DOMAINE DE LA BONNE TONNE

anne-laure grillet and thomas agatensi joined domaine de la bonne tonne - so called because of the cadastral plan - in 2019, bearing the torch from marcel grillet as the 7th-generation winemakers at the estate. although 2019 only marks thomas’ first vintage on his own, his conviction to earnestly represent the best climat of beaujolais is palpable. the winery has been practicing organic farming methods since 2003, though has been certified organic since 2006. additionally, the estate has been utilizing different biodynamic preparations since 2007. the winery is composed of 6.5 hectares: four in morgon and two in régnié, along with a touch of beaujolais blanc. after working as a solar panel engineer in switzerland for five years, thomas briefly took a position with bret brothers in mâcon before returning to his childhood hometown with anne-laure. shortly after, the duo took over the family domaine from marcel. thomas takes his inspiration from the supportive natural winemakers in the area, such as jean-louis dutraive, paul-henri thillardon, and yann bertrand. all wines are farmed organically, indigenous yeasts are used in the cellar, and only a touch of so2 is added right before bottling. for vinification, whole-cluster grapes are cooled off in small batches before semi-carbonic maceration, and then the wines are aged for 8-9 months in old 600l foudres.