Morgon 2023

The 2023 Morgon (Non-Sulphité) has a fresh and vibrant nose, a little more brightness than the SO2 bottling. This conveys a sense of coiled-up energy. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity and that same crunchy red fruit as the regular cuvée, but with a tad more flesh toward the finish. Lapierre told me that the brightness tends to disappear within six weeks, but nevertheless, this remains a magnificent Morgon. Mathieu Lapierre, unofficially the coolest dude in Beaujolais, was sporting shades and a t-shirt that made him look as if he had just returned from an all-night rave somewhere around the M25 in 1989. He’s also one of the most erudite winemakers to speak to about all things Beaujolais and natural wines since his father, Marcel, was one of the movement's forefathers. Lapierre always expresses an open-mindedness that is lacking elsewhere. To that end, for many years, he has produced two cuvées of Morgon, with and without SO2. I always taste these blind, and on this occasion, I just sided with the non-sulfité iteration. His sister and co-owner, Camille, joined us briefly in the early spring sunshine. “The 2023 vintage was really hard,” he told me. “Camille was in the cellar, and I was in the vineyard. There was a lot of sunburn, and we suffered hail four times in Morgon, which bore the brunt. Consequently, yields were reduced from 65hL/ha to 40hL/ha. Some of the berries had a hard taste. I was worried about there being bad microorganisms, and I feared there might be Brettanomyces. Thankfully, there isn’t any.” Lapierre has a legion of admirers, some that have followed the Domaine since his father’s era. These are wonderful expressions of Morgon, transparent and characterful.

Score: 92

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025-2038 01 March 2024