JULIEN SUNIER Fleurie 2023 | Beaujolais

The Wine

Fleurie is celebrated for its perfume and elegance, and this delivers both in spades. Rose petal, wild strawberry and soft spice sit over a core of granite minerality. Floral and expressive from the moment it's poured, but with enough depth underneath to remind you why Fleurie remains one of Beaujolais' most prized crus.

The Producer

Few producers have helped reshape modern Beaujolais quite like Julien Sunier. Originally from Dijon and without family roots in wine, Sunier’s path into viticulture began unexpectedly through a connection with legendary Chambolle-Musigny producer Christophe Roumier, who was a regular client of his mother’s hair salon. What began as curiosity quickly became obsession.

After working harvests across New Zealand, California and Burgundy, including alongside respected Burgundian figures such as Nicolas Potel and Jean-Claude Rateau, Sunier developed a deep belief in organic and biodynamic farming. His time managing production for a major Beaujolais négociant gave him rare insight into all ten Cru villages and the region’s complex patchwork of soils and exposures.

In 2008, Sunier launched his own domaine, securing old-vine parcels across Fleurie, Morgon and Régnié. Farming organically and working almost entirely by hand on steep, densely planted sites, his philosophy centres around minimal intervention and transparency of terroir. Fermentations are carried out with whole bunches and indigenous yeasts in concrete, followed by élevage in older Burgundy barrels, many sourced from Christophe Roumier himself.

The resulting wines have become some of the most admired expressions of contemporary Beaujolais. They combine the perfume and energy of Gamay with an almost Burgundian sense of finesse and structure. Silky, vibrant and beautifully pure, Sunier’s wines have helped define a new generation of Beaujolais producers focused on elegance, site expression and thoughtful farming rather than extraction or excess.

Today, Julien Sunier is regarded as one of the leading voices in artisanal Beaujolais, producing wines that are as compelling in their youth as they are capable of rewarding careful cellaring.