Jean-Paul Thévenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes, Beaujolais, France 2013 (£19.95, Roberson) They had nothing to do with red politics in China (or the pinkish SDP in the UK), but the members of Beaujolais' Gang of Four were in their way quite radical in the making of red wine. Between them the late Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, Jean Foillard and Jean-Paul Thévenet, four winemaking friends from the village of Villie-Morgon, rejuvenated the Beaujolais region in the 1980s, starting the natural wine movement of wines made without chemicals in the vineyard and, crucially, the winery. The wines made at their estates still have the capacity to thrill, and Thévenet's latest old-vine vintage is a gem: deep, savoury, but still with that trademark Beaujolais lightness and succulence of berries-in-the-hedgerow fruit.

Domaine Coudert Clos de la Roilette Fleurie, Beaujolais, France 2012 (from £12.95, Lea & Sandeman; thewinecompany.co.uk) Aside from its revolutionary winemaking methods, The Gang of Four was instrumental in talking up the identity of Beaujolais' different villages or crus — important work in the years when the region was wholly tied up in most drinkers' minds with the bubblegum-and-banana of mass-produced nouveau. Ten of these crus are allowed to put their names on the label, and Fleurie is arguably still the best known, thanks, no doubt, to wines that often have a prettiness of aroma that chimes with its name. Domaine Coudert's Clos de la Roilette has long been a standout in this cru, and even in the small difficult vintage of 2012 it's an effortlessly silky, juicy, and, yes, floral experience.

Château de Chénas Moulin à Vent, Burgundy, France 2011 (Waitrose) Despite the best efforts of its better producers, Beaujolais has yet to attain the cachet of the wider Burgundy region of which it is technically a part: the gamay grape used in these parts just isn't respected in the same way as its northern neighbour's pinot noir. For a wine drinker, that means prices can be absurdly low: after an hour or so in the fridge, the basic own-label Beaujolais at Asda, Tesco, M&S and Waitrose are hard to beat on value for sappy, cherry-berry summer reds to go with salmon. Spend a few quid more at Waitrose, however, and you're getting something quite serious (and serious value) from the Moulin à Vent cru: the fruit's still crunchy and snappy, and you still have the Beaujolais freshness, but you're also getting depth and length.