Mostly Gamay (with some varietally-undisclosed “white juice” blended in ) Grapes are  from several parcels that use organic practices, including some from Bonnet-Cotton, as well as friends Domaine les Souriants, Domaine les Garçons, Romain Jambon, and Baptiste Bertrand.

Juicy, ripe cherries and candied currant, light and crushable with just a light mineral finish

History:
After working for a short stint as a motorcycle mechanic, in 2014, Pierre Cotton reclaimed one hectare of Côte de Brouilly from his family to make his first cuvée called ‘100% Cotton.’ Inspired by tasting wines with young Beaujolais compatriots Yann Bertrand, Jules Metras, and Keke Descombes, Pierre’s wines are all farmed organically and vinified with precious little sulfur (if any at all – some cuvées are without any – and never more than 10g/l). Following the success of his first wine, Pierre fully took over the family domaine in 2015. For the last few years, Pierre has been lucky to expand the breadth of the winery’s vision and focus with input from his agronomist partner, Marine Bonnet, who officially joined the domaine in 2020.

Marine’s professional background is argonomy with an emphasis on viticulture, and together she and Cotton are implementing many changes throughout their jointly held vineyards. Throughout 2022, they planted 500 trees in the middle of their holdings in Brouilly, in an effort to recreate lost habitat for animals in the vineyards, particularly between the streams at lower elevations and the copses of woods at the peak of each Beaujolais cru, which are usually hilltops. Marine also has guided further interplanting of specific tree species in an effort to stave off the intense droughts Beaujolais has endured, via the water retention trees provide, as well as adding shade and decreasing overall temperatures in the vineyards. Pierre and Marine have also been speaking with neighbors in Brouilly and other villages to join in these changes, potentially contributing to a communal effort against climate change and some of the disastrous vintages growers have suffered here in the last five-six years.

Pierre's yields are quite low for the Beaujolais region on average 25hl/ha. Gamay are whole bunch macerated in concrete tanks and then aged in large oak foudres for 8 to 10 months. There is very low or no additions of Sulphur at bottling.

All of the wines at Bonnet-Cotton are vinified with native yeast and without SO2 in concrete tanks, then aged underground in century-old large foudres. (These were originally built for holding beer and then repurposed in the 1950s and 60s.) The foudres in which the wines rest range in size from 1400 – 4800L. Winemaking style is typically partial carbonic maceration; Pierre and Marine will use a touch of SO2 (max 10g/l) before bottling if they sense that an entire foudre is anything less than perfect. Most cuvées receive no sulfur additions as long as there isn’t need; the practice is dependent on vintage and vessel.