2018 Morgon, Javernières, Impénitents, Louis Claude Desvignes, Beaujolais
About this WINE
Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes
This fabled domaine, based in the town of Villié-Morgon, is today run by siblings Louis-Benoît and Claude-Emmanuelle Desvignes – the eighth generation of their family to make wine in Beaujolais. It is renowned for producing concentrated, age-worthy Morgon wines, which gain exceptional complexity with time in bottle.
Benoît and Emmanuelle (as they prefer to be called) have, in recent years, updated the winery and begun farming organically, but their method of vinification is the same as their forebears’: semi-carbonic maceration, with a grille to keep the cap submerged. The length of the maceration varies from cuvée to cuvée, being around 10 days for the relatively early-drinking Voûte Saint-Vincent, but longer for Javernières and Les Impénitents, of which only a tiny quantity is produced from a parcel of century-old vines.
From the 2018 vintage, the Desvignes are also producers of our Own Selection Beaujolais-Villages.
Morgon
With 1100 ha of vines, Morgon is the second largest Cru after Brouilly, producing wines that are only marginally less powerful than those of Moulin-à-Vent. Certainly Morgon’s are the firmest in the region, with a bouquet of great purity and compact Gamay fruit. Morgon needs more time than other Crus before it can be broached - normally 2-3 years for its most serious exponents – and develop its rich, savoury flavours which lead to a Pinot Noir-like maturity.
The ‘Classico’ heart of the Morgon region is the Mont du Py, just south of the commune of Villié-Morgon. The finest wines almost exclusively come from its Côte de Py slope, whose aspect and rich schistous soil contribute to greater ripeness, and yield wines that are denser than anywhere else in the appellation. As you would expect from a region of this size the character and quality of Morgon can vary considerably, but the best are as good, and as sturdy and long-lived, as any other Beaujolais you will find.
Recommended Producers: François Calot, Maurice Gaget, Louis-Claude Desvignes.
Gamay
A French variety planted predominately in Beaujolais where it is the grape behind everything from light and often acidic Beaujolais Nouveau through to the more serious and well-structured wines from the 10 cru villages. It takes its name from a hamlet just outside Chassagne-Montrachet and was at one stage widely planted on the Côte d`Or. However it was gradually phased out due to its poor yield and supposed poor quality of its wines.
The majority of Gamay wines in Beaujolais are labelled as Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Villages and are deliciously juicy, easy drinking, gulpable wines. Of more interest are the Cru wines from the 10 villages in the north of the region where the soil is predominantly granitic schist and where the vines are planted on gently undulating slopes. These can be well-structured, intensely perfumed wines, redolent of ripe black fruits and, while delicious young, will reward medium term cellaring.
Gamay is also grown in the Touraine region of the Loire where it produces soft, well-balanced, gluggable wines for drinking young.
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Description
Without hesitation, the cuvée Impénitents from the Desvignes family can be described as one of the greatest wines produced in Beaujolais. It hails from three parcels of vines planted over a century ago in Javernières (a climat within Morgon). A long maceration beneath a submerged cap in concrete tanks gets the most out of the grapes, producing a deep-coloured, concentrated Beaujolais renowned for its ageability. The 2018 is exceptionally complex, with aromas of black berry fruit, pepper, stone-fruit and a floral lift. It’s a touch broader, with less acidity than the ’17 and will be approachable sooner. In fact, it’s delicious now, served with a grand cut of meat, such as tomahawk steak, but may take a decade or more to reveal all its majesty. Drink now to 2033.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buyng Assistant (July 2020)
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