Domaine Jules Desjourneys Moulin-a-Vent Chassignol 2010
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As intimated in my Issue 196 report, Duperray acquired a new parcel of ancient (90-year-old) vines that have debuted in his 2010 Moulin-a-Vent Chassignol Tres Vieilles Vignes, which (after suffering two bouts with hail) yielded the smallest of Duperray’s cuvees from its vintage. (That noted, the production figure of 1,569 bottles is misleading since, in addition, he bottled 959 magnums!) These were also Duperray’s last-harvested fruits of their vintage, not having been picked until October 12. A maritime alliance of salty and alkaline notes is evident from the nose on, and the palate here offers an especially striking instance of wine that seems mingled with oyster liqueur whose savor in this instance goes far beyond salt, alkali, or stone to an ineffable, saliva-liberating alliance of animal, mineral, and vegetable matter. With apologies to those who may find such analogies glib, where this vintage’s Les Moriers suggested a mingling of great Gamay with Gruner Veltliner, here a dosage of Chablis Preuses comes to mind! Black currant, black berry, and cherry also abound, in fresh, albeit very ripe, concentrated form, shadowed by their spirituous counterparts as well as by haunting inner-mouth perfume of iris, gentian and jasmine. The sense of sappy brightness, buoyancy, and ultimate elegance on display is also more than merely noteworthy – almost uncanny, in fact, considering the evidently elevated accompanying ripeness, viscosity and extract, not to mention this wine’s forceful finishing grip. Surely this will merit following through 2022 if not beyond.
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Spectator
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Robert
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Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
The bucolic region often identified as the southern part of Burgundy, Beaujolais actually doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the rest of the region in terms of climate, soil types and grape varieties. Beaujolais achieves its own identity with variations on style of one grape, Gamay.
Gamay was actually grown throughout all of Burgundy until 1395 when the Duke of Burgundy banished it south, making room for Pinot Noir to inhabit all of the “superior” hillsides of Burgundy proper. This was good news for Gamay as it produces a much better wine in the granitic soils of Beaujolais, compared with the limestone escarpments of the Côte d’Or.
Four styles of Beaujolais wines exist. The simplest, and one that has regrettably given the region a subpar reputation, is Beaujolais Nouveau. This is the Beaujolais wine that is made using carbonic maceration (a quick fermentation that results in sweet aromas) and is released on the third Thursday of November in the same year as harvest. It's meant to drink young and is flirty, fruity and fun. The rest of Beaujolais is where the serious wines are found. Aside from the wines simply labelled, Beaujolais, there are the Beaujolais-Villages wines, which must come from the hilly northern part of the region, and offer reasonable values with some gems among them. The superior sections are the cru vineyards coming from ten distinct communes: St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. Any cru Beajolais will have its commune name prominent on the label.