Jules Metras

History of Domaine Jules Métras

Jules Métras was born and raised in the world of Beaujolais natural wine. His father Yvon, who took over the 5-hectare family estate at Grille-Midi in Fleurie in 1988, drew inspiration from leading figures in natural wine such as Marcel Lapierre and Jules Chauvet to develop an uncompromising winemaking philosophy: no chemicals in the vineyard, organic and biodynamic farming, carbonic maceration with indigenous yeasts, and no sulfur. Yvon’s Fleurie Ultime cuvée, made from 120-year-old vines, has become one of Beaujolais’s great icons and is regularly cited as the most expensive Beaujolais bottle at iDealwine auctions.

After studying in Beaune and gaining experience abroad, particularly in New Zealand and Chile, Jules returned in 2014 and set up in his father’s winery in Vauxrenard; his father had since left Fleurie. He began with a single plot: an abandoned 80-year-old vineyard behind the winery, one of the plots that had belonged to Jules Chauvet. This plot gave rise to his first cuvée, "Bijou," a local slang term popularized by his friend Kéké Descombes. Gradually, Jules acquired plots in Chiroubles (in "the green Beaujolais," with no vineyards nearby), bought a horse to work the Bijou plot, and slowly took over his father’s vines in Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent. Today, Jules heads the expanded family estate, carrying on and developing its legacy in his own style.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine Jules Métras

Jules Métras’s vineyards are spread across several Beaujolais appellations, generally at above-average altitudes. The Bijou plot in Beaujolais-Villages is in Vauxrenard, at an altitude of 450 meters, on sandy-clay soils richer than those of Chiroubles. Formerly a plot belonging to Jules Chauvet, its vines were 80 years old when Jules established his estate. The plot is now worked entirely by horse. The Chiroubles plots, in Beaujolais’s highest-altitude cru ("the green Beaujolais"), lie on poor granite soils at elevations above 300–400 meters, giving the wines their characteristic freshness and elegance. In Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent, Jules works vines inherited from his father Yvon, including the century-old vines of Grille-Midi.

All the vineyards are farmed organically, without chemical inputs, in the tradition of Domaine Yvon Métras. Biodynamic preparations (500, herbal infusions and dynamization) are used. The vines average 80 years old, with century-old vines in Yvon’s plots. All grapes are harvested by hand, with a late harvest to ensure optimal ripeness. The soil in the Bijou plot is worked exclusively by horse.

Winemaking at Domaine Jules Métras

Jules makes wine in his father’s winery in Vauxrenard, following the same philosophy: gentle, prolonged carbonic maceration with indigenous yeasts in sealed concrete vats, with no added sulfur, no winemaking additives and no destemming. The grapes, harvested relatively late, are cooled before undergoing a gentle, lengthy fermentation—sometimes taking 8 to 9 days to begin—in airtight concrete vats that preserve the natural carbon dioxide atmosphere. The wine is aged only in old barrels, never new oak, and bottled without filtration. All his cuvées are made with no added sulfur, like his father’s. "His father never worries": that calm, passed from Yvon to Jules, comes through in every bottle.

The Cuvées of Domaine Jules Métras

Beaujolais-Villages Bijou: The estate’s first and most emblematic cuvée, from an 80-year-old plot in Vauxrenard at an altitude of 450 meters, on sandy-clay soil, formerly owned by Jules Chauvet. The plot is worked by horse. "Bijou" is a local slang term popularized by Kéké Descombes. Carbonic maceration in sealed concrete vats, slow fermentation with indigenous yeasts, aging in old barrels, and no sulfur. A deep nose of crushed berries with a lightly roasted note. Blackcurrant fruit with the smoothness and dark floral notes characteristic of both generations of the Métras family. A palate of remarkable density and complexity for a Beaujolais-Villages. "Jules Métras cultivates small vineyards to make great Beaujolais wines." A wine to decant or cellar for a few years. Produced in very limited quantities.

Beaujolais-Villages La Montagne: A red Beaujolais-Villages cuvée from other plots in Jules’s vineyards in Vauxrenard. Similar in style to Bijou, it has a slightly different expression reflecting its terroirs. A red wine of appealing density and great aromatic complexity, made according to the same philosophy: carbonic maceration, indigenous yeasts and no sulfur.

Chiroubles: A red cuvée from the Chiroubles cru, Beaujolais’s highest-altitude cru, grown on poor granite soils "in the green Beaujolais, with no vineyards nearby." Chiroubles produces the lightest, most airy Beaujolais wines, with a distinctive floral elegance. Jules expresses it in his natural style: gentle carbonic maceration, indigenous yeasts and no sulfur. A delicate, fresh red wine with aromas of violet, raspberry and light red fruit, and a fine, airy palate.

Fleurie Le Printemps: A red Fleurie cuvée from vines inherited from his father Yvon on the Grille-Midi climat. "A cherry-colored wine produced through gentle infusion, yielding aromas of crisp red fruit." A red wine in Fleurie’s floral, elegant style, with the freshness and precision characteristic of the estate. The most approachable and immediately appealing Fleurie cuvée in Jules’s range.

Moulin-à-Vent: A red Moulin-à-Vent cuvée from plots inherited from Yvon in Beaujolais’s most powerful cru. Denser and more structured than the Fleurie and Beaujolais-Villages wines, it has the characteristic aromas of Moulin-à-Vent: blackcurrant, violet, spice and granitic minerality. Aging potential of 8 to 12 years.