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Domaine Daniel Bouland

Benchmark Old-School Morgon from a Grower’s Grower

One of Beaujolais’ more reclusive growers, Daniel Bouland makes some of the most old-school and expressive wines in the whole of the region. Hand harvested from old Gamay vines in the Morgon lieux-dits of Corcelette, Bellevue and Pré Jourdan, Bouland’s wines are defiantly deep, dark, country-style reds with plenty of grip and overflowing with personality.

These are wines that are built for the long haul, unlike so many of the wines produced in this region. Daniel himself recommends five years in bottle for the terroir to show the wine’s true sense of clarity and mineral nuance. From the best vintages, 15 years will not weary the Morgon cuvées. This is not to say they are not approachable as youngsters.

Bouland’s wines are some of Beaujolais’ most authentic and deep offerings from a true vigneron; a vigneron whose wines have justifiably acquired a cult following over the past decade.

Bouland portrays the ‘artisanal Beaujolais vigneron’ in perhaps its purest form. He works alone in his vineyards where most of the material is gnarled, old goblet vines. His young parcels have been planted with selections massale from his older vineyards. Nothing is sweetened and nothing is taken away from the raw, visceral goodness of the juice. All of Bouland’s wines undergo natural, 100% whole-bunch fermentation, in the classic, Beaujolais, semi-carbonic style, before aging mostly in large, neutral oak. All the wines are bottled without fining and with only a light filtration. The result of this simplicity is country wines of great character, quality and deliciousness. They offer remarkable value in the context of great Burgundy.

Currently Available

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.

One plot, lower down on the edge of Villié-Morgon, towards Fleurie. A deeper sand than Corcelette. A meaty magenta colour. More weight on the nose, immediately apparent. Maintains the crunch but adds the meat, with a little iron rich. Still quite backward but may not need too long. Foudre from Rousseau, quite young.”
91 points, Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Pré Jourdan 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Sable 2023

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Sable 2023

As 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- to 50-year-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 yielding of the two wines, with a greater width and juicier tannins than the Cailloux bottling. Regardless, the wine retains superb, juicy drive and finishes with superb, pour-me-another-glass intensity.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Sable 2023
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes Cailloux 2023

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes Cailloux 2023

This is our second allocation of Bouland’s Corcelette Vieilles Vignes Cailloux, which is drawn from the domaine’s Corcelette vines rooted in this lieu-dit’s rockier soils. The vines here are only a little younger than the centurion beasts that go in the Sable version of this wine. It’s a terroir that gives a slightly more structured Morgon than the Sable cuvée. To be honest, we have never really had a preference between the two since they were differentiated on the labels starting with the 2019 vintage: both wines are stunning examples of Corcelette.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes Cailloux 2023
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Cailloux 2023

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Cailloux 2023

Most of Daniel Bouland’s old bush vines are rooted in the Morgon climat of Corcelette, in 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 particularly stony (cailloux means stones) southeast-facing site, with plenty of schist running through the granitic, sandy base soil, much like in Côte du Py. The plethora of rock on the surface traps and radiates warmth, and, as a result, this is typically Bouland’s earliest-ripening site. The vines were planted in three stages in 1937, 1951 and 1967.This cuvée is largely made the same way as the Bellevue Sable wine—natural, whole-bunch ferment 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 cuvée below. It’s another deep, inky expression of Morgon with layers of creamy red cherry and blue fruit flecked by blue flowers, graphite and the earthy spice of the vintage. It has more pucker and tightening tannin at this stage than the broader Sable cuvée below.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Bellevue Cailloux 2023
Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys Vignes de 1926 2023

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys Vignes de 1926 2023

This wine used to come to us simply as Morgon Vieilles Vignes without the name of the vineyard or lieu-dit (it is now labelled Morgon Les Délys Vignes plantées en 1926). It comes from a single hectare of 100-year-old vines located on the Morgon-Chiroubles border at the end of the Corcelette valley—a terroir historically known as Délys. The old, gnarled vines sit on a southeast-facing slope, planted at 10,000 vines per hectare. Humming like an idling V8 engine, it’s always deep and chewy when young—built for long aging in the cellar. The 2023 is saturated with blue and wild berry fruits underscored by cracked pepper and cardamom spice, liquorice root and forest floor complexity. The palate is infused with unstoppable velvety fruitiness and length of flavour rare for the region. Bouland admits that if he could find the grafting materials he needs, he would start to replant this ancient parcel—it yields too little juice for his liking. Just as well he can’t: this is one of the greatest single-vineyard wines in all of Beaujolais.

Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys Vignes de 1926 2023
Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2023

Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2023

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 is all “lacy texture and sleek charm”, to quote Gerald Asher. Bouland’s Chiroubles has a bit more stuffing than that, especially in a powerful year like ’23. It comes from a 0.65-hectare parcel of 35- to 45-year-old vines on the steep, ridged incline of Chatenay, which has Cru’s typical granite and yellow sandstone soils. Protected by a nearby forest, it’s a warm, north-facing site. The new vintage is supple and open with fleshy texture, plenty of sweet cherry flavour, supporting acidity and a lovely, spice-laden close. Absolutely lip-smacking, it would be terrific with charcuterie but will, in fact, go with a wide range of food. Delicious drinking now!

Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay 2023
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“This estate is one of my personal reference points for the Beaujolais. Concentrated and succulent, Bouland's wines are beautifully differentiated by site and age gracefully…” William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

“This tiny wine grower of the hamlet of Corcelette… has seduced us for a few years now with his concentrated and textured Morgons. The fruit weight in no way masks the almost wild minerality of the soil. These wines have an intensity that can only come from old vines that are impeccably cultivated… We do not hesitate to say that you will find here the best value for money in red wine [in this guide].” La Revue du Vins de France

“The wines are made traditionally, with whole bunch-fermentations, native yeasts and aging in neutral oak casks before bottling without filtration. Bouland has a rabid following in France and overseas so his wines are never easy to track down.” Josh Reynolds, Vinous

Country

France

Primary Region

Beaujolais

People

Winemaker: Daniel Bouland

Availability

National

Most Recent Offer

  • Daniel Bouland 2023
    Daniel Bouland 2023
    Daniel Bouland is renowned for creating deep yet superbly balanced wines even in these ...
    Daniel Bouland is renowned for creating deep yet superbly balanced wines even in these warmer, drier years—and this new release is a splendid examp...

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