Winemaker Notes
Domaine Lapierre's vines are located on the Morgon terroir, undoubtedly one of the most famous Beaujolais crus. Typically, Morgon has four dominant aromas: cherry, violet, raspberry and a very slight touch of liquorice. Combining lightness and richness, this Morgon has an aging potential of around ten years on average.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Morgon bottling is the flagship for Marcel Lapierre, and the 2023 features lovely sweet cherry and raspberry fruit notes accented with hints of liquorice and clove. The fruit persists on the palate with luminous brightness, yet this is a serious wine, with the body and structure to age. It is produced from a combination of young and old vines throughout the cru, but the average age is 70 years. Although the domaine’s Cuvée Camille and Cuvée Marcel Lapierre feature even older vines, this ‘regular' Morgon at Lapierre will also improve for years to come.
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Vinous
This bottle of 2023 Morgon comes from the first bottling run completed in March 2024 (there will be five bottlings until September). Lapierre told me that this is destined for markets in Japan, Canada and a little for the US. The nose reveals dark berry fruit, sous-bois and light Indian ink aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and crisp acidity, a little rustic in a good way with a slightly savory finish. Lovely.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Morgon opens on the nose with a signature Lapierre vibrancy, revealing fragrant lavender, crushed petals and vanilla. Layers of ripe raspberries, licorice and blueberries emerge, accompanied by a subtle wave of volatile acidity that many will perceive as invigorating. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, this vintage showcases notably lush fruit and a pleasing density, deftly supported by ripe, integrated tannins and bright acidity. Indeed, so vibrant and expressive is its character that, tasted blind, it might easily be mistaken for the cuvée without added sulfur.
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.