Patrick and Béatrice Brunet
The original family estate consisted of two hectares of weathered schist in “Javernières” on the Côte du Py, an undisputed Grand Cru (if the vineyards of Beaujolais had ever been classified).
In 1970, Patrick’s father, Robert Brunet, purchased four more hectares of sandy granite, in a climat appropriately named “Champagne,” located in the heart of Fleurie. “Champagne” had been planted in 1930, and along with the tiny parcel of “Javernières” made Robert Brunet the proprietor of two of the finest vineyards in all of Beaujolais. Regrettably, Robert died suddenly when Patrick was only eighteen, so the choice Patrick faced was stark: let his mother rent out the vineyards so he could stay in school, or take over the estate at the age of eighteen. Naturally, he chose the latter, and never looked back.
