Press Releases

MOMMESSIN: REINVENTING BEAUJOLAIS AT MONTERNOT

January 19, 2005

QUINCIE-EN-BEAUJOLAIS, FRANCE—Mommessin, located at the crossroads of Burgundy and Beaujolais, announces the release of the first wines from its new Monternot winery at the foot of Mt. Brouilly in Beaujolais. Founded in 2003, the Monternot winery is redefining the wines of Beaujolais in the style of Mommessin. By uniting two distinct winemaking cultures within one great region, wines with the power and nobility of Burgundy and the youthful finesse of Beaujolais. At Monternot, Mommessin is proving that when perfect Gamay grapes are selected and the yields are low, they can be the raw material for wines with character ready to age.

Julien Sunier, a dynamic winemaker and viticulturalist, comes to Monternot with experience from Christophe Roumier in Chambolle-Musigny, Nicolas Potel in Beaune, Bonny Doon in California, and Isabel Estate in New Zealand. Sunier meticulously selects the grapes and uses exacting winemaking procedures that include using only native yeasts, no pumping, minimal intervention and small lots from very low-yield wines. Benefiting from the history and experience of Mommessin, which has been rooted in Burgundy since 1865, Sunier is implementing Burgundian techniques of viticulture, winemaking and barrel aging to produce Beaujolais wines of exceptional character that promise to last.

Mommessin will offer four Monternot wines from twenty-five acres of Beaujolais Crus – Morgon Javernieres Monternot, St. Amour Monternot “Six Terroirs”, Pouilly Fuisse Monternot “Two Terroirs” and Cotes de Brouilly Monternot. The Crus of Beaujolais are the ten villages in Beaujolais that have been singled out as producing the highest quality in the Beaujolais region. Monternot is part of the “Grand Exception” collection of Mommessin wines and will retail for between $19-$30.
Mommessin is part of the Burgundy-based Boisset family of wines, whose diverse US portfolio includes Bouchard Aîné & Fils and Domaine de La Vougeraie (Burgundy), Louis Bernard (Rhône Valley), J Moreau & Fils (Chablis), Charles de Fère (French sparkling wines), DeLoach Vineyards (Russian River Valley, CA), Seven Peaks (Central Coast, CA), Lyeth (Sonoma County, CA) and Joliesse (California). Among the most well-established and fastest growing wine and spirits companies in the world, Boisset America imports and produces a full line of liqueurs, wines and spirits.

For more information about Mommessin "Monternot", or any of the wines and spirits of Boisset America, please contact Patrick Egan, Media Relations, at 800-878-1123 or patricke@boissetamerica.com.