Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Grenadine and blackberry are underlain by roasted red meat savor as well as by dense, firm, even slightly edgy tannins in the Desjourneys 2009 Moulin-a-Vent, which I tasted in its final assemblage. I’m at a loss to locate all of the complexities I earlier discerned in the individual lots of Michelons and Chassignol that were incorporated, but the nut oils, cocoa powder, and crushed stone that add to this blend’s finishing savor help this blend testify to some of the excitement I recorded in my issue 190 barrel tastings. I suspect that it needs time to settle-down – though it has been bottled since I recorded this most recent note – and for its tannin to more completely integrate. But make no mistake: this is a long, strong performer even by the exceedingly high standards of its vintage and the even higher standards already established at Domaine Jules Desjourneys. Plan on revisiting it – as I shall – a year from now and tentatively on following it for 6-8 years.
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.