2018 Piron Beaujolais-Villages

Domaine Dominique Piron

France / Beaujolais / Domaine Dominique Piron

The vines for Piron's Beaujolais-Villages surround the crus on the hills of the northern half of Beaujolais. They mostly have an east-facing exposition and have sandy granitic soils comprising small stones that store the sun's heat and then release it gently during the night. This helps conserve the natural freshness of the fruit. These vines at 50 years old on average.
100% Gamay grapes are harvested by hand, selected on a sorting table, and given a very gentle, partial destemming before semi-carbonic fermentation takes place in cement and stainless steel. The fermentation never lasts longer than 8-10 days in order to preserve freshness.

October, 2020

Angus Hughson

Gourmet Traveller WINE

92 points

This is a serious attempt at Beaujolais Villages where plenty of effort has been made to craft a wine that tops many Cru Beaujolais. It is a pretty and complex style - concentrated mineral elements with meat and spice sit over raspberry and floral aromas. The palate is more dense and rustic than expected, with ripe dark berry fruits and it finishes with good length. Drinks well now but has the stuffing to improve over the next five years.

October, 2019

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front

90 points

They seem to have had a string of good vintages in Beaujolais, and I think I like the playful and fruity 2018s quite a lot.
Fresh, raspberry and cherry, floral perfume. It’s light and juicy, but sports a bit of ‘mineral’ stuff and fine dusty tannin to keep it on the straight and narrow. Finish is fresh. It’s easy to like.

January, 2020

Jeremy Oliver

Gourmet Traveller WINE

Scented with violets, raspberry and dark cherry with undertones of spice, clove and liquorice, this smooth and generous young Beaujolais reveals a faintly candied, brûléed aspect. It's steeped in brightly lit red and black berry/cherry flavour, extending long and smooth over a fine, dusty spine towards a soft but focused and lively finish. A delicious wine that shows just how far this region has improved over the past 20 years or so at village level.

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About Domaine Dominique Piron

Dominique Piron’s family history in Beaujolais spans more than four centuries, with his oldest known ancestor born in Morgon in 1590. Since then, there have been 14 generations of winegrowers in the family. Dominique seeks to create characterful terroir wines that are fruity, subtle and elegant from his sloping vineyards of fragmented granite and schist. These are wines that showed us what we’d long been looking for from Beaujolais but had almost given up hope of finding. They display extraordinary depth, freshness and verve, with real terroir-specific differences between the various crus. Morgon wines tend to be racy and elegant, and always have a slight hint of black cherry, bright spicy notes and great structure, which lends them great ageing potential. Dominique also makes wines from six other Beaujolais crus, alongside his excellent Beaujolais-Villages, sparkling and still Chardonnay and fresh, crunchy Gamay rosé.

About

“[Dominique Piron] has been one of the architects of the revival of Morgon, tackling with boundless energy the expression of wines of terroir, vinified in the pure tradition of Beaujolais,” declared Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France. And there it is; Beaujolais flows through this man's veins. Dominique Piron’s oldest known ancestor was born in Morgon in 1590. Since then, there have been 14 generations of winegrowers in the family. His own wine knowhow dates back 40 years. His philosophy revolves around sustainable winegrowing, observing the watchwords of natural balance and biodiversity as he works land strewn with broken-down granite and schist.