Jules Desjourneys
Every region has its superstar producers. Beaujolais has the gang of five natural winemakers, but now there’s a new star who threatens to overshadow them all. It’s Fabien Duperry of Domaine Jules Desjourneys, who is making world class wines from privileged sites in Beaujolais (Gamay) and the Mâconnais.
Reds come from three crus, Chénas, Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent, with certain parcels (such as Fleurie ‘Chapelle des Bois’) being bottled separately in some years. Older vintages were raised for 24 months in barrel, but Fabien decided that he wanted “more terroir and less François Frères” in the wines, so he has phased out oak in favour of steel and glass (with 2015 being the first completely unoaked vintage). Whites hail from Macon-Verzé, St-Veran and three of the Pouillys (Loché, Vinzelles and Fuissé) and are all made in tank with the exception of the Pouilly-Fuissé and Pouilly-Fuissé ‘Vignes Blanches’, which are both vinified using what Fabien calls “the Coche method”.
These wines are built with the harmony and quality to age for the long-term, but – like the top quality red and white Burgundies that they call to mind – there is a drinkability to them that makes it difficult to resist pulling their corks immediately. This is a domaine which, stylistically and qualitatively, is already in the top echelon of Beaujolais and Côte Maconnais producers.
