If you polled a group of knowledgeable sommeliers and asked them where the best-value red wines on earth come from, I’d bet serious money that the majority would say Cru Beaujolais—wines from 10 specific “cru” villages in the Beaujolais region. It’s been a minute since we offered a ‘cru’ Beaujolais, which is surprising given our love of these wines (not to mention the exceptional generosity of the 2015 vintage).
On the red wine side of the SommSelect equation, Cru Beaujolais has been a smash hit with our subscribers, for good reason—it’s hard to beat the amount of class and style a great Morgon or Fleurie delivers for the money, especially when the source is a prized site such as Morgon’s ‘Corcelette’ and the producer is a rising star like Mathieu Mélinand of Domaine des Marrans. It’s no small thing to bottle a wine with a ‘Corcelette’ vineyard designation, given the many heavy hitters—Jean Foillard, Domaine Mee Godard, Daniel Bouland—who are doing the same, but Mathieu nailed it in 2015. This is a perfect wine to come back with after a brief hiatus from Cru Beaujolais, because it’s got it all: perfume, precision, exuberant fruit, minerality, and transcendent value. Are you ready to jump back in? We sure are.
Domaine des Marrans is based in Fleurie, which is where the majority of their 20 hectares of vines are located, but they’ve also got a piece of prime real estate in Morgon: ‘Corcelette,’ a high-elevation site to the northwest of the Morgon village, is typically mentioned in the same breath as ‘Côte du Py’ (south of the village) as one of Morgon’s greatest single-vineyard sites (if they used such monikers in Beaujolais, it would surely be a “Grand Cru”). The Mélinand family has been at it for generations, with Mathieu coming aboard in 2008 to assist his father, Jean-Jacques. They are now practicing organic, embracing a ‘vineyard-first’ mentality that is reflected in wines of great purity and mineral expression.
The Corcelette vineyard is a south-facing site of granite and schist, known for structure, mineral-driven expressions of the Gamay grape. The Mélinands take a traditional approach to vinification, employing ‘semi-carbonic’ maceration—the practice of loading whole grape bunches into a sealed container, which incites fermentation among the crushed grapes at the bottom of the vessel, but traps the resultant carbon dioxide inside the vessel. This ignites an ‘intracellular’ fermentation in the grapes on top, the end result of which is a brighter, more fruit-forward style. Of course, what the various ‘cru’ villages add to the equation are poor, mineral-rich soils (mostly granitic), which lend inimitable minerality to the wines. Morgon, in fact, can be quite structured and savory, with hints of iron and stone complementing the juicy berry fruit.
Domaine des Marrans farms 50+-year-old vines on Corcelette, fermenting the grapes on indigenous yeasts and aging the wine for 10 months in large, used barrels. And while many of the 2015s are pumped up well beyond their traditional proportions, this one has some terrific focus—it is bold, sure, but it’s clear that the harvest at Domaine des Marrans was well-timed. It’s not at all over-ripe or blowsy, but rather full of energy, perfume, and structure.
In the glass it’s a deep garnet with purple reflections at the rim. The nose is pretty and perfumed but with some nice, stony bass notes: aromas of black and red raspberry, plum, damp violets, dried herbs, and crushed stones. It is deeply flavored and medium-plus in body, with a persistent mineral/floral finish. While much more focused than many 2015s I’ve tasted, it’s nevertheless very accessible now—decant it about 30 minutes before serving around 60 degrees (or a little cooler) in Burgundy stems and you’re good to go. I think it will continue to improve over the next 5-7 years if you can keep your hands off it, which won’t be easy: At this price, it is next-level picnic/outdoor grilling wine that delivers both refreshment and real character. What more could you ask for, really? Check it out with a nice chill alongside some kabobs off the grill—you don’t need to worry about heat from spice, if you go that way, as this wine’s moderate alcohol, ample fruit, and supple tannins make it a perfect foil. It’s so great to have cru Beaujolais back in the rotation! Cheers!
