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Marcel Lapierre, Morgon

Burgundy, France 2014 (750mL)
$35.00
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Marcel Lapierre, Morgon

Marcel Lapierre was one of the most important figures in natural wine. He sadly passed away a few years back, but his spirit carries on through his wines that are cherished by every wine geek I know. His wines, made from his vineyards in Morgon, are now severely allocated to restaurants and wine merchants in the US, due to the overwhelming demand.
Morgon is a quaint, picturesque village set amidst the French countryside about a forty-five minute drive north of the illustrious city of Lyon. Here, Lapierre has made an incredible impact on the international perception of the wines of Beaujolais, as a result of the incredibly perfumed reds he produces from old head-trained Gamay vines. His wines are unlike any other wine produced in the region and are some of my favorite wines to drink in the entire world. If I see his wines on the menu anywhere, I order it.

Marcel took over control of his family Domaine in 1973, but his path changed in 1981 when he became acquainted with Jules Chauvet, who was an incredibly passionate naturalist, today Chauvet is considered Marcel’s spiritual godfather. 

Importer Kermit Lynch had the following to say about Chauvet:

“Chauvet was a winemaker, a researcher, a chemist, and a viticultural prophet. It was he who, upon the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the 1950s, first spoke out for “natural wine,” harkening back to the traditional methods of the Beaujolais. Joined by local vignerons Guy Breton, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Jean Foillard, Marcel (Lapierre) spearheaded a group that soon took up the torch of this movement. Kermit dubbed this clan the Gang of Four, and the name has stuck ever since. These rebels called for a return to the old practices of viticulture and vinification: starting with old vines, never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and disdaining chaptalization.”

Since Lapierre passed, winemaking has been passed down to his son, Mathieu, who is currently running the estate; he carries on the same natural winemaking philosophy his father lived by. The 2014 Morgon shows just how seriously he has continued in his father’s natural footsteps. Mathieu still farms in the exact same manner as his father, organically and biodynamically, and without any intervention or use of conventional chemicals. The grapes are meticulously tended to and hand harvested very gently and carefully. Then, strict sorting occurs before ten to twenty days of semi-carbonic maceration—a method of fermentation to retain a carbon dioxide rich environment. The 2014 Morgon is aged for nine months in old, neutral oak barrels on fine lees. As little sulphur as possible is added to the wine, if any at all in some cases, before being bottled completely unfiltered. This wine is as clean and as pure as it gets. 

The 2014 Lapierre Morgon has a pale ruby core moving to a light pink rim. The aromas are driven by notes of freshly pressed pomegranate, freshly crushed red cherry, red currant, rose petals and wet rocks. The palate is medium bodied and full of granite, red fruits, wet leaves and red flowers. It is reminiscent of a young Vosne, yet is still Gamay from Beaujolais, made by Lapierre. This wine is a bit tight at the moment, but this will soften within the next year—as it always does at two years of age. The wine can easily age for a decade or two in the right cellar conditions. My favorite pairing with this wine is roast chicken and this is the best recipe ever.
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceBeaujolais - Morgon
Soil
Granite
Farming
Biodynamic
Blend
Gamay
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Neutral

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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