Tasted in Morgon with Jean-Marc Burgaud, 05 February 2019.
Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud
La Côte du Py
69910 Villié-Morgon
Tel: +33 4 74 69 16 10
www.jean-marc-burgaud.com
Jean-Marc’s parents come from Lantigné where they have a 7 hectare domaine producing Beaujolais Villages. “It wouldn’t have been easy to join their exploitation,” says Jean-Marc, “But I had the chance to get hold of some vines of a retiring uncle with no succession, so I began with over 4 hectares at 21 years of age. My wife, Christine had some family vines too, so in the end, this domaine is something of a creation but with vines from both sides of the family. My first year was 1989 so the domaine is already 30 years old.”
And today the domaine has 17.8 hectares of vines – 8 hectares of-which are on the Côte de Py – “Yes, I’m very lucky. And the 0.8 is Beaujolais Villages white!”
All the (red) fermentations here are semi-carbonic with one remontage per day, all whole cluster. The domaine commercialises 100% of its harvest, of-which, 60% is exported. French sales are 2/3rd to professional clients – cavisites and restaurants. The US is the largest export market but with 15 different importers so none is particularly dominant.
Jean-Marc on 2018:
“An early year but a good one – the vines started very early too, good flowering and so an early harvest; we had practically no rain after the 15 June – except one small downpour in each of July and August – so not too dry for the grapes, just too dry for the maladies! So a good volume – one that would undoubtedly have been diluted if there had been more rain. It was important to harvest at the right time without too many grapes. I think the style and freshness of the fruit are a little more interesting than in 2015 for instance – 2015 is a great vintage but those wines will need time.”
Jean-Marc on 2017:
“2017 was a very small harvest here; hail the reason. The grapes need quite some triage, so in the end I had 35% less volume for the year. It was the early hail that did more damage as it took the grapes that were being formed.”
The wines…
What a great guy, and more importantly what a beautiful set of wines – delicious and of depth – the oak used for some cuvées is beautifully integrated too. Wines to follow…
“I used to make concentrated wines but since 2010 have been trying to increase the finesse and the drinkability of the young wine.”
4 ha worth – took 3 days to harvest – in bottle 1 week. ‘I normally bottle end of March but there seemed nothing more to wait for.’
Great colour. Supple, wide, a not so deep but an inviting nose. Full, round, silky, growing in fruit and faint salinity, a wine of some finesse here. Really a great BJV!
2017 Régnié Vallières
1 ha of vines here. 8 days of maceration. ‘This 17 is more strict than the usual supple wine I get from here.’
Ooh here is an exciting depth of dark but energetic fruit – what an invitation! Supple, depth of flavour, with fine texture – layered but still with fine freshness – the flavour intertwined with much floral perfume. Gorgeous!
2017 Morgon Les Charmes
Usually picked 1 week later, 1 ha of 1932 vines in a cooler current of air.
Wide, a little fresh perfume – very attractive. Open – lots of volume but a weight of flavour too – fruit but it needs time to open more – again a nicely growing freshness of mineral and aline notes. Ooh – a super ever-widening finish.
2017 Morgon Grand Cras
Here is clay and just a little limestone, the last was very granitic. A couple of extra days of maceration here – ‘but it’s not a sector that supports long maceration’. One month longer elevage too – was bottled in July.
More depth of silky aroma, less overt, less wide. Hmm – more open and more clarity, love again the complexity of saline and mineral notes that dovetail with the dark fruit. Almost a touch of licorice in the finish. Ooh I’m liking these wines very much…
2017 Morgon Côte du Py
‘This is a cuvée that I think representative of what I try to do – there’s over 6 hectares of vines represented here – with context, richness and depth, and the touch of fruit – each parcel providing the different component – vines 45-65 yo old – I’m lucky to have them!’ Bottled in July.
Hmm – more airy, there’s depth but a fine floral – violet mixes with the fruit here. More concentrated, more depth to the texture, juicily mouth-watering, mineral there is fruit too – but this is an ensemble. Very floral finishing, with slow-moving waves of finishing flavour. This is a wine that needs more time but has so many great aspects…
2017 Morgon Côte du Py Javernières
At end of fermentation this goes into 7 year-old 350 litre barrels for 12 months, followed by 2-3 months in tank before bottling – this bottled in December. This lower on the slope
Still perfumed but with an extra spice and an extra weight. Hmm, rounder, but fine velvet texture, there is very fine tannin but also very fine granular complexity – Vosne-style – really wide finishing, with weight and persistence. Ooh the finish is clearly great!
This from the summit of the hill – all the rest of the elevage is exactly the same as the last – to the day, only the origin is different, even the vines were planted in the same year – 1965.
A higher toned freshness to the nose, super-inviting complexity here. Ooh – yes! Different, a presence, super texture – a core to this wine, framed (eventually) with some tannin. Holding a great line into the finish with much complexity, some bitters, some mineral, some salinity, dark fruit – here you have everything. Bravo!
2016 Morgon Côte du Py James
Exactly the same barrels, so one year younger here. More rendement in 2016 vs 2017. Here 40 vs 30 for the 17
Hmm this needs a little working of the glass, but doing so brings more weight and a silkiness of perfumed fruit. Ooh more direct in the mouth, a wine of drive, of energy, an electric wine – intense, complex – only in the finish do I recover composure, flowers – maybe a touch of oak. It’s like holding onto a puppy, slowly you will be able to stroke it but to start with you have to contain it!
2017 Beaujolais Villages Blanc
Here ‘a good mix of clay – there are not many places here with this soil, normally you have to head south in the Pierre Dorées. I want serious, but from the fruit, I’m not playing with barrels as we don’t really have the terroir for that’ – this 100% tank elevage. Vines planted in 2010, 40 hl/ha and 12.7° at harvest
Hmm – fresh, depth of aroma, mineral but not with rigour, almost a touch of aniseed. This has classy lines and a direct mineral drive – a direction – a little rigour and a fine texture. Open and fine finishing. I would wait a year to lessen the rigour – but lots of complexity and interest here, good persistence too. A touch of class for the label!