We’ve offered several of Daniel Bouland’s dense and savory cru Beaujolais wines over the years, and they’ve always been distinguished by a combination of power and grace. And what intrigued me most about this 2015 Morgon from Bouland’s prized “Delys” vineyard—where vines were planted in 1926, as indicated on the label—was its balance, even restraint, in a vintage characterized by super-ripe, often inky wines.
This is not to say that “Delys” isn’t a bold, muscular style of cru Beaujolais—it always is—but in a “vintage of the century” like 2015, when you might have expected it to climb too far up on the ripeness scale, it maintained what might be called composure; not only is it an exuberant, aromatic, lushly fruited Morgon to drink tonight, it’s also a structured, mineral-laced wine to lay down in your cellar (highly advised). If you’ve ever had the acclaimed wines of Jean Foillard, a neighbor of Bouland, this wine performs in a similar way. This may well be chalked up to the ‘regulatory’ effects of old vines, but whatever the reason, we were mightily impressed by Bouland’s take on 2015 (and we are not alone: no matter where you look it seems every critic has given similar praise). We consider ourselves lucky to have gotten a small parcel of this small-production wine to share with you, and if you haven’t yet experienced the stylings of this fast-rising star, this is a fantastic wine to start with. He doesn’t have the notoriety of Morgon luminaries such as Foillard or Marcel Lapierre, but he is undoubtedly one of the greatest producers in Beaujolais today.
In the glass, Bouland’s 2015 Morgon “Delys” shows an opaque, dark ruby core with purple reflections throughout. The intense aromatics are a high-powered mix of sweet and savory: ripe blackberry, black plum, and black raspberry mingle with hints of tobacco, wild flowers, lavender, anise, dried herbs, and crushed black rocks. It is mouth-coating, luscious even, but with a structured backbone and freshness I rarely find in ’15-vintage Cru Beaujolais: You can safely lay this wine down for a long slumber, with an expectation of peak drinking between 2020-2030. If opening a bottle tonight, which is highly recommended, a quick half-hour decant should do the trick before service in Burgundy stems at 60-65 degrees. And while I always hesitate to call Beaujolais ‘Burgundy-like’—because it is Burgundy—this wine easily rivals the pleasure brought by Côte de Nuits Pinot Noirs costing twice as much. There’s enough dark, savory mineral power here to put this alongside a pot of beef bourguignon, always one of my go-tos when great red Burgundy is on the table. Don’t miss this one: Bouland is a name to know!