Guy Breton - Blast Vintners

The 2020s have arrived, and well, quelle surprise – they’re pretty damn good! As Josh Reynolds of Vinous puts it: “Guy Breton, or “Max,” as he’s known to his friends, is making some of the most finely detailed and energetic wines in Beaujolais these days”.

Of all of the Gang of Four, Guy Breton is the most mercurial. Jean Foillard and Marcel Lapierre have their wines listed the breadth of the country, Jean-Paul Thevenet is a bit less well-known. Marcel Lapierre produces the most, at just over 8,000 cases and his output seems the easiest to find.

It seems Foillard, Breton and Jean-Paul Thevenet produce about the same (2,000 – 3,000 cases). The work of these four elder statesmen underpins where Beaujolais is heading now, and their warm embrace has enfolded many winemakers outside the region into their way of thinking and working.

I suspect one of reasons that Guy’s wines are a bit more difficult to find is that he puts such a emphasis on supplying the French restaurant and bar a vin trade lubricated with his life-giving Gamay. He has always believed wine to be essential for a well-enjoyed life, and for that life and that wine to be shared.

Although stylistically different, it’s difficult to differentiate the quality of the Morgons of all four. They are all impeccable. Guy’s is a typically elegant expression, natural and conspicuously pure but with perhaps a slight spice component somewhat similar to what Alan Coudert achieves at Clos de la Roilette.

Even after about 30 vintages – Guy continues to strive for improvement and his new releases are as good as anything in the region, with even more definition to be found in the silky texture.

He strives for balance without weight, without the dominance of wood, so ageing is in old Burgundy barriques, subsequently, his wines his are typically light in colour, the lowest in alcohol, and the least tannic, but not at the expense of complexity or light-footed power. They they age like a dream. A 1989 Morgon (cork pictured) was still in fine health this year, if on the downward path. I would recommend 3-10 years max for most of the wines. I love old Beaujolais, but vigour is such a important part of these wines and after 10 years I feel you start to lose this.

In contrast to the high-wire act of producers like Dutraive and Metras, who hit joyful high-notes but can be plagued with issues with consistancy (particularly if not perfectly stored), Breton’s wines are wonderfully pure. Josh Reynolds says: “I haven’t figured out exactly how much sulfur Breton uses but in my experience, his wines seldom veer far off into realm of the funky, which suggests that he’s doing something right, as in using just enough to release stable wines that don’t turn into science projects during the trip from Beaujolais to my glass in New York”

Show Descriptions

Region	Vintage	Wine	Bottles	Unit	Status	Ex Vat	Inc Duty & Vat	Buy
Germany	2003	Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Eiswein Donnhoff Pale green-gold. Wonderfully arresting on the nose. Exciting vegetal notes on the nose. Then very, very gentle. I think this is the best Eiswein I've ever had. It tastes of the vineyard. 19.5/20 points.' Jancis Robinson	1	12	IB	1710	2068	+
Germany	2001	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) The 2001 Oberhäuser Brücke Auslese is a beautiful wine, with a lovely glaze of botrytis adding an exotic shading to both the nose and palate. The bouquet offers up a stunning potpourri of apple pie, pineapple, nutmeg, acacia blossom, and a lovely underpinning of minerality. On the palate the wine is fullish, racy and brilliantly focused, with a tensile girdle of acidity, outstanding mid-palate depth, and a very long, transparent and snappy finish. The combination here on both the nose and palate of esthery, perfumed spice and floral tones and absolutely gorgeous fruit is simply gorgeous, and while the wine is still clearly on its way up, it is utterly irresistible. (375 ml.) (Drink between 2006-2025) 96 points. John Gilman	12	1	IB	35	43	+
Germany	2004	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) 93 VM	12	1	IB	35	43	+
Germany	2005	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `This will most likely also end up as an auction bottling, and I am very pleased that Herr Dönnhoff kept the two Brücke auslesen separate, as they are both compelling in their own right. The number 2 Brücke is even deeper and purer than the first example, as the wine offers up a brilliant mélange of pear, cherries, banana, lilacs and a mineral bath of immense proportion. On the palate the wine is simply an essence of wine, with its medium-full format both weightless and bottomless. The focus and balance here are flawless, the acids bright and tensile, and the finish and endless cascade of minerality. Rather an impressive glass of wine. (Drink between 2012-2040) 98 point` John Gilman	12	1	IB	35	43	+
Germany	2006	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `I imagine that the Brücke Auslese also has a fair bit of botrytis to it, but it does not make itself felt in anywhere the same manner as in the Kupfergrube. The nose on the 2006 is deep, pure and primary, as it offers up notes of cherries, tangerine, bee pollen, floral tones and a serious mother load of minerality. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and pure, with laser-like focus, gem-like transparency, brisk acids, and simply stunning cut and grip on the very long, pure and ethereal finish. Another magnificent 2006 wine from Helmut Dönnhoff. (Drink between 2017-2050) 95 points.` John Gilman	12	1	IB	30	37	+
Germany	2007	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `Like the Felsenberg Auslese, the Brücke regular Auslese in 2007 (there will be a Goldkapsel as well from this vineyard this year) is so gently glazed by botrytis that it offers up remarkably purity and precision on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is a glorious blend of apple, peach, honeycomb, petrol, slate and sweet grapefruit. On the palate the wine is fullish, pure and racy, with a rock solid core of fruit, with beautiful soil inflection, great length and grip, bright acids and a very, very long, focused and impressively delicate and ethereal finish. The Brücke vineyard is usually the most prone to vigorous botrytis amongst the Dönnhoff roster, and consequently this very gentle shriveled personality is quite novel and captivating. A beautiful wine in the making that should age for a very long time. (Drink between 2016-2050)` 95 points, John Gilman	24	1	IB	30	37	+
Germany	2009	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `The 2009 Brücke Gold Kap is a beautiful bottle of gently botrytized Auslese glazed to near perfection. The stunning nose jumps from the glass in a blend of yellow plums, tangerines, petrol, honeycomb, slate, white cherries and a zesty topnote of orange zest. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish, crisp and laser-like in its focus, with great mid-palate depth, flawless focus and balance and superb complexity on the long, snappy finish. A classic bottle of Auslese in the making. (Drink between 2018-2050)` 93+ points, John Gilman.	12	1	IB	30	37	+
Germany	2010	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `The 2010 Oberhäuser Brücke Auslese is a really stunning wine in the making. The wine simply soars from the glass in a superb aromatic mélange of apples, oranges, a touch of petrol, striking minerality, honeycomb, orange zest and citrus flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and wonderfully filigreed, with a great core of fruit, snappy acids, great focus and balance and stunning grip on the very long, dancing finish. I love the interplay of soil, glazed fruit and acids that are on display in this beautiful vintage of Brücke Auslese. (Drink between 2018-2070)` 94+ points, John Gilman.	12	1	IB	22	28	+
Germany	2011	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `While the 2011 Brücke Spätlese is a bit exotic aromatically from its very gentle glaze of botrytis, the Auslese is completely classic. The very clean and pure botrytis here has produced a brilliant Auslese, which soars from the glass in a blaze of apple, white cherries, gentle notes of honeycomb, a touch of tangerine, spring flowers and a glorious base of slate. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish, pure and quite reserved today, with a great core of fruit, racy acids, again, outstanding filigree and magical length and grip on the laser-like finish. This is a brilliant young bottle of Auslese that perfectly showcases the great purity and utterly pristine botrytis of the best sweet wines of the vintage. (Drink between 2020-2060)` 95 points, John Gilman.	24	1	IB	22	28	+
Germany	2018	Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Auslese GK Dönnhoff (Half) `.For several decades, Helmut Dönnhoff has been of the opinion that an Auslese is a wine that needs botrytis and every example here has been a botrytized wine, at least to some degree. So, it is a great rarity to find not one, but two completely clean Auslesen in the family’s cellars this year made from golden and shriveled berries and no noble rot. The 2018 Brücke Auslese is a beautiful wine in the making, offering up a lovely aromatic constellation of pear, white cherries, honeycomb, bee pollen, apple blossoms and a lovely foundation of salty, slate minerality. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a lovely core, great focus and grip, snappy acids and a very long, dancing and still quite youthful finish. (Drink between 2030-2090)` 95 points, John Gilman.	6	1	IB	22	28	+