You know, and I know, that Cru Beaujolais is no longer a hidden gem being enjoyed by a small cohort of wine cognoscente in hip bars and restaurants. Indeed, these celebrations of fruit, flowers, and earth are perhaps more popular today than they were in the mid 20th century when they were often sold as more consistent alternatives to top Burgundies. As such prices have been heading north for the past decade, but even so I still think they are incredible values. Today’s wine though is a truly mind blowing deal: Pristine Gamay from the most acclaimed Cru, Morgon, and from one of the most important lieu-dit vineyards in this Cru, “Les Charmes,” for an even 30 bucks! This silky, elegant bottle is perfectly, deliciously drinkable right now, but I am sure that it will get better and better over the next five to ten years and beyond. There’s so much going on here, and did I mention the crazy low price? The pro move: buy a case, get free shipping, and pat yourself on the back for getting the best deal in Morgon “Les Charmes,” out there!
The story of Domaine de Thulon is truly a “feel good” type of yarn. The property is part of the former Château de Thulon, an estate that dates to the 1400s, has had vineyards for at least that long, and has been producing wine for centuries too. Annie and René Jambon were métayers on this property for 20 years, meaning they farmed the land for the owners in exchange for a portion of the fruit which they could sell or use to make their own wine. This is a common arrangement that has roots in Feudal Europe; in the U.S. we call our own version of this landlord/tenant farmer arrangement “sharecropping.” In 1987 Annie and Réne had saved enough to purchase the best parcels of vines that they now knew extremely well and were finally able to create their own domaine. Today it is their children, Carine and Laurent, at the helm.
The estate, and still existing Château, are situated in the heart of the Beaujolais-Villages region, just a stones throw to the west of Villié-Morgan, at the edge of the 10 Crus. Carine and Laurent’s production is dominated by their flagship line of Beaujolais-Villages in all three colors (red, white, and rosé), but they also have acquired small parcels of pristine vines in three of the Crus, and the most prestigious is their plot in the Morgon lieu-dit of “Les Charmes.” Here they farm vines with an average age of 50 years, growing on the classic pink granite soils with trace amounts of schist and clay. As the name suggests, this parcel is famous for producing the most textbook Morgon–and according to many experts the most consistently classic of all Cru Beaujolais terroirs–that seems to explode with a delicious, and perfectly balanced, combination of rich, silky fruit, floral aromatics, and savory, crushed rock minerality.
Like all great Cru Beaujolais, and Morgon specifically, this beauty really benefits from a vigorous decant when it is young. And it shows best served cool, around 55-60 degrees in a Burgundy stem (although drinking it out of a tumbler while playing Pétanque is certainly very enjoyable too). Right now the youthful energy and fruit is up front, with gobs of Bing cherries, crushed raspberries, and red plums woven with layers of violet, lavender, pink peppercorn, blood orange zest, forest floor, and wet rock minerals. Given five plus years in the cellar the wine will start to pinotize–gaining additional depth and complexity and becoming much more “Burgundian” in character. All that is to say that there is an incredible amount of wine here for the money, so you should take full advantage of our special pricing and load up!
