September 19, 2022 by Lexi Jones
Meet the Maker: Domaine de la Bonne Tonne
These Beaujolais Cru wines embody the ‘barefoot lifestyle’. Biodynamically farmed, and naturally made, these wines are light and fresh and the perfect transitional fall red.
Anne-Laure Grillet and Thomas Agatensi joined the winery in 2019, bearing the torch from Marcel Grillet as the 7th generation winemakers at Domaine de la Bonne Tonne. 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, certified organic since 2006. and utilizing different biodynamic preparations since 2007. The winery is composed of 6.5 hectares, with 4 hectares in Morgon, and 2 hectares in Regnié, along with a touch of Beaujolais Blanc.
After working as a solar panel engineer in Switzerland for 5 years, Thomas briefly worked for Bret Brothers in Macon before moving back to his childhood hometown with Anne-Laure to settle back at Domaine de la Bonne Tonne to take 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 with indigenous yeast and made with a minimal dosage of SO2 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 600 L foudres.