The colour is medium garnet and a bit cloudy. On the nose sour cherries and some earthy notes. In the mouth fresh and at first a bit prickly. The finish is abrupt, but later some fruity flavours come back and stay for a little.
Morgon is one of the 10 Beaujolais crus located on the slopes on the western side of the Saone River. The red wines produced under this appellation are considered among the best wines based on the Gamay grape variety.
Jean-Paul Thévenet became famous when Kermit Lynch dubbed him, together with Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton and Jean Foillard, as Beaujolais’ “Gang of Four” in the ’80s. A group of, back then, young and idealist winemakers. The essence of their philosophy: take a step back, appreciate and cultivate old vines, apply organic farming practices, avoid the use of sulphur, let natural ferments do their magic and help the terroir express itself through minimal intervention. Following these principals, each of them has proven that Gamay could produce (much) more than the popular Beaujolais Nouveau. They showed that this underappreciated grape can produce meaningful wines.
When I visited the winery in 2015 I tasted the wines with Jean-Paul’s son Charly, who joined him in 2008 and is also making wines under his own label from the neighbouring Grand Cru Régnié.
More recent vintages of this wine should be selling slightly above 20 EUR. If I remember correctly, back then for this bottle I paid less than 20 EUR.
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Grapes: Gamay
Type: Red
Vintage: 2013
Producer: Jean-Paul Thévenet
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 2/5