Description

The Desvignes Beaujolais Blanc was tasted at a Beaujolais dinner. It was served icy cold at first and came up as it warmed up. The flavours were of damp grass, apples and fermentation esters. The palate felt generous in the mouth but had a chalky, dry, zesty finish. Desvignes Beaujolais Blanc is almost like drinking Champagne base material.

Desvignes is a lovely Chardonnay that would happily replace a bottle of Chablis at the table (although it tastes distinctly different from Chablis). It is drinking perfectly now and paired in a lovely way with scallops prepared in the style of veal saltimbocca.

Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes Beaujolais Blanc 2020, and all wines are eligible for at least 5% off any six bottles. And 10% off any 12 bottles. Some wines will be at a more significant discount and not subject to further discounts.

Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît are the eighth generation Desvignes to work this land. They ushered in 100% estate bottling and organic tending to their vineyards. Their 14 hectares include the amazing sites of Cote du Py, Javernieres and Corcelette in Morgon. The Desvignes style is for later picked grapes and traditional winemaking to ensure the wines live a long time.

Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes Beaujolais Blanc 2020Winery Notes

“100% Chardonnay. Brother-sister team Claude Emmanuelle and Louis Benoît Desvignes have made the first white wine in the eight generations of the domaine. The vines are in the same vineyard as the Gamay for their also-new-in-2020 “L’Aube à Javernières”. The 0.26-hectare plot of Chardonnay is on the same deep clay as the red, just outside the Morgon appellation on the edge of the Javernières lieu-dit below the Côte du Py hill. The farming is certified-organic and the harvest by hand. The clusters were left mainly whole, with 20% of them destemmed, and put through a long, gentle press. The wine was aged in concrete eggs for 7 months and bottled with a light, non-sterile filtration.”

Beaujolais

Most famous for aromatic, light of body, high acid reds made from the Gamay variety. There is a Burgundian sensibility on Rhone soil types which makes for an exciting style. The quality wines are refreshingly tart with aromatic complexity and enough fruit weight to balance out the tartness. You do have the option of cellaring your quality Beaujolais, but often it is not required. The best wines are from the 10 Crus of the region with the lesser appellations being akin to an ocean in more ways than one. Whites from Chardonnay are available but hard to find.

Chardonnay

The grape that you can plant anywhere, in any climate and do anything to, and it will still taste like an OK wine. When people hit the sweet spot of site, climate, cropping and winemaking, Chardonnay becomes a magical wine that will age gracefully but charm you at any age. Chardonnays can range from cool-climate lean and citrusy to warmer climate tropical and overt. Oak and lees can add flavouring, as can malolactic fermentation.

French Wine

The land that so many New World (not European) wine producers look to emulate. To generalise about French wine, I would say it is savoury, lighter-bodied wines. They are the definition of elegant, complex. There are many styles, though. And there is a French wine for every palate. They lead the world in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy. Sparkling Wine in Champagne. Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. Syrah(Shiraz) and Grenache in the Rhone Valley. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris in Alsace. Sauvignon Blanc, and Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley. Gamay in Beaujolais.

Wine

Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.

The wine grape is special. It contains everything you need to make grape wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.

Human inputs can influence the final product, including the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.

The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. Terroir is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.

White Wine

It is interesting to know that you can make white wine from almost any grape. The colour comes from the skins, and if there is no contact, there is no colour. White wines tend to be delicate, perfumed, higher in acid and lower in alcohol. It seems for this and many other reasons, it is hard to make an incredibly impressive white wine. But those that have mastered the art are indeed some of the best winemakers in the world.

It is a falsehood to think that white wine does not age as well as red wine. But it is correct that white wine, as a rule, doesn’t age for as long.

The Wine Depository

I, Phil, have been running The Wine Depository since 2011. The Wine Depository exists to make sure you are drinking the good wines. You can browse and pick what is interesting to you. Or you can make contact with me. I’ll make sure you get what you want, to your palate, to your budget and to your door.