Only 5 vineyard of the Beaujolais cumulate 2 * in the RVF Guide of the best Wines of France 2016 AND 3 * in the Guide Bettane + Desseauve 2016. Among them, two are located in Morgon and our favorite of both is Domaine Louis-Claude Desvignes.

Louis-Claude Desvignes bequeathed the management of the family vineyard (ideally located in the heart of the famous Côte du Py, in the center of Morgon) to his daughter Claude-Emmanuelle in 2001. His brother Louis-Benoît Desvignes joined he in 2004. The siblings (eighth generation!) Produce superb Morgon wine guard and is today at the head of one of the most illustrious estates of Beaujolais.

Together, they follow the way traced by their father, one of the "black sheep" of the appellation, carrying out a traditional and meticulous vinification. Why "black sheep"? While all Beaujolais yielded to the temptation of hot pre-fermentation macerations in the 80s, Louis-Claude Desvignes resisted, convinced that this practice distorted the wines. This position against the current has also sometimes complicated the approval of its wines by the INAO. Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît baptized the grand cuvée "Les Impénitents" in honor of this "impenitent traditionalist", with, on the label ... a black sheep!

The children have adopted the philosophy of the father, therefore, and produce morgons rather structured, tonic, great guard, antipodes of the stereotypes of Beaujolais. Morgon, famous Beaujolais wine, comes from the Gamay grape variety. Even if they appreciate the traditional wines of their region, fondly, fruity, greedy, they like to produce more complex wines, able to compete with the main wine regions. And all this, without breeding under wood! Instead, 18 months in concrete vats. (The very old vines of the vineyard giving small grapes, the percentage of skin is superior and already offers beautiful tannins.)

Yet, even if they are faithful to the traditional line traced by their father, Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît Desvignes clearly lead their vineyard to a new area. For several years already, they have been working their soil in the most natural way possible, thanks to plowing, without any chemical agent, in a concern to preserve and to approach their soil. The conversion into organic is not far.

The winemakers are looking for wines that display a certain personality, and are therefore fond of the traditional maceration, either in de-stemming or in whole cluster for the oldest vines. Yields are relatively low for the region, as the vineyard can count on a vast majority of old vines.


The Morgon wine vintages:

•     La Voûte Saint-Vincent: the estate extends over two climates, half is on the climate of Douby, and allows the Desvignes to produce this vintage fruity and easily accessible in its youth.
•     La Côte du Py "classic version": with its schists and its disintegrated eruptive rock, and sometimes this blue stone so characteristic,
•     Javernières: further south of the Côte, a terroir more clayey and impregnated with oxide of iron
•     The impenitents: the most emblematic vintage of the vineyard