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Rapahel Beysang

Encules Gamay 2018

Price: $43.95
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Tasting notes

The 1955 vines in Theize give Enculés more density and grip than a typical southern Beaujolais. The 2018 warm vintage pushes the fruit toward dark cherry and plum while the stalks from whole-cluster fermentation keep an earthy, slightly savory edge running through the finish.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Black CherryPlumEarthWild Strawberry
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; 100% Gamay; dark fruit and earth; 13% ABV; 1L recycled bottle
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Gamay; vines planted 1955; Theize, southern Beaujolais; clay-limestone Pierres Dorees soils; organically farmed
  • Winemaking: Native yeast fermentation; whole-cluster maceration approx. 2 weeks; aged in old neutral foudres 25-30hl; no SO2, unfined, unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; light chill recommended; no decant necessary
  • Pairing: Charcuterie, pork rillettes, roast chicken, lentils, mushroom dishes
  • Similar To: For fans of whole-cluster Pinot Noir and earthy, low-intervention Gamay from the natural wine world

Enculés is 100% Gamay sourced from vines planted in 1955 in Theize, a village in the southern Beaujolais Pierres Dorées zone. The soils here are clay and limestone laced with the iron-rich golden stone the area is named for — a very different foundation from the granite of the northern Beaujolais Crus. 2018 was a warm vintage, and the wine shows it: dark-fruited and full of fleshy primary matter, with earthen notes from whole-cluster fermentation and exceptional fluidity on the palate.

Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts. The whole bunches macerate for approximately two weeks with minimal pumping over, then the wine ages in large old foudres of 25 to 30 hectoliters. No sulfites are added at any stage. No fining, no filtration. The wine is bottled in recycled one-liter bottles, a Beysang house practice across their range.

Raphael Beysang and Emélie Hurtubise operate under the name Lapins des Vignes out of Saint-Germain-Nuelles in the southern Beaujolais. They farm around seven hectares organically, supplementing minimal copper and sulfur treatments with biodynamic herbal preparations. Horse work is used for soil tillage. The Theize parcel is roughly 25 minutes north of their cellar.

Works well with charcuterie, pork rillettes, or a simple roast chicken — the kind of food it would be poured alongside in a Beaujolais kitchen. The earthy, whole-cluster character also suits lentil dishes and mushroom-based preparations. Serve slightly cool, around 58 to 62F.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Gamay
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, France
Region:, Beaujolais
Appellation:, Vin de France
Bottle Size:, 1L
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


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If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Rapahel Beysang

Raphael Beysang grew up in Chatenois, Alsace, where his parents ran a hotel and restaurant. He went to viticultural school in Obernai and began farming under natural wine producer Patrick Meyer in Nothalten, Alsace. Jean-Marc Dreyer, now a close collaborator and friend, was a fellow student and coworker during that period. Beysang later moved to Auvergne, working with Vincent Marie and Patrick Bouju. It was at Bouju's cellar that he met Emelie Hurtubise, originally from Quebec, who was completing her own internship there in 2016.

In 2017, Beysang took on old vineyards in Saint-Germain-Nuelles in the southern Beaujolais and established the domaine Lapins des Vignes. Hurtubise joined in 2018 and they began producing wine together under their joint label. The estate farms around seven hectares organically, using horse work for soil tillage and supplementing copper-sulfur treatments with biodynamic herbal preparations including nettle, horsetail, and comfrey. Fruit trees are planted among the vines. No synthetic inputs are used in the vineyard.

All wines are made with spontaneous fermentation using native yeasts. Grapes are whole-cluster fermented in large vessels with minimal intervention — little to no pumping over. Aging takes place in old neutral foudres of 25 to 30 hectoliters. Nothing is added in the cellar: no sulfites, no fining agents, no filtering. Several cuvees, including Encules, are bottled in recycled one-liter bottles sourced locally.

Wine region

Beaujolais, France

Beaujolais sits at the southern tip of Burgundy, stretching roughly 55 kilometers from north to south between Lyon and Macon. The climate is semi-continental with warm summers and cold winters, warmer than Burgundy to the north and with a longer growing season. The region divides broadly into two distinct geological zones: the granite-dominated Haut Beaujolais in the north, home to the ten Crus, and the clay-limestone south where the Pierres Dorées sub-zone lies.

The Pierres Dorées, or Golden Stones, takes its name from iron-oxide-tinged limestone used historically to build local villages. Theize sits within this southern zone, where calcareous clay soils produce Gamay with a different character than granite-grown examples — typically riper and fleshier rather than the mineral, graphite-edged wines of Morgon or Moulin-a-Vent. All red Beaujolais is made from Gamay, classified under three tiers: Beaujolais AOC, Beaujolais-Villages AOC, and the ten individual Cru appellations.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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