Daniel Bouland 'Les Délys 1926' Vieilles Vignes, Morgon, Beaujolais, France 2023
Daniel Bouland is a great producer of old-fashioned Morgon, working less than seven hectares of old vines across the Douby, Côte de Py, and Délys lieux-dits of Morgon, plus small parcels in Chiroubles and Côte de Brouilly, making wines that can age twenty years and are frequently compared to fine Côte de Nuits Burgundies. Bouland took over the family estate in the 1980s and has become one of the cru's most quietly celebrated vignerons — his profile not as high as the likes of Lapierre or Foillard, but his wines operating at the same quality level. The domaine is now run together with his daughter Mélanie.
- WINEMAKER: Daniel Bouland and Mélanie Bouland
- FARMING: Vineyards are farmed with attentive hand work, with all vines hand-tied as gobelet-trained bush vines. Bouland tends his old vines entirely by hand on steep slopes where no tractor can operate.
- VARIETY: 100% Gamay
- TERROIR: The 'Délys 1926' comes from a single parcel between Corcelette and Ville Morgon, situated on the Morgon-Chiroubles border at the end of the Corcelette valley. The lieu-dit is sable soil — one of the best-situated parcels in the appellation — and Bouland's vines were planted in 1926. The soil here is so soft and crumbly that the roots plunge deep into the hillside, giving the wine its striking minerality. The vines sit on a southeast-facing slope planted at 10,000 vines per hectare, with yields sometimes as low as 15 hl/ha.
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VINIFICATION: All grapes are hand-harvested and vinified with full clusters to extract all organoleptic qualities. Whole-cluster fermentations last the better part of two weeks, with pump-overs twice daily. Native yeasts throughout. Only small dosages of SO2 are added after malolactic fermentation.
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AGING: Maturation of up to nine months in foudres or tanks. All bottlings are unfiltered.
- TASTING NOTES: Deep and refined on the nose, with sweet dark berries, cassis, a hint of pomegranate, espresso, bonfire, spit-roasted gamebird, complex dark soil tones, and a topnote of currant leaf. Full-bodied and extremely elegant in profile, with a deep, sappy core of old-vine fruit, fine-grained tannins, stunning soil signature, and a long, seamless finish
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Roasted game birds, duck confit, braised lamb, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.
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SCORES:
- Wine Advocate: 92 pts (2023)
Daniel Bouland 'Les Délys 1926' Vieilles Vignes, Morgon, Beaujolais, France 2023
Daniel Bouland is a great producer of old-fashioned Morgon, working less than seven hectares of old vines across the Douby, Côte de Py, and Délys lieux-dits of Morgon, plus small parcels in Chiroubles and Côte de Brouilly, making wines that can age twenty years and are frequently compared to fine Côte de Nuits Burgundies. Bouland took over the family estate in the 1980s and has become one of the cru's most quietly celebrated vignerons — his profile not as high as the likes of Lapierre or Foillard, but his wines operating at the same quality level. The domaine is now run together with his daughter Mélanie.
- WINEMAKER: Daniel Bouland and Mélanie Bouland
- FARMING: Vineyards are farmed with attentive hand work, with all vines hand-tied as gobelet-trained bush vines. Bouland tends his old vines entirely by hand on steep slopes where no tractor can operate.
- VARIETY: 100% Gamay
- TERROIR: The 'Délys 1926' comes from a single parcel between Corcelette and Ville Morgon, situated on the Morgon-Chiroubles border at the end of the Corcelette valley. The lieu-dit is sable soil — one of the best-situated parcels in the appellation — and Bouland's vines were planted in 1926. The soil here is so soft and crumbly that the roots plunge deep into the hillside, giving the wine its striking minerality. The vines sit on a southeast-facing slope planted at 10,000 vines per hectare, with yields sometimes as low as 15 hl/ha.
-
VINIFICATION: All grapes are hand-harvested and vinified with full clusters to extract all organoleptic qualities. Whole-cluster fermentations last the better part of two weeks, with pump-overs twice daily. Native yeasts throughout. Only small dosages of SO2 are added after malolactic fermentation.
-
AGING: Maturation of up to nine months in foudres or tanks. All bottlings are unfiltered.
- TASTING NOTES: Deep and refined on the nose, with sweet dark berries, cassis, a hint of pomegranate, espresso, bonfire, spit-roasted gamebird, complex dark soil tones, and a topnote of currant leaf. Full-bodied and extremely elegant in profile, with a deep, sappy core of old-vine fruit, fine-grained tannins, stunning soil signature, and a long, seamless finish
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Roasted game birds, duck confit, braised lamb, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.
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SCORES:
- Wine Advocate: 92 pts (2023)