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Daniel Bouland

Stunning 2022 Beaujolais: “Gorgeous wines.” [Jasper Morris]
Daniel Bouland

Jasper Morris’s quote—nabbed from his Instagram—neatly sums up Daniel Bouland’s 2022 release. Even Bouland himself struggled to find fault in his wines from what is an outstanding vintage for Beaujolais. “I’m not complaining,” he told us—a phrase you will not often hear from this notoriously self-critical grower. The main takeaway from the year is how fresh and racy the wines are, considering the vintage could be summarised as hot and dry. Unlike 2020, when the lack of water resulted in thick skins, little juice and deep, structured wines, 2022 was completely different. Although an August harvest once again, alcohol levels are lower than in 2020, and the fruit is more vibrant and balanced. The only clue to the nature of the year is how irresistible the wines already are.

Bouland is renowned for producing superbly balanced wines even in these warmer years. 2017, 2018 and 2020 are splendid examples of this phenomenon. During our last visit, we found out one of his secrets. He has dug a little crater around the base of each trunk, making his vineyards look like Beaujolais’ answer to Lanzarote or Santorini! The idea is to capture as much water as possible before it rolls off Morgon’s free-draining granite. Bouland is a fastidious, even obsessive, farmer who spends most of his time in the vines; even so, this level of commitment is next level.

Please note that four wines are only available in magnum this year. That should hardly be a problem given how pure, affordable and damn delicious the wines are. More than ever, the pricing sticks out a mile when you consider the quality (and potential longevity, if that is your thing). Pound for pound, these are arguably the best-value fine French reds we offer. But they are much more than that. Beaujolais lovers—purists or otherwise—are advised to fill their boots.

The Wines

Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2022

Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2022

Perched between Morgon and Fleurie at around 400 metres above sea level, the vineyards of Chiroubles are the highest in Beaujolais. The vines sit on the upper slopes and in general, produce a Beaujolais that can be, to quote Gerald Asher, all “…lacy texture and sleek charm.” Bouland’s Chiroubles has a bit more stuffing than that. It comes from a 0.65-hectare parcel of 35- to 45-year-old vines on the steep, ridged incline of Chatenay, which has the typical granite and sandstone soils of the Cru. Protected by a nearby forest, it’s a warm, north-facing site.

“Raspberry perfume, cherry blossom and orange peel. It has tension in the perfume, high notes, tart fruit, blueberry pie and a hint of cinnamon. The savoury element comes in the form of blood, iodine, seaweed, salty vibration with a healthy amount of gritty, sandy tannins. A bit warm but still a lovely drop.”
93 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2022
Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2022 (1500ml)

Perched between Morgon and Fleurie at around 400 metres above sea level, the vineyards of Chiroubles are the highest in Beaujolais. The vines sit on the upper slopes and in general, produce a Beaujolais that can be, to quote Gerald Asher, all “…lacy texture and sleek charm.” Bouland’s Chiroubles has a bit more stuffing than that. It comes from a 0.65-hectare parcel of 35- to 45-year-old vines on the steep, ridged incline of Chatenay, which has the typical granite and sandstone soils of the Cru. Protected by a nearby forest, it’s a warm, north-facing site.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Daniel Bouland Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Mélanie 2022

Domaine Daniel Bouland Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Mélanie 2022

Named after Daniel Bouland’s daughter, Cuvée Mélanie is drawn from a small, steep, half-hectare plot on the slopes of Mont Brouilly. The 70-year-old vines are rooted on the area’s famous terres bleu (blue-tinted volcanic soils) within the lieu-dit of Tête Noire vines, directly above Château Thivin. It’s this volcanic blue schist that lends the wines of this Cru their unique mineral profile. Bouland’s 0.8-hectare parcel is planted at 12,000 vines per hectare. As with all Bouland’s cuvées, this is a wine born from low yields and natural, whole-bunch fermentation.

“Short, straight to the point note on this simply delicious wine. This is beauty and the beast. Violet, ozone, blood, fresh fig, blue-skinned fruit. Tense palate, dark volcanic rock texture and a steely, almost oyster shell aftertaste. Grace and power.”
94 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
Domaine Daniel Bouland Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Mélanie 2022
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette 2022

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette 2022

This wine is the first of three cuvées that focus on Corcelette’s sandy, granitic soils. This soil generates wines of great perfume and finer, rounder tannins than those of Morgon’s more schist-influenced terroirs. Bouland separates his so-called ‘younger’ vines in this area (60 years on average, so hardly young!) from his very oldest bush vines, which are bottled under the Vieilles Vignes label.

Like all Bouland’s wines, this was whole bunch fermented with indigenous yeasts, with the must foot trodden at the end to elongate the fermentation. This is a superb start to what are eight stunning Morgons from 2021. Of the octet, this is the prettiest and, in some ways, the most accessible to drink. Where the old vine cuvées below are raised in wooden foudre, this bottling is vinified in concrete tank.  

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette 2022
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys 2022

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys 2022

The lieu-dit Les Délys is part of the Corcelette climat located downslope from Bellevue and right behind Bouland’s residence and winery. Délys is Bouland’s back garden if you like. Again, Bouland splits his vines into two cuvées: an old vine cuvée raised in foudre and this younger-vine version raised in concrete. The vines were planted in 1978 and 1980 in the deep granitic sand typical of Les Délys, which brings roundness and Burgundian-like texture to the wines. It’s another super refined and comprehensively delicious Morgon, redolent of succulent wild berry and nettle spice, topped off by a vibrant, racy close with just a hint of tannin.

“Ripe fruit all the way through, it’s pretty plummy, whiffs of freshly baked cherry pie, the palate is quite broad and giving a generic red wine kind of vibe. It’s still quite delicious in this form just cushy and baked a bit and lacking the mineral tension of its cousin cuvees.”
92 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys 2022
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys 2022 (1500ml)

The lieu-dit Les Délys is part of the Corcelette climat located downslope from Bellevue and right behind Bouland’s residence and winery. Délys is Bouland’s back garden if you like. Again, Bouland splits his vines into two cuvées: an old vine cuvée raised in foudre and this younger-vine version raised in concrete. The vines were planted in 1978 and 1980 in the deep granitic sand typical of Les Délys, which brings roundness and Burgundian-like texture to the wines. It’s another super refined and comprehensively delicious Morgon, redolent of succulent wild berry and nettle spice, topped off by a vibrant, racy close with just a hint of tannin.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Cailloux 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Cailloux 2022 (1500ml)

Most of Daniel Bouland’s old bush vines are rooted within the Morgon climat of Corcelette, in the hilly Haut-Morgon to the northwest of the appellation. Within this area, there are several lieux-dits that Bouland now bottles separately, and Bellevue is one of these. It’s a southeast-facing, particularly stony site (cailloux means rocks), with plenty of schist running through the granitic, sandy base soil (much like in the Côte du Py). The plethora of rock on the surface traps and radiates warmth and, as a result, this is Bouland’s earliest-ripening site. The vines were planted in 1951 and 1987. This is made the same way as the Bellevue Sable wine (below)—natural, whole-bunch ferment, concrete tank élevage and no fining—though the vines are on different rootstocks (420A rootstock in this case, specifically designed for terroirs that are very stony and have no topsoil). Also, the vines are a touch older than in the Sable cuvee.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Cailloux 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Sable 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Sable 2022 (1500ml)

As already mentioned, Bouland’s Bellevue soils are split into two cuvées—one for the sand (Sable) and one for the stones (Cailloux). These two parcels are only separated by a small track, yet, as Bouland points out, “the soil is completely different”. Terroir. Not only does the weathered sandy granite differ from the Cailloux parcel, but the slope is steeper, and the 40-50 years old vines are on a specific low-yielding rootstock called Vialla—a stock well adapted to sandy, granitic or deep argilo-siliceous soils. Tasted side-by-side, the Sable cuvée is the more giving of the two wines, with a greater width than the Cailloux bottling alongside juicer tannins. Regardless, the wine retains mouth-watering energy and finishes with suburb, pour-me-another-glass intensity.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Sable 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes (Sable) 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes (Sable) 2022 (1500ml)

One of three site-specific wines from Corcelette, this cuvee is drawn from old vines on granitic sand soils (sable means sand). The vines were planted in 1926, so it’s truly a Vieilles Vignes cuvée. It is the sister wine, if you like, to the Cailloux (rocky) cuvée. Unsurprisingly, Bouland’s gnarled old trunks have over-delivered again. Raised in an old foudre, it’s a layered, inky and mouthcoating Morgon of wonderful finesse, finishing with intense mineral character and a nip of old vine grip.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes (Sable) 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Pré Jourdan 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Pré Jourdan 2022 (1500ml)

This is our second allocation from Bouland’s recently acquired parcel in the lieu-dit called Pré Jourdan, which sits on the Morgon-Fleurie border. Bouland now farms a tiny parcel of 70-year-old vines, just enough to fill a single large cask (a youngish Rousseau foudre in this case). The soils here are predominantly granitic sand—although they run deeper than in Bellevue and Corcelette—providing Bouland with a fleshier and very aromatic Morgon to add to the range. Expect waves of succulent strawberry and cherry-scented fruit carried by a slick of silky fine tannins and a gorgeous and long cherry pie-perfumed finish.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Pré Jourdan 2022 (1500ml)

“This estate continues to represent a reference point for the Beaujolais, and everything reviewed here comes warmly recommended.” William Kelley, The Wine Advocate



“Daniel Bouland sits squarely in the upper tier of Beaujolais producers. Bouland has steadily developed a dedicated following that makes his wines difficult to track down. They’re more than worth the effort given their consistent quality, which is about as high as it gets in Beaujolais. Even with increasing demand, the wines still deliver superb value, assuming you can find them. For the money, these are simply some of the greatest values in French wine today.” Josh Reynolds, Vinous

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