved the tasting area from the cool, underground cellars to a climate-controlled room above ground. We’ve had many great tastings in that foudre-lined hall, so the change may take some getting used to. For better or worse, wherever you look in France, and in Beaujolais, you will find progress.