Last week, I got to taste a lineup of cult Beaujolais wine producer, Jules Desjourney. Here are my impressions.
I’m off to California, so I’ll be back posting in March, but I thought I’d add a quick extra post this week about a producer wine geeks should know about it.
About Jules Desjourneys
The estate vineyards are located in Beaujolais and Maconnais, but they purchase grapes from those regions too. Jules Desjourneys is owned and produced by Burgundy wine merchant Fabien Duperray, who represents top labels like DRC and Coche-Dury. Hence, he wanted to elevate his Beaujolais and Maconnais wines to a similar level of quality. He produced his first wines with the 2006 vintage. He’s certified organic with biodynamic farming and low intervention overall. Minimal sulfur is added, and there’s minimal filtering towards the end. He ferments with indigenous yeasts. For his reds, earlier wines were whole bunch but now he may limit the amount of stems depending on the vintage. His reds go through semi-carbonic maceration. Earlier reds also used oak but since 2015, he’s been aging his reds in concrete and glass. Most of his whites are tank fermented. Some age on lees in large barrels with a small percentage of new oak. With really low-yields, he’s known for making age worthy, expressive but balanced wines. Only around 65000 bottles are produced per year, and he has around 40 different cuvees.
Tasting Notes
2019 Pouilly-Fuissé – Mixed soil types with volcanic, sedimentary on one side and clay-limestone on the other side. Initially the oak sticks out, with vanilla and spice. It’s still subtle though. Some leesy notes. Creamy. Ripe on the palate with good acidity, salinic minerality on the back end. Good length. It still needs time to fully integrate. 93+
2019 Pouilly-Loche – Clay, gravel and schist soil. This one starts off more citrusy and minerally. Not sure if there’s any oak here or if there is, it’s mostly or all neutral oak. This is more for Chablis lovers to go with oysters and other raw seafood. 92
2019 Saint-Veran – 60+ year old vines. This is more like the Pouilly-Fuisse with vanilla, spice and leesy notes but less pronounced oak notes overall. Most savory of the first 3 which lingers on the palate. All 3 are balanced and easy to drink. Alcohol all kept around 13% for all his wines. 92
2019 Macon-Prissé En Chailloux – Don’t get the obvious oak on this one but there’s a lactic aspect to the wine on the nose. Biggest and most obvious alcohol on the palate. The least elegant of the 4, but still fun to drink. 90
2021 Sogne Pinot Noir Vin de France – This is Pinot Noir from southern Beaujolais south of Broully with clay and limestone soil closer to Burgundy and less typical granite soil of Beaujolais, so Pinot is grown here but with the Vin de France label. 12 months in fut de chenes. On the nose there’s some vanilla and baking spices. The palate is structured–tannic for Pinot with good acid but fine with food. Dark red fruits up front and savory, minerality on the backend. 90
2022 L’ephemere Moulin a Vent – Only vintage of this made so far. 100% whole bunch. Concrete aging. Shy nose. Dark ripe fruit. Some herbal spice. Chalky tannins. Savory backend. 90
2015 Le Jugement Dernier Chenas – Yellow clay with granite soil. Estate fruit. A lot brighter than the previous. More acid. More minerality. Potent but still light on its feet. Silky tannins. Still young and fruit driven. My favorite red of the tasting. 2015 was a great vintage for Beaujolais and all of Burgundy. I had another 2015 Beaujolais Cru last year, so that and these two 2015s show how well Beaujolais can age. 93+
2015 Vieilles Vignes Morgon – This is darker and riper than the Le Jugement. Higher alcohol. Spicier. Juicy. Licorice. Minerality. Medium+ acid. Still tannic. Most tannic of the tasting. 92+
Conclusion
I felt all of these could age longer to integrate more and gain complexity, but especially the Pouilly-Fuissé and the 2015 reds. All the reds were served too cold and were rather closed on the nose, so they should open up more. These are not cheap ranging from 40-80 bucks, but compared to Cote d’Or Burgundy of similar quality and given the small production, it’s reasonable, especially for those who like low intervention, terroir driven wines. I would buy some to lay down in the cellar for a while too.