France
Beaujolais has been on a bit of a roller coaster over the last 30 years. During the 1980’s and early 90’s, Beaujolais Nouveau was all the rage, but as the quantity increased, the quality decreased, as wineries raced in to supply the demand. It all came to a halt around 2001 when people stopped buying this style of wine, ending with the inevitable wine lake which was eventually distilled. Thankfully the region is focusing on better quality wines, however it will take a long time for the region to shake its low quality image. This is great news for us, as the wines from the 10 Cru’s or villages offer amazing value and quality. In fact the vineyards in the Cru villages are not permitted to make “Nouveau”
Chateau de Pizay has been making great quality Beaujolais for centuries, centred on the Cru village Morgon, the second largest of the Crus. Morgon’ s unifying feature is the decomposed schist soil called ‘roches pourries’ or ‘rotted rocks’ and locals believe this contributes to cherry and dark fruit characters and the fleshy, juicy texture that is found in all the wines. These wines tend to be denser than those made in the rest of Beaujolais and age so distinctively and consistently that the region’s name is often used as a verb to describe this process: ‘il morgonne‘. These are wines can be cellared for 3-5 years.
This wine is a definite “Pinot style” with plenty of flavour and structure. It has this mineral freshness that is captivating. Scented, savoury and silky smooth it could easily serve as the poster child for cru Beaujolais. The wine’s deep crimson colour sets the tone, but it’s the beautiful bouquet of cherry and raspberry fruit with just the right hints of mineral and spice that make the wine pretty special
Classic Morgon, showing the fruit of Beaujolais and the charm of Burgundy.