Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau, Château de Belleverne 2026

This is Beaujolais Nouveau with its collar straightened. From Beaujolais-Villages vineyards - a notch up from basic Beaujolais - it shows all the bright, juicy charm you'd expect, but with a bit more depth and polish. The Bataillard brothers at Château de Belleverne use old vines and cool carbonic maceration to draw out raspberry and cherry fruit, a hint of blossom, and a supple, rounded finish. Still fun, still fresh, just that little bit more refined.

Slightly chilled, on its own or with charcuterie and roast chicken - it's all about that Beaujolais freshness and spontaneity.

At the northern tip of Beaujolais, Domaine de Belleverne has been in the Bataillard family since 1969 and is now run by brothers Didier and Alain. They farm 36 hectares of old vines - many over 50 years - across four of the ten Beaujolais Crus: Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent and Saint-Amour, plus some Beaujolais Villages plots nearby. The estate's been HVE certified since 2018 and takes a careful, environmentally minded approach in both vineyard and cellar. The brothers aim for finesse rather than sheer weight, even tweaking traditional carbonic maceration by cooling the grapes for more precision. The result is Beaujolais with real poise and concentration, showing the region's hallmark energy in a beautifully refined light.