Daniel Bouland Corcelette Sable Morgon VV 2023

Daniel Bouland Corcelette Sable Morgon VV 2023

There is nothing "nouveau" about this new release of Beaujolais: Daniel Bouland is old school. He might not have the superstar status of the likes of Lapierre or Foillard, but he certainly is a favourite of ours, and joins the elite as one of only five producers in Beaujolais to be classified as a "producteur des très grande qualité".

Bouland is a reclusive genius. He spends his time tending and hand-picking his 6 hectares of old vine Gamay, spread mainly throughout Morgon, one of the 10 Beaujolais crus.

The soils of Morgon range from sandy loams to heavier clays, and the ferrous richness is expressed by a deep, and Burgundian earthiness. Bouland's Morgon wines are certainly worthy of the verb "to morgonner", the term given to the distinct wines of Morgon that age to become silky in a Burgundian fashion.

Each release, Bouland's 10 cuvées explore the site-specific pockets of his vineyards across Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly and of course both the pebbly and the sandy soils of the lieux-dits of Morgon.

This again comes from Corcelette but from vines on granitic sand soils (sable means sand). The vines were planted in 1926, so it’s truly a Vieilles Vignes cuvée. It is the sister wine, if you like, to the Cailloux (rocky) cuvée. Unsurprisingly, Bouland’s gnarled old trunks have over-delivered again. Raised in an old foudre, it’s a layered, inky and mouthcoating Morgon of wonderful finesse, finishing with intense mineral character and a nip of old vine grip.