Tasted in ‘Corcelette’ with Daniel Bouland, 04 February 2020.

Domaine Daniel Bouland
Corcelette 69910
Villié-Morgon
Tel: +33 6 81 30 89 12

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Daniel on 2019:
“It’s a good vintage. We were we lucky not to have been touched by the climate – certainly the frost at the start of the year. Where 2018 was a really sunny vintage the whole year, 2019 brought much more variation in the temperatures – so we had a different style of maturity – 2019 matured a little later in the heat of early September, in that respect there’s some comparison to 2009. Less yield than in 2018, but 2018 was also a little higher than the norm. The weather for flowering wasn’t the best so I think that was the main reason for a little lower crop. In the end, I think wines that are less solar than their 2018 counterparts, despite some slightly higher alcohols…”

Daniel on 2018:
“It was a good harvest in both quantity and quality – this time the weather was with us! Growth was very fast in Spring when the weather was wet, and it wasn’t so warm which meant the maladies didn’t really develop – in fact we were lucky, because if there had been more rain in the summer we would have had too many grapes, too much juice – it would have been a catastrophe. But it’s a good vintage – the sugars took their time to ferment though. I have more wine in 2018 than 2016 and 2017 combined – and 2015 wasn’t that much – the old vines having not produced much for three years recovered and delivered well. The degrees are a little higher in 2018 than in 2017 – similar to 2009, maybe even 2015. The volume, and at the same time the quality, of grapes is a very rare thing – but their vinifications weren’t simple, we had to closely follow, the fermentations as they were rather slow – 2019 wasn’t much better.

“I’m really happy to have 2018 and 2019 after the depths of low volumes in 2016 and 2017. The quality too – if we’d restarted with vintages like 12 and 13 after 16 and 17, I’m not sure how the market would have reacted.”

The wines…

Always one of my favourite visits whilst in Beaujolais. Many of the wines were great in part but gave the impression that some patience was required – I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of wines that I enthusiastically recommend to you (below) is very conservative compared to their eventual performance…

Daniel also wanted to show his 2019s. In the main, they are not yet assembled, in fact very little will be mixed as Daniel says that he prefers the ‘by parcel’ approach.:

2019 Chiroubles
Not really a sandy soil here.
A modest reduction lifts to show a bright and attractive depth of fruit. Plenty of gas, wide, good energy vibrant, very long and that’s a smooth finish too – delicious wine already.

2019 Côte de Brouilly
South-facing, quite volcanic bluestone soil, the older vines directly above Château Thivin.
A little extra vibrancy of aroma here. Gas. Here is more drive and direction, more insistence to the flavour, faintly saline – a more lingering complexity – that’s a beauty.

2019 Morgon Prés Jourdan
Leaving Villié-Morgon as you head to Fleurie near Doubie. This in a relatively recent Foudre.
At this stage a suggestion of lactic but also a different style of nose, with a more floral tendency. Wider, fuller but an open wine, fresh and wide. More elevage needed here but the finish is a beauty, faintly accented with licorice…

Morogn Bellevue is split to two cuvées – one for the sand and one for the stones – different porte-greffes here too – both with concrete tank elevage.

2019 Morgon Bellevue ‘Sables’
On sand on a special porte-greffe which has a low production on a steeper slope. Cement tank elevage – with epoxy coating.
Open, nicely wide aroma, dark raspberry style. Gas. A fine and driving style – fine energy here. Super finishing intensity – that’s excellent!

2019 Morgon Bellevue ‘Cailloux’
This on the stones, but also older vines.
A similar style of fruit but with more overt aromatic depth. Gas. More open, more floral, fuller wine – no excess of texture – just a big mouthful of, today, more complex flavour, less direct and intense finishing but with extra width. The finish holding very long – bravo!

2019 Morgon Corcelette
This with elevage in foudres. Also a sandy area.
A punchy nose of dark fruit that quickly tightens. Mouth-filling. More composed, more depth of texture here – deep and brooding. Concentrated wine, perhaps a little more warmth and milk-chocolate accented. Long, more mineral finishing. Some extra dimension of finishing flavour. Brooding wine – and there’s a lot here – needs time.

The Corcelette old-vines is also split into sand (stainless-steel elevage) and stones (foudre) – some of the oldest vines here are from 1925:

2019 Morgon Corcelette VV ‘Sables’
A little more freshness of aroma here . Gas – like all. A freshness and lightness of touch – really an energy here – vibrant too. Modestly with a texture but no grain of tannin. Floral in the middle. A big wave of finishing flavour too – ooh that’s great!

2019 Morgon Corcelette VV ‘Cailloux’
A less expressive nose, also a suggestion of lactic – it needs time. A more direct and driving wine, again with some texture of the tannin but no grain. Vibrant in the middle – super, energetic and impressively complex – I’m sure also a great wine but just a little more time needed here.

Les Delys – in this case all on sand, but there’s a vine age difference – ‘younger’ vines first and the vines of 1926 second:

2019 Morgon Les Delys Foudre 8°
There’s freshness but also a tight/compact impression to this nose – potentially floral though. Gas. Intense, concentrated but nothing rich about the texture. Waves of finishing flavour, of mineral and graphite, a wine that has much opening to do…

2019 Morgon Les Delys Vieilles-Vignes Foudre 9°
Deep, vibrant, a little compact in the width. Gas. More overtly open, more dimensions of flavour on display – energy, but also concentration in the middle. Not a rich texture again, but richly flavoured and holds a fine weight of finishing flavour. Great!

2018:
Part bottled 1st May, the second wave of bottling in July and the rest were done in August 2019. Corcelette VV Sable is already gone – sold out – the rest are tasted. For the 2018s all the corks have been tested for TCA.

2018 Chiroubles
A big waft of wide and airy dark raspberry fruit. An extra richness, a depth of texture not seen in the 19s – more sweetness of fruit too. Wide, mouth-watering, intense, a little chocolate – a decadent wine!

2018 Côte de Brouilly
A deep, almost inky nose. Mouth-filling, so much volume, so much sweetness of fruit. A little tannin frames the finish and holds a little dryness on the gums. Long, haunting – that’s a super finish!

2018 Morgon Bellevue ‘Sable‘
That’s a lovely nose – big energetic and floral too – yes! A little richness of texture, concentration, layers of flavour, very long too – that’s a real honey of a wine – the sweetness of these 2018s is clear, but so is their deliciousness.

2018 Morgon Bellevue ‘Cailloux‘
Like the 2019, a rounder more compact nose, but aeration fills out the glass more. A similar richness of texture, darker flavours, a vibration of finishing flavour that is really impressive too. Super length – that’s a great finish.

2018 Morgon Corcelettes
More freshness and minerality in these aromas. More open over the palate too – volume but with a shimmering core of flavour – vibrant finishing too – so many parts of a grand vin but not all together yet – excellent, perhaps great with time!

2018 Morgon Les Delys 9°
The younger vines
That’s also a great aromatic invitation – fine, wide, faintly floral. Mouth-filling, the flavour slowly relaxing over the palate, ingraining, sweet but never heavy, slowly mouth-watering in the finish – Less overtly energetic – more a slow-burning style today. Most definitely a wine that will repay as much patience as you have.

2018 Morgon Les Delys 8°
Old vines from 1926
More depth and height to the aromas – more vertical – floral too. The flavours in the mouth more open and steady – some graphite minerality. A wine that’s almost tight versus the Corcelettes, but with a great and haunting finish – really fantastic here – have patience!