Tasted in Juliénas with Benjamin Rousset & Guillaume Marko, 21 February 2024
Domaine Mont Bessay
1405 Route de Bessay
69840 Juliénas
Domaine Instagram
The Domaine Mont Bessay is beautifully situated atop one of the highest hills of Juliénas – the Côte de Besset – with a wonderful view towards Mont Blanc – certainly the day that I visited.
It’s a new construction, and whilst I was disagreeing with Google Maps’s suggestion to take me to the domaine via a steep ‘green road’ I looked around thinking ‘where is it?‘ – but then my eyes were drawn to a piece of architecture that crowned the hillside – it would not be out of place in California – there’s certainly nothing else like it in Juliénas!!
It was clear that I had found the domaine.
Domaine Mont Bessay is another step in the wine-adventure of Philippe Pascal and his team – we recently met Philippe in his historic Givry domaine, the Cellier aux Moines.
This domaine has been assembled from “A triangle of 5.5 hectares of vines, laid at an altitude of more than 300 metres, which is ideal in a context of global warming,” additional parcels of St.Véran and Moulin à Vent will already be testing the capacity of their new cuverie – all above ground – which was ready in time for the 2023 harvest. As beautiful as the the building undoubtedly is, it’s actually not very large – the design and construction entrusted to the same architect as for their cuverie in Givry – and also the update at Clos de Lambrays!
For this endeavour, Guillaume Marko is also an investor with his boss in Givry. Here in Juliénas Benjamin Rousset has the day to day lead – Benjamin coming to the domaine with experience working in the Côte de nuits.
Guillaume & Benjamin on 2022 and 2021:
“In 2022 the yields were low right from start; the vines hadn’t been ploughed before – at least those that were retained. We started straight away with organic certification and have added new parcels along the way too – the maximum size that we can accommodate would be up to about 12 hectares. Our 2022 harvest begain 29 August – exactly 1 month earlier than in 2021! We made just 6k bottles in 2021, but 9k in 2022.
“In our first vintage – 2021 – not everything was done by us; the pruning was done by the previous owners. We suffered a little mildew, but there was no frost in our Moulin à Vent – young vines planted in 2015”
The wines…
What a wonderful project and the 22s are such sophisticated wines – but they flirt with being wines of another place – much as I love them. But this domaine is just getting established and I expect that they will soon find a little more Beaujolais character to add to their obvious finesse!
2021(!) Moulin à Vent Le Vieux Bourg
2015 vines.
Good colour. The nose has plenty of complexity – plenty of pyrazines too. But it sits beautifully in the mouth, fine textured and finishing long, faintly indeed sympathetically oaked…
2021 Juliénas En Bessay
The vines below the show-window of the cuverie.
Extra fresh width of aroma, almost a note of tobacco, the pyrazine also present here but more subtle. I hardly taste the green note in the mouth – here is a lovely volume and fluidity of quite concentrated flavour – super energy and with some generosity in the long finish – quite spiced in this finish.
These 22s to be bottled in 2 weeks:
2022 Moulin à Vent Le Vieux Bourg
All whole cluster, 11 months of 3-4 year-old barrels from Givry – a mix of barrel sizes but with plenty of 228s
Hmm, an almost a vertical nose – not so wide but of impressive depth and nicely perfumed higher toned. Mouth-filling, lovely scale to this wine and with a very fine, mouth-watering finish.
2022 Juliénas Le 4 Cerisiers
Lost 30% to hail – so just 25 hl/ha
More direct, higher-toned perfume here. Hmm, large in scale, modestly generous, faintly oaked – subtly juicy finishing – actually quite a contemplative but very delicious wine. I would wait 3-4 years as the oak – whilst delicious – makes this a little less ‘Juliénas’ but what an excellent wine!
2022 Julienas En Bessay
More airy and higher toned – very attractive aromatics. More open, slowly melting with flavours of clarity. Mouth-watering, framed with a tiny grain of tannin. A more open, more obviously red-fruited and more recognisably a wine of Julienas today, slowly fading – that’s a very fine and perfumed finishing flavour. Super.
2022 Juliénas ‘not commercial’
From their selection massale – vines from 1952 – this vinified in their rented garage before the completion of their cuverie – the cuverie was just ready for the 23 harvest.
Plenty of new oak here. An impression of aromatic silk. In the mouth a wonderful texture of velour – and the longest finishing too. The oak remains more ‘delicate’ than forceful. Not the juiciness of gamay today – but what a wine!