2020 Domaine Jean-Michel Dupre Regnie Haute Ronze Vieilles Vignes Beaujolais 12pk 12x750ml

Domaine Jean-Michel Dupre has been farming vines in Regnie since 1988, building an estate from a two-hectare inheritance into one of the Beaujolais Cru's most compelling producers. The vineyard holds some centenarian vines, and Dupre sought out well-situated plots across Beaujolais, Morgon, and Regnie with the eye of someone who knows terroir isn't theory — it's what you taste in the glass.

The Haute Ronze Vieilles Vignes comes from a single parcel on the La Ronze hill at 320 meters, facing south and east over granitic sand. The vines are 52 years old — older than the estate's Vignes de 1948 bottling — and this is the flagship Regnie cuvee. Eight-and-three-quarter acres, 750 cases a year, and every bottle is whole-cluster fermented with indigenous yeast in gridded vats. Ten days maceration, nine months in tank, 30ppm sulfur at bottling. It's minimal-intervention winemaking that lets old-vine Gamay speak without a translator.

The 2020 shows a deep garnet robe with violet highlights. The nose is savory and elegant — wild berries, dark cherry, raspberry, liquorice, a touch of earth and roasted notes. The palate is round and structured, with melting tannins, spice, and a long silky finish anchored by a mineral backbone. This is Beaujolais with depth and aging curve — fruity, yes, but also serious, with the kind of texture that makes $40 Pinot drinkers look twice.

James Suckling scored it 92 points. At $23.99 for the 12-pack, you're getting old-vine, single-parcel Beaujolais Cru that drinks well above its weight. Pull the cork now or cellar it through 2025 — it'll reward both moves.