The debut cuvee was called 100% Cotton, and the name said it all: one young grower, one hectare reclaimed from the family, and a determination to make Cote de Brouilly entirely his own way. A decade on, the domaine ranks among natural Beaujolais's most sought-after addresses.
Backstory
Pierre Cotton founded the domaine in 2014, taking back a hectare of Cote de Brouilly to make his first wine, and assumed full control in 2015. Marine Bonnet, an agronomist specialized in viticulture, officially joined in 2020, prompting the change of name from Pierre Cotton to Bonnet-Cotton. The estate grew quickly in its early years, as Pierre reclaimed two hectares of Brouilly in 2015 and added a hectare each of Regnie and Beaujolais in 2016, plus a parcel in Fleurie.
The Region
The domaine is based in Odenas, in the heart of the Beaujolais crus. Its Cote de Brouilly parcel sits on a terroir of corne verte, a particular blend of pink granite and diorite that Pierre claims is found nowhere else in Beaujolais. Other holdings rest on pink and yellow granite, the soils that give the crus their mineral lift and freshness.
Vineyards & Farming
Holdings now stretch across several crus, with named lieux-dits such as Les Grilles and La Chapelle in Cote de Brouilly, Les Mines in Brouilly, and parcels in Fleurie and Regnie, individual plots generally running under a hectare and a half. Farming is certified organic. Pierre and Marine have planted hundreds of trees and interplanted the vines to combat drought and rebuild vineyard habitat.
Winemaking
The reds undergo full carbonic maceration of whole clusters in concrete tank, then age in foudre for roughly eight to nine months. Fermentations run on native yeast, and sulfur is used sparingly if at all, never more than 10 g/l and sometimes none. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The Wines
Gamay leads the range, from the emblematic Cote de Brouilly 100% Cotton, a structured yet juicy wine, to bottlings of Brouilly, Fleurie, Regnie, and a Beaujolais rouge. More recent experiments introduce disease-resistant PiWi varieties such as Souvignier Gris and Muscaris.