Wine from the Clay-Limestone Faultline

Julien Merle grew up in wine — but not the wine he makes today. As a fifth-generation vigneron in Legny, on the southern edge of Beaujolais, he inherited an 8-hectare estate from his father Gérard in 2003. [^153^] The family business was productivist: grapes were sold to négociants, thermovinification was standard, selected yeasts were the norm. "My dad made wine for the grand distribution," Julien explains. "And I refused little by little to do thermovinification, to use select yeasts, and so one day the négociants said we no longer want your wine. And I hadn't done a business plan — I just wanted to make wine in a clean fashion!" [^153^]

The crisis nearly ended his career. But by chance, he met Yvon Métras and Jean Foillard — the legendary natural winemakers of the northern Beaujolais crus — who provided the encouragement he needed to continue. [^153^] Foillard became both mentor and, for some négociant cuvées, client. Julien also drew advice from a wide spectrum: Philippe Jambon of Chasselas, Jean-Gilles Chasselay of Châtillon d'Azergues, and Christian Ducroux — the pioneer of natural wine in the region who first inspired Julien to create more qualitative wines. [^153^] [^154^]

Nathalie Banes came to wine from an entirely different world. In 2013, she met Julien by chance — at the time, she had no connection to agriculture whatsoever. "I wanted to learn more about wine because I was drinking bad wine," she recalls with characteristic honesty. [^154^] Julien taught her everything, and she eventually took over vineyards of her own, now totalling 4 hectares. She previously worked with Xavier Benier in the Loire — famous for his unsulfured, super-natural wines — and brought that Loire sensibility to her Beaujolais practice. [^152^]

The couple's life is deeply intertwined with their work. They farm together, vinify independently, and host an annual natural wine salon at their home in Legny — "En Attendant La Pluie" — where young vignerons gather, share soup, and taste wines. [^157^] They also run a gîte at the domaine for harvest workers and hikers. [^154^] Theirs is not just a wine project; it is a way of life rooted in peasant tradition, community, and respect for the living world.

Nathalie and Julien share a zero-zero philosophy: no sulfur dioxide added at any stage — from fermentation to bottling. [^151^] But they are not dogmatic purists. "We are not Ayatollahs of zero sulfite wine," Julien clarifies. "We prefer a wine that keeps its fruit with a small amount of sulfur rather than a totally extinguished wine without any sulfite. The important thing is to find a balance and leave a margin of tolerance in the tasting experience of natural wines." [^154^]

Nathalie's approach diverges from typical Beaujolais carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration. She leans toward a more Burgundian style: de-stemming and longer maceration to extract phenolics and structure, resulting in wines with greater textural complexity. [^151^] Julien employs a similar classic vinification style, focusing on gentle extraction and long vatting — a minimum of 14–15 days, even for his primeur. [^153^] Fermentation is entirely spontaneous, relying on indigenous yeasts. [^151^]

Julien prioritizes quantity and consistency over micro-cuvées. "You have to have a certain quantity of grapes. When it's too petite, it doesn't work in the same manner," he explains. [^153^] He has an old parcel more than 80 years old, but rather than risk a tiny cuvée that might be good one year in ten, he blends it into his main cuvée for homogeneity. This approach — "la masse" — vinification in quantity, gives his wines a poise and tranquility that belies their unfiltered, unsulfured status. [^153^]

Aging happens in neutral vessels — old barrels or concrete tanks — to prevent wood flavor from masking the wine's intrinsic character. [^151^] Julien is particularly fond of concrete for its thermal exchange and neutrality: "I use the concrete tank for thermal exchange and its neutrality which avoids ionisation and the reductive taste of stainless steel." [^154^] Nathalie's wines are similarly aged to harmonize components and stabilize naturally. [^151^]

Both bottle unfiltered and unfined, with no enological additives — no enzymes, acids, or fining agents. [^151^] The wines are fermented to full dryness, with residual sugar near zero. ABV typically ranges from 12% to 13.5%. [^151^] The result is a collective body of work that represents a rigorous dedication to purist expression of Beaujolais Gamay — free from technological intervention and focused entirely on the symbiotic relationship between vine, soil, and vintage.