One of the great mystery men of Beaujolais, Benoit Camus has been quietly tinkering away with his five hectares in the south of Beaujolais for nearly 20 years.

Having worked in vineyards since he was a teenager, Benoit started his own project in 2006 and today farms eight parcels spread across the village of Ville-sur-Jarnioux.

For the best part, through pure modesty, Benoit has elected to sell much of his wine to Phillipe Jambon’s negotiant label and has keep his favourite cuvees and tanks for his own minute production. As such, his own wines have gained a mythical status — extremely hard to find and extremely enjoyable when you do manage to find one. His 2011 gamay that he sold to Phillippe Jambon was an infamous hit – strikingly pure, precise and fresh. Happily, Benoit also farms a small parcel of chardonnay and the wines from here are exquisite, albeit even rarer.

The terroir here in the south is largely influenced by limestone and we find gamay grown on this argilo-calcaire mix can be intoxicatingly delicious.

Benoit’s winemaking is painstakingly slow and careful. Perfect fruit is fermented in concrete tank, usually as whole bunches then pressed after he deems the time is right. The reds go in to bottle roughly ten months following harvest.

Benoit works the vineyards alone and lives in a caravan hidden way in his Chateau Roulant parcel.

 – Campbell Burton Wines