Owners of an 11-hectare family domain in the very heart of Chiroubles, Véronique and Alain Passot are proud of their region and produce their wine in the pure Beaujolais tradition. What runs throughout their cuvées is a generous profile, due in part to the granite sub-soil under the domain’s terroir. With a good texture in the glass, you’ll find these Beaujolais wines to have much character.

Claudius is a blend of the oldest vines grown in the La Grosse Pierre hamlet, sitting at an altitude of 350 metres on deep soil made from broken-down granite. The old vines, which are more than 80 years old now, were planted by Pauline Passot’s great-grandfather, Claudius, to whom this cuvée pays homage.
The vines benefit from a south-east facing location, meaning that they get optimal sun exposure. Vinification is semi-carbonic, using whole bunches and without additives. Fermentation is started spontaneously by natural yeasts and takes places over a dozen days or so at a maintained temperature of 25°C. The wine is matured in concrete vats for eleven months before being bottled without fining or filtration.
Claudius contains everything that you would typically expect of this terroir, with its nose full of small red fruit aromas accompanied by spices and peony. The juicy, crisp palate is perfectly balanced. A wine that will pair beautifully with Veal Milanese.