Tasted with Jean-Baptiste Bachevillier in Blacé, 09 February 2022.
Domaine de Mont Joly
70 impasse du Mont Joly
69460 Blacé
Tel: +33 6 15 23 51 11
www.mont-joly.fr
You may recognise Jean-Baptiste; he was for a while the regular presenter of the wines from Château Pierreux from the JC Boisset stable. He has not just worked in Beaujolais but also the Rhône, the US and Australia too. Here we meet him at his own domaine.
Jean-Baptiste explained, “I’m the 8th generation of our family who has cultivated the vines – and here at Mont Joly I’m the 3rd – my father and grandfather’s family worked here too but I’m incredibly fortunate to have been able to actually buy the domaine when previous generations worked for other owners. There’s been wine made here at least since 1779!
“We are so well situated here at 350 metres of altitude on top of this hill, with three distinct types of soil – granite, marne (marl) and limestone – good not for just great gamay but also chardonnay too. The hilltop is really the border between the Beaujolais granite and the limestone of the Pierres Dorées, and just 50 metres further away there is clay for the limestone too. Also being at the top of the hill means we have plenty of wind too – it’s the best treatment that you can have against diseases – together with some cover-crops I don’t need to use chemical treatments. The surface is also manageable for just me – I know every vine.
“It’s concrete for fermentations, some destemming, some not, then demi-muids for reds and whites – 400 and 450-litre barrels – I can’t go bigger because they need to fit through my doors! I consider assemblies good but never exceptional. Today there are 6 cuvées from 3.5 hectares each with a little SO2 used after the malo – red and white – from gamay and chardonnay. The white sells itself, I have to ask people to take the reds too!”
The wines…
A very impressive range – keep your eyes out for them!
2020 Beaujolais Villages Blanc Les Cerisiers
The parcel that is the border between the granite and the limestone. Young vines from 2014
Here’s a nice freshness of slightly honied citrus, becoming more honied and direct with air. Mineral, slightly exotic fruit without overt rigour – some – but modest. Impressively vibrant in the finish and impressively long…
Older vines from 1980 – some skin contact but not more than 24 hours. Harvested early in the morning so as cool as possible. Probably won’t bottle until april or may.
A vibrant, mineral and very attractive nose – it’s a very petrolly-riesling style here, and it’s very attractive. Supple, a certain weight at the core but the flavour melts well over the palate. That’s really a very interesting, mineral wine of character and I like it! Some citrus bitters to finish. Bravo!
2020 Beaujolais Villages Rosé La Péreuse
Very fine, subtle, elegant aromatic freshness, faintly saline too. Supple, some fat but wide and mouth-watering. That’s a super rose that finishes clean and mineral.
2020 Beaujolais Villages La Croix Polage
Newarly 40-year-old gamay vines.
Round but airy – a very, very attractive nose – a super invitation. Super shape and texture too; there’s energy but calmed by the concentration – the balance is super here. So much material that you would do well to wait a couple of years but here is high-class Beaujolais Villages! Vibrant and pretty finish flavour with attractive bitters – excellent!
Here, nearly 50-year-old vines
Really aromatic – really an open and interesting nose – super and becoming extra floral too – yes! A little gas today. Intense, less fat than the last, more direct and with fine focus. That‘s a great wine, super finishing with lots of graphite complexity.
2020 Beaujolais Villages 85.45
Old vines – more than 100. Will have to replant as there are plenty of missing vines and the INAO are not happy with that so suggest declassifying – so will eventually replant
Vibrant, deep, concentrated dark fruit. Broad, really concentrated with a modest texture of velour from the tannin but no grain. There’s impressive richness of flavour, slightly menthol, without becoming heavy. A wine for keeping – highly impressive wine too. Hauntingly long finishing…!