2019 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 destemming (80% of the bunches) before fermentation takes place in cement and stainless steel. The fermentation never lasts longer than 8-10 days in order to preserve freshness. When the cuvées are chosen for the final blend, wines with juicy fruit, complexity and fine structure go to the Beaujolais-Villages as opposed to the simpler straight Beaujolais.

September, 2020

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front

91 points

Ripe cherry and raspberry, spice, a sort of pressed rose perfume. Medium-bodied, quite deep in flavour with a pleasing roundness, a bit of grainy tannin, meat and dried herb, and a good finish. It’s just a really good drink, and very accessible.

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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.