After working as a chef for four years, Christophe Pacalet returned to his native Beaujolais to craft wine under the tutelage of his uncle, the legendary Marcel Lapierre of Morgon fame. Christophe then launched his own winery where he crafts traditional, low-intervention wines from throughout Beaujolais. His Chenas is a hearty, 100% Gamay, grown on deep, weathered granite, infiltrated by veins of clay. Harvest is done by hand at peak maturity followed by whole cluster carbonic maceration and native yeast fermentation for 10 to 20 days. After fermentation, the grapes are manually pressed on a traditional vertical wooden press which separates the gros lees and allows the wine to age on its fine lees in large oak casks and 228-liter ex-Burgundy barrels for an additional 6 to 9 months. The result is a solidly medium-bodied Gamay with delicate wild berry and peony aromas, crisp acidity and silky yet firm tannins on the finish. This serious Gamay pairs well with roast chicken and rosemary potatoes or black olive tapenade with crostinis.