Yann Bertrand 'Les Bambins' Saint-Amour Beaujolais

Gamay

Beaujolais, France

Growing up in Fleurie, Yann Bertrand never thought he would become a winemaker. He briefly enrolled in commerce at a local university, then traveled around the French Alps for a few years. When applying for local jobs, he noted that he was the son of a vigneron and soon found himself working at wine bars and wine shops, surrounded by passionate wine geeks and artisan winemakers who often came to deliver wine themselves. Tasting wines in a new way, he began to ask himself questions, and eventually decided that the métier of a winemaker would be interesting to him if he pursued it with the same passion as the role models he encountered.

Returning to the Beaujolais, Yann began to learn from the incredible circle of producers that he never knew before – including well known people like Jean Foillard and Yvon Métras, as well as the behind-the-scenes guru Jacques Neauport (the quiet right-hand to the legendary Jules Chauvet). The entire Domaine Les Bertrands encompasses one 7.5 hectare vineyard, mostly in Fleurie, with a bit over the line in Morgon. The vineyard is loaded with ancient vines–the youngest are 30 years old, with the oldest vines at 110 years of age. His parents had been slowly moving in the direction of organic viticulture since taking over the family domaine in 1992; in 2013, the entire vineyard was certified organic. Additionally, Yann took on 1.5 hectare to farm on his own using biodynamic principles and created two new cuvées d’exception made in the neo-Beaujolais style of his well-known neighbors.