# Les Labourons (2023)

- **Producer:** Domaine Les Volets Rouges
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Gamay
- **Region:** Beaujolais, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.0%
- **Average price:** €27
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** violet, cherry, plum, blackberry, blackcurrant

## About this wine

Domaine Les Volets Rouges is an exciting young micro-estate founded in December 2022 by Antoine Vettes and Marie Aslanian in the village of Fleurie. Managing just over four hectares across eight small parcels, the estate is deeply committed to restorative, natural viticulture. They rely on manual labor and draft horses to work their steep, granite-rich slopes. The 2023 vintage of 'Les Labourons' represents their historic debut commercial harvest, sourced from a tiny 0.78-hectare parcel of 65-year-old vines.

## Interesting facts

- Domaine Les Volets Rouges was founded in December 2022, making this 2023 vintage their historic debut release.
- The steep slopes of the 0.78-hectare 'Les Labourons' parcel are worked entirely by hand or with the help of draft horses.
- The wine is aged in a combination of stainless steel and old demi-muids to preserve fruit purity without heavy oak extraction.

## Food pairing

This light-to-medium-bodied Gamay thrives alongside dishes with moderate richness and high flavor intensity without overpowering them. Its vibrant acidity cuts through the fat of charcuterie and roasted poultry, while its soft, silky tannins do not clash with delicate proteins or light cheeses.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process at Domaine Les Volets Rouges is defined by a low-intervention, infusion-style approach. The 100% hand-harvested Gamay grapes undergo a 10-day semi-carbonic maceration in concrete vats using only native yeasts, with no pump-overs or physical manipulation. The wine is aged for 10 months, with 55% in stainless steel tanks to preserve fresh fruit purity and 45% in old demi-muids to avoid heavy oak extraction. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with only a microscopic dose of sulfur.