Winemaking is difficult. There are many decisions that must be contemplated to make a great wine: What temperature to ferment the grape juice, the size and material of the aging vessel, and the duration of both processes are important. These are just some of the thousands of decisions that must be scrutinized when making great wine. An extra degree warmer or colder during the fermentation or a week longer resting in barrel can create massive changes in the outcome of the bottled wine. That doesn’t even cover viticulture, or how the grapes are grown.
With all that could go wrong in the pursuit of making great wine, why would anyone in their right mind want to do it? There are countless stories of winemakers retiring with nobody to succeed them, their children included.
Enter the duo of Mathieu and Camille Lapierre, son and daughter of the late Marcel Lapierre, who have continued their father’s legacy. Marcel championed natural winemaking practices of organic farming and minimal intervention practices long before it was cool and marketable, simply because he believed it was the right thing to do in order to make great wine and protect the land he loved.
Usually there is some trepidation of the new generation taking over; no such worries exist at the winery. Mathieu worked under his father for five years before Marcel passed away in 2010, so he has much experience learning alongside his father. Marcel changed up things at winery when his father gave him control over winemaking, only to find his own wines undrinkable, revert back to the “old” system, and then improve upon that by applying his organic methods.
When I asked Camille about how their approach has changed in the wake of her father’s passing, she replied simply, “It hasn’t.”
M. & C. Lapierre, Morgon
Think of this as a step up in alcohol, body and intensity from the Raisins Gaulois bottling. It offers a bit more information on the nose and palate while still maintaining the hallmark charm of cherry, violet and licorice.
Serve with charcuterie or drink as a standalone showpiece.
Cost: $40/bottle.
M. & C. Lapierre, Raisins Gaulois
A perfect initiation to the winery is this light-bodied, aromatic red busting with juicy red fruit and florals made from the gamay grape. Throw it in the cooler and bring it to the beach, picnic and anywhere in between. To quote Marcel Lapierre, “It’s a wine that you drink like a beer when you don’t want to drink beer.”
Cost: $22/bottle.
Chris Ramelb is an award-winning master sommelier, and director of education and restaurant sales manager of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Hawaii. Watch him on the “Wine & …” podcast, and follow him on Instagram (@masterisksomm).
