It's been a tricky year in Beaujolais.

The devastating frost in early April did its worst, followed by hail and high rainfall, perfect conditions for disease: the little fruit that survived was really up against it.

There's not much a grower can do when nature kicks back so hard. For Sylvere & Mathilde at Séléné they had little choice other than to adapt early, work hard and hope for the best.

Catching up with Sylvere & Mathilde last week, the pair were relieved to have finished labelling the last bottle of Nouveau. Having emerged from their battle of a vintage, they were still full of enthusiasm:

"2021 was a year that wouldn't stop. First we had the frost, which hit all of our parcels hard. We have 6 hectares now, with a fairly small production. After the frost, we had 6 hectares with almost no production!

So in April, we decided to purchase some fruit in advance; there was no way we would have coped otherwise. We were lucky to source fruit from some really nice organic plots nearby. Then there was the rain... It was very wet. So of course, lots of disease. We had so much work to do in the vineyards, but we were working with biodynamics, and I believe this really helped the health of what we were working with.

After all that, we didn't really have huge maturity in the fruit. We waited as long as we could and just had to begin the harvest in late September. But, once fermentations started they were going incredibly well, really perfect. After 9 months, that was the first thing that went right for us!

We're really happy with where the wines have got to, and happy to say we won't need to use any sulphur this year, everything seems very stable.

The Nouveau this year is mostly from the négoce fruit with just a little of ours added. We did a 6 day carbonic maceration, held it in concrete for a few weeks until bottling. It's really delicious. Zero sulphur, very direct, very easy to drink- a perfect primeur.

Today is the first day things feel calm. We finished labelling the last primeur bottles, everything has left, and now- we can sit down for a little while. We really hope you guys enjoy it"

So, the first unlikely survivor of a brutal 2021 vintage is here! And whilst there might not be much to go around, its very existence is cause for celebration. When you crack yours for Beaujolais Nouveau Day, raise a glass to Sylvere & Mathilde. Despite everything, and with no compromise, they made it.

Photos by Christophe Sales