Morgon, “Côte de Py”

From arguably the Mount Olympus of Beaujolais vineyards, Jean-Paul’s Morgon “Côte de Py” (a slight derivation of the more common moniker, “Côte du Puy”) gives the kind of plush, wide-aspect-ratio fruit one expects from this fabled site, with a lurking, less bare-knuckled minerality than his other cru wines from Brouilly and Moulin-à-Vent. It is very sappy but without being at all syrupy and definitely justifies its price-point, in range with other excellent examples from this cru-within-a-cru. The wine sees pontaneous, full-bunch semi-carbonic maceration over a full month, followed by two winters raised in demi-muids. As with all the wines, no fining or filtering takes place at bottling.