Château de Grand Pré is a family estate in Fleurie, one of the ten Beaujolais crus, where Romain Zordan makes the kind of pure, gulpable Gamay that has put natural Beaujolais back on the map.
Backstory
The eighteenth-century estate has belonged to the Zordan family for decades. Romain Zordan took over his parents' vines in 2012 and runs the domaine with his brother Alex. Early on he was drawn into natural winemaking circles by Damien Coquelet and found a mentor in Jean-François Ganevat.
The Region
The vines lie in the granite hills of cru Beaujolais in eastern France, centred on the village of Fleurie with further parcels in Morgon and Beaujolais Villages.
Vineyards and Farming
Grand Pré farms around 8 hectares: roughly 6 in Fleurie, 1.5 in Morgon and half a hectare in Beaujolais Villages. The estate has been certified organic since 2012, and Romain brought a sustainable, hands-off approach to vineyards his family had long tended.
Winemaking
Most of the reds are made by semi-carbonic maceration with whole bunches, fermented with native yeasts and no added cultured yeast. Sulphur is kept to a bare minimum, around 5 to 7 mg/l only when needed, and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Aging often takes place on fine lees in concrete tanks.
The Wines
The range covers cru Fleurie and Morgon, a Beaujolais Blanc and lively entry cuvées such as Buvons Pour des Idées. Annual production runs from 30,000 to 40,000 bottles, all pointing toward fresh, unforced expressions of Gamay.
