Séléné 'Cuvée de Printemps' AOC Beaujolais 2022

The vibe: Let your hair down. Kick your feet up. Light some incense and break out the cheese platter. “Printemps” means springtime in French and this chill red is perfect no matter what this Seattle weather is doing. The Beaujolais region is a personal favorite of mine as they’ve always been the underdog to Burgundy (they’re literally underneath it) and so they take great pride in what they release. It’s also where the Gang of Four introduced biodynamic winemaking to the contemporary wine industry and set the scene for the current state of natural wine. There’s a ton of history there that I could dig into but the long and short of it is if you’re a fan of mineral-driven, fruit forward, less-is-more approach to tannins and extraction this bottle is gonna be an instant hit. It literally made me say “woahh” with wine in my mouth. 

The geeky details: 100% Gamay. Whole cluster partial carbonic maceration. Six months in concrete before bottling. 

Serve: With a light chill.   

Food pairing: wood fired prosciutto pizza, pulled pork sando with a side of potato salad, hard aged cheeses 

Album pairing: Fanga – Natural Juice