Meet the producer: Cyrille Vuillod
Originating from the Hautes-Alpes, Cyrille had various careers before finding winemaking as a grape harvester, which is how he landed in Beaujolais. A warm character with a cheeky smile, his wines all show a real softness with a serious drinkability. Vinification is mostly full carbonic maceration with little, if any, use of oak and sulphur. Initially working under Jean-Claude Lapalu, he produced his first vintage in 2012. He has 5 hectares of old and young Gamay on the edge of Brouilly, vines planted on a mix of pink granite, sand, clay and silex.
La Dernière Goutte
DOMAINE
La Dernière Goutte
WINEMAKER
Cyrille Vuillod
VINEYARD
Less than five hectares
BOTTLES PRODUCED
20,000
COUNTRY, REGION, SUBREGION
France, Beaujolais, Vaux-en-Beaujolais
Cyrille Vuillod comes from the Hautes-Alpes, and before his life making wine worked in the mountains as a ski instructor. The decision to become a winemaker was based on his enjoyment of wine. Having picked grapes in the Beaujolais area, he set up shop at the edge of Brouilly. Cyrille started winemaking in 2011 where he worked under Jean-Claude Lapalu for three years, and in 2012 he produced his first vintage in his own cellar.
We had the pleasure of unexpectedly discovering Cyrille at a wine fair, after seeing the interesting labels and trying his wines it was clear he really stands out as a winemaker. All wines are Gamay, everything is basket press and if carbonic maceration is used it’s always fully and for a long period. None of the wines available have added sulphur, although he uses sulphur if he needs to, it just so happens, in 2016 and 2017, he didn’t need to.
Tell us about your 2018 harvest: What were your challenges? What went particularly well?
It was hot but not as hot as 2017. The biggest challenge was that the heat was making the wine more alcoholic than it was meant to be. I also had to get more grapes from a friend in the North of Beaujolais.
Your wines are organically farmed without any added sulphur. Have you always worked this way?
I have used sulphur for the first three years and stopped once I had the confidence to do it. I have always worked organically but without any certification. Now I also work biodynamically.
How did you find your current vineyards? Why in Beaujolais?
I have been harvesting there for 20 years and I have loads of friends in the area.
Are there any new winemaking techniques or tools you’d like to experiment with?
For the last few years I have been experimenting with amphora and concrete eggs. I have also started making white wine. I always like try out new things. The other thing is that the climate is constantly changing and each year there is a new way on how deal with the challenges, so us winemakers help each other out to be on top of the latest techniques. The end result is always unpredictable.
Your favourite vintage to date?
2014 and 2016 were my favourite, but completely different vintages.
WINES
RED
WHITE
Gamay
Beaujolais
Medium Bodied
Fresh, juicy and easeful Gamay as we like it best. A short, whole-bunch maceration of eight days, raised in enamel vats for 12 months. Cyrille is the master of holding his wines in a pose that flashes between wild and elegant.
Sulphur: None added