The main reason we go on buying trips to Europe is to find wines like today’s. Upon tasting this stunning ’04 Morgon at Domaine Calot last March, we made a big commitment to it on the spot. Longtime subscribers know of our abiding love of this small, artisanal domaine, but this wine is truly on another level—it leaves no doubt whatsoever that Cru Beaujolais, particularly when sourced from old vines and vinified in a traditional manner, can age every bit as well as its more-prestigious Burgundian cousins to the north.
Calot’s 2004 Morgon Vieilles Vignes—shipped directly from the winery, exclusively for our customers—is a wine with so much energy, perfume, and still-vibrant fruit we had difficulty believing it was 14 years old. It was one of many well-aged (and high-performing) Beaujolais we had on our trip, yet it was unquestionably the most memorable. For me, today’s offer is the perfect capper to a year that has been chock-full of stellar Cru Beaujolais: you won’t find it anywhere else, and I’m certain you’ll be as blown away by its quality as we were. Grab as much as you can fit and enjoy it now and over the next few years—it’s got plenty of deliciousness still in the tank!
I feel like we’ve all embraced the fact that truly “great” wine comes from a wider array of places today than it did in years past, but the typical collector’s cellar still draws from a relatively narrow selection of usual suspects—Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Napa Valley. If you are collecting with an eye toward name recognition and resale value, then yes, you’re not likely to stray too far from these blue chips. But if you’re collecting with an eye toward wine, rather than price, appreciation—i.e. actually drinking what’s in your cellar—then this Morgon from Domaine Calot will reward you handsomely. A wine need not be expensive to be collectible: it needs to demonstrate a capacity to improve with age, and Calot’s wines do that while flaunting an almost comically low-priced.
Over the last few years especially, Cru Beaujolais has reached a new level of recognition and respect, with the wines of Morgon and neighboring Fleurie rising to the top rank of the region’s 10 cru-designated villages. Morgon, with its granitic soils mixed with some volcanic material, is known for producing some of the most structured, concentrated reds among the Beaujolais crus, and Domaine Calot has long been one of our trusted ‘go-to’ houses in this village—their high-altitude vineyards in the village of Villié-Morgon boast some incredible old plantings (vieilles vignes) that in some cases exceed 100 years of age. Overall, the Calots farm just 10 hectares of vineyards in Morgon, with most of their holdings situated in the “Corcelette” and “Douby” sub-zones, both of which sit on granite.
Although helmed by the precocious Vincent Calot these days, it was his late Uncle Jean that crafted this bottle all those years ago. Impressively (and thankfully so), vineyard and winemaking work today is the same as it was back in 2004. The grapes for this bottling were hand-harvested and fermented on indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and aging took place in used, large-capacity oak foudres. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, it’s one of the most consistent, transparent, and well-structured expressions of old-vine Gamay you’ll find, and it has remained one of the best buys on the market despite the ever-rising fortunes of Morgon.
We were shocked when they revealed this small stash of 2004, even more so when they told us why they were holding it back—because of sediment! They didn’t think customers and restaurants would want it! Well, we checked a bottle overseas and one more when it arrived at our warehouse. It’s exactly where any 15-year-old, unfined, unfiltered Burgundy would be! To avoid the little that is there, stand the bottle upright 24 hours prior to opening and then carefully decant (stopping when you see the “smoke,” or wisps of sediment) for about 15 minutes before serving at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems.
Calot’s 2004 Morgon Vieilles Vignes show its maturity with a garnet core moving to brick-orange hues and reveals a raft of savory ‘secondary’ aromas intertwined with rich fruit and florality. After a few minutes of air, you can expect seductive aromas of candied rose petals and dried violets alongside wild berries, black cherry, dried raspberries, red plum skin, orange rind, iodine, pepper, and underbrush. Medium-bodied with tannins now sanded down to velvet smoothness, there’s still beautiful freshness and lift alongside a clean, fragrant finish. It has entered its peak drinking window but still has lots to offer over the next several years, and I for one will be pulling a few corks now and hanging on to some bottles for future special occasions. I cannot wait to serve this wine blind to Burgundy-loving friends and subsequently blowing their minds—especially when they hear what I paid for it! As for a food pairing, we enjoyed a memorable take on coq au vin during our visit in Beaujolais, and I’ve been anxious to re-create it (they managed to keep the skin crispy, which is absolutely key). It’s a perfect choice for this deep and enduring Morgon. Cheers!
