Log in for prices and ordering

Domaine Chermette

Artisanal Beaujolais “…Among the Finest Values that can be Found in French Wine.” [William Kelley]

The late Marcel Lapierre once said of Beaujolais: “Ça se bois sous la douche”. Translation: It’s a wine to drink under the shower. While this captures the simple deliciousness of much Beaujolais, it doesn’t do justice to the wines being produced by the finest artisans like Pierre-Marie Chermette. Of the wines of this grower, we would be more likely to say, “Il est trop bon pour être bu sous la douche!” (It’s too damn good to be drunk in the shower!). Beaujolais can be the most joyful, compelling and life-affirming of wines. Yet in the hands of a master, it can also be a wonderfully refined, long-lived Burgundy. Domaine du Vissoux is a producer capable of fashioning such wines. This is why they can be found in many of France’s finest restaurants and why Vissoux remains one of the highest-rated Beaujolais producers in the leading French wine guide, Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France.

These are bottles that Burgundy lovers should load up on—they deliver the pleasure of many a village-level wine for a fraction of the price.

The old vine, wild ferment, unchapitalised and unfiltered Beaujolais from this touchstone producer have been over-delivering since the ‘80s. In those first decades, his wines helped raise the bar considerably and left a lasting influence on the region. Owners Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette were among the first in Beaujolais to use sustainable agricultural practices, shunning the use of any chemicals in the vineyard and encouraging as much life in the soil as possible. They prune hard to keep yields low, harvest by hand when the grapes are fully ripe and regularly carry out green harvests to further reduce the yields and ensure full ripeness for the harvest. The wines are made with minimal intervention: wild yeasts, minimal sulphur additions and no filtering if possible. Aging is in traditional up-to-the-ceiling, neutral oak casks.

Not only do the Chermettes produce outstanding Beaujolais from the Crus of Moulin à Vent, Brouilly and Fleurie, but they also make some of France’s most highly regarded Crème de Cassis from their own fruit. If there is finer cassis made anywhere in the world, we have not tasted it! And now Pierre-Marie is producing some Crémant Blanc de Blancs which, as expected, is superb (otherwise he would not do it)!

It’s rare to see Pierre-Marie without a smile on his face and similarly, this affable grower’s wines are crammed with the same kind of sparkle and joie de vivre that greets visitors to Chermette’s Saint-Vérand Domaine. And why shouldn’t he be happy? Pierre-Marie Chermette has close to forty successful vintages under his belt, and he has recently been joined by their son Jean-Étienne, ensuring Chermette’s star will continue to shine among the brightest in Beaujolais. 

Currently Available

Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Les Griottes 2023

Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Les Griottes 2023

This mouthwatering crowd-pleaser is named after a grove of cherry trees that flank the vineyard. The fruit is drawn from 30- to 40-year-old Gamay vines, grown in dark granite soils around the Chermette homestead in Saint-Vérand, southern Beaujolais. In contrast to his age-worthy Crus from Moulin-à-Vent and Fleurie et al., Chermette aims to produce something light-to-medium-bodied, bright and cherry-fruited with reach-for-another-glass charm.The winemaking has remained unchanged for decades, with traditional whole-bunch, semi-carbonic fermentation in concrete tanks followed by maturation in tank and old oak casks still the order of the day. The nose is so exuberant you could be tasting out of barrel, flush with easy-going, lip-smacking red fruit flecked by red floral notes. The palate tells the same story through waves of vibrant, tangy berries and cherrystone fruit. As always, it is a delicious, moreish wine and fabulous value.

Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Les Griottes 2023
Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Origine Vieilles Vignes 2022

Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Origine Vieilles Vignes 2022

Chermette’s emblematic Cuvée Traditionnelle Vieilles Vignes (previously called Vissoux) was first bottled in 1986 at the behest of Jean Brouilly, then Michelin-starred chef of Tarare. It instantly caused a sensation, launching the fame of the Chermette wines and igniting heated debate within the region. Unchaptalised and unfiltered (inadvertently or not), this wild-ferment, low-sulphur, old-vine cuvée sailed over the oceans of bland, homogenised Beaujolais being produced at the time. It also raised the bar considerably for quality, non-Cru Beaujolais, and remains a benchmark.The fruit source is a densely-planted four hectares in Saint-Vérand, with vines rooted in a pocket of dark granite—soil that partly accounts for the wine’s Cru-level depth and minerality. The vine age also helps, ranging from 35 to 85 years. These vines typically produce a considerably plumper and silkier wine than the entry-level Griottes, and in’22 this manifests in an explicitly floral and fleshy release bursting with plump blackberry fruit, lithe, powdery structure and juicy freshness. A wine to brighten the gloomiest of days; the value on offer is off the charts.

“Cherry and red plum, cherry kernels, almond essence, it’s a bit meaty, dense, firm and crunchy, with a savoury finish. It ticks the boxes for sweet and savoury with a right balance, and scratches that Beaujolais itch quite nicely.”
91 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
Domaine Chermette Beaujolais Origine Vieilles Vignes 2022
Domaine Chermette Crème de Pêche de Vigne au Gingembre (500ml)
Bibendum Bar

Domaine Chermette Crème de Pêche de Vigne au Gingembre (500ml)

The vine peach is another distinctive feature of Burgundy's southern vineyards. It is a small, highly aromatic, white-fleshed peach with a purplish skin, often planted along the lanes leading to the vineyards. This hand-made liqueur is obtained by macerating and distilling Vissoux's organically-grown vine peaches in the finest alcohol, then adding a carefully controlled amount of sugar. Martine Chermette then adds an exotic, spicy touch by infusing the liqueur with fresh ginger root. The colour comes exclusively from the fruit; no artificial colours (or flavours) are added - so the colour may vary depending on the bottling. In a word: delicious!

The colour comes exclusively from the fruit; no artificial colours (or flavours) are added - so the colour may vary depending on the bottling. In a word: delicious!

Domaine Chermette Crème de Pêche de Vigne au Gingembre (500ml)
Bibendum Bar
Domaine Chermette Crème de Cassis (500ml)
Bibendum Bar

Domaine Chermette Crème de Cassis (500ml)

This small-batch, organic cassis liqueur is drawn from estate-grown, Noir de Bourgogne blackcurrants. This local variety of blackcurrant is particular to the Burgundy region and is much smaller and more intensely-flavoured than the common blackcurrant. Vissoux's Crème de Cassis is handmade made from the extract of the blackcurrants that have been macerated in alcohol. It is made without preservatives or colouring and with a limited addition of sugar dissolved directly into the alcoholic juice of the blackcurrant berries at low temperature. Due to the intensity of the aromatics, the deep colour and concentrated flavour, you can serve this in very small quantities. Considered by some in France to be this country's finest example, if there is a better crème de cassis, we have not tasted it.

Due to the intensity of the aromatics, the deep colour and concentrated flavour, you can serve this in very small quantities. Considered by some in France to be this country's finest example, if there is a better crème de cassis, we have not tasted it.

Domaine Chermette Crème de Cassis (500ml)
Bibendum Bar
Domaine Chermette Brouilly Pierreux 2022

Domaine Chermette Brouilly Pierreux 2022

Martine Chermette’s grandmother was born and grew up among the vines at Pierreux, just outside the small hamlet of Odenas. As Martine puts it: “For sentimental reasons [we] couldn’t resist buying this little plot of vines at the foot of Mont Brouilly.” Chermette tends just 1.5 hectares of vines here, with 60-year-old roots delving deep into the eroded granite and bluestone that has been washed down from the mountain over millennia. The name Pierreux comes from the word pierres (‘stones’), illustrating the makeup of the soil.The Brouilly is often a more brooding cuvée in the range—particularly in its early years—though 2022 is a finer and more aromatic example, with scents of wild blue fruit aromas along with pitchstone and peppery spices. The palate is juicy and fine with creamy, scented fruit cushioned by succulent acidity and elegantly chalky tannins. 

Domaine Chermette Brouilly Pierreux 2022
Domaine Chermette Saint-Amour Les Champs-Grillés 2022

Domaine Chermette Saint-Amour Les Champs-Grillés 2022

The newest star in the Chermette firmament, Pierre-Marie’s Saint-Amour is drawn from a tiny parcel of 50-year-old vines from the Champs-Grillés climat (which covers a total of just three hectares). The parcel was offered to Chermette by an old friend who could no longer manage the steep aspect on the Bessay Mountain.Saint-Amour’s soils include areas of granite and varying quantities of clay and limestone—a mix said to produce lighter, more delicate wines. Chermette’s vines, however, are all rooted in the classic decomposed granite. Along with the old vines, low yields and high, southeast-facing aspect, this begets a surprisingly intense wine, which combines the lacy muscle of this grower’s Moulin-à-Vent with the soaring perfumes of the Fleurie. Long, flowing and lacy, it’s a wine to be drunk again and again.

Domaine Chermette Saint-Amour Les Champs-Grillés 2022
Show All

AT-A-GLANCE

• Chermette is a family-run Beaujolais domaine currently run by Pierre-Marie Chermette, who took over from his father in 1982.

• It farms 30 hectares of Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages vines, plus 20 hectares of Cru vines across Brouilly, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent and Saint-Amour.

• The soils are predominantly granite of various types with more of a clay/limestone profile in the Chardonnay parcels.

• Farming is sustainable and eschews synthetic products, the soils are ploughed, natural grass cover is promoted, and yields are tightly controlled.

• Vinification incorporates semi-carbonic maceration and a range of vessels, including oak casks of various sizes and stainless-steel tanks.

• The range includes Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages and Cru wines, Crémant de Bourgogne and a pair of delicious liqueurs—crème de cassis and crème de pêche—from estate-grown fruit.

• Several of Chermette’s wines are available in small and large formats, including a five-litre cask of their Les Griottes Beaujolais.



IN THE PRESS

“Old vines, diligent but traditional vinification and élevage in foudre are the rudiments of the approach. To my palate, some of the cuvées reviewed here number among the finest values that can be found in French wine.” William Kelley, The Wine Advocate 

“Few Beaujolais growers are in a position to pronounce on the region’s different terroirs with the authority of the affable Pierre Chermette.” Andrew Jefford, The New France

“From his base in southern Beaujolais, Pierre Chermette has become one of the beacons of Beaujolais quality.” David Schildknecht, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Country

France

Primary Region

Beaujolais

People

Winemakers: Pierre-Marie & Jean-Étienne Chermette

Availability

National

Most Recent Offer

  • Domaine Chermette
    Domaine Chermette
    Pierre-Marie Chermette’s juicily delicious 2023 Beaujolais Les Griottes has just arrive...
    Pierre-Marie Chermette’s juicily delicious 2023 Beaujolais Les Griottes has just arrived, and not a moment too soon. We noticed an unusual-looking ...

    Read more

While you're here