It’s a little early in the year to be making bold proclamations, but today’s offer is likely to go down as one of the best deals SommSelect presents in 2018. As with the previous 2014 vintage (a wine that received scores of love letters from customers) it will be difficult to match this bottle’s three-dimensional fruit, deep soil character, and vibrant energy.
In short, today’s 2015 Georges Descombes Morgon will silence those who claim that it’s no longer to possible to source outstanding, soulful, top-tier wines in Burgundy for less than $50. Yes, Beaujolais is part of Burgundy: Granted, this Morgon isn’t Pinot Noir, but it is an unbeatable value, a huge score for outside-the-mainstream collectors like myself, and an altogether brilliant wine. So, if you seek an economically priced red that perfectly telegraphs its region and soil of origin while delivering on your investment for many years to come, this is your bottle. We purchased every last bottle available to SommSelect and that means we can make up to two cases available to each customer. Even with this significant inventory on hand, we expect this offer to sell out quickly, so I urge you jump on this quickly!
Georges Descombes lives in the hamlet of Vermont outside the village of Villié-Morgon, which is situated on the borderline between the two famed appellations of Morgon and Chiroubles. Home to such legendary vignerons as Marcel Lapierre and Jean Foillard, Morgon is arguably the most celebrated of the Beaujolais crus. When in the care of talented hands, Morgon’s granitic soils produce wines of stunning mineral purity, bright fruit, and surprising cellar potential. In its youth, Morgon from a top producer and vintage is like lightning in a bottle: Drinking it makes you feel alive.
Still, after five years to a decade in bottle, great Morgon evolves into a more complex expression of the terroir. Some of the most illuminating and memorable older vintage wines of my life have been ancient, dusty bottles of Morgon. In time, the bright red fruit matures into savory forest/mushroom/black truffle aromas, the fresh burst of acidity softens into a finely interwoven and layered palate with a long finish, and—in the finest examples, like today’s—the wines retain an ethereal quality that allows them to pair with a broad diversity of cuisines. All this is to say that, while Gamay from Morgon doesn’t enjoy the prestige or stratospheric prices of neighboring Premier and Grand Cru Pinot Noirs to the north, there is no arguing that this village produces some of the greatest—and cellarable—wines of the world. On old wine lists in Paris from centuries ago, it was not Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s wines that were the most expensive—it was the wines from Morgon!
Descombes farms some of the oldest vines and steepest vineyards in the region. A walk through his un-trellised vines feels more like traversing the slopes of Germany’s treacherous Mosel than it does the rolling hills of Southern Burgundy—these are
steep vineyards! Georges does everything the hard way. Fruit is farmed organically and by hand, and without any chemicals or systemic treatments. He even hand labels his bottles. Grapes are fermented in cement vats without any addition of sulfur or packaged yeasts, and then the wine is aged in large neutral barrels until bottling. A small amount of Descombes is released in the US 15 months after harvest. While there is little fanfare and prices never seem to increase, these wines have a passionate and growing following. This is one of last unsung examples of extraordinary quality at a shockingly modest price in Burgundy— it’s only a matter of time before the word gets out.
Descombes’ 2015 Morgon hails from the vines surrounding his home, where the soils are a combination of sand/gravel and decomposed granite. This unique soil combined with Georges’ deft touch in the cellar produces an expression of Morgon that sings with perfect pitch and gorgeous articulation. Today, this is a juicy and undeniably quaffable red that is perhaps Mother Earth’s most ideal companion to a whole roasted chicken. As mentioned above, you can also rest assured that it will graduate into a far more elegant, savory and mysterious “mature” red over the next 5-10 years. I recently enjoyed a bottle of Descombes’ one-off 2011 Morgon “Vermont.” This wine’s haunting, truffle-kissed fruit and endless finish were proof that Pinot Noir is not the only variety that produces world-class reds in Burgundy. Still, at this modest price you can buy a case and drink through it quickly without sticker shock or any consideration paid to its cellar potential. It’s just as delicious right now, so let’s get the party started!
