5/1/26 - 

Drink More Beaujolais!
"At a point when savvy wine consumers are seeking value for their money, there has never been a better time to get into Beaujolais" said Neal Martin in Vinous last year, and we couldn't agree more! But of course it's not just a question of value as ever since importers began bringing wines from the finest small estates into the US, American consumers have had access to many truly superb wines, with the gorgeous aromas, beautiful pure fruit and great freshness of fine Beaujolais, both for immediate delight and for aging of ten to twenty+ years.

Photos: Above, the "tasting room" at Domaine Chapel, below, a view of Cote du Py

Today's email features the wonderful cool-climate 2024s from Domaine Louis-Claude Desvignes, the beautiful Fleurie from Domaine Chapel and many of our current favorites from Descombes, Burgaud, Bouland and more, along with cellar selections (2009 - 2021) from some of the finest producers.  (Please note: Cellar selections are non-discountable, current releases 2022 - 2024 discount 10% on a case or mixed case) 

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Domaine Louis-Claude Desvignes
Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît Desvignes are the eighth generation to work their superb parcels in Morgon. Farming is now certified organic and the style has softened slightly from that of Louis-Claude while retaining the structure for long aging.  If there were a classification of vineyards in Morgon, Côte du Py would be a premier cru and Javernières a grand cru, with the "Aux Pierres" coming from a 0.57-hectare plot of 90-year-old vines on the steep, east-facing slope. The soils are iron-rich, red clay with schist, pyrite and decomposed volcanic rocks. It's a true "vin de garde" made in tiny quanities.
We recently tasted the full lineup of 2024s from Desvignes at the shop when Louis-Benoît stopped by. While the wines were all tasting great, what might have been most impressive was the consistency, from the more entry-level L'Aube à Javernières all the way up to the Morgon Javernieres "Aux Pierres." There is no drop off in quality, and while the Aux Pierres might be more structured and age-worthy, all of the wines posses superb energy and a mineral depth that defines great Morgon! - Jeff DiLorenzo

Domaine Chapel
The estate was created by David Chapel and Michele Smith who met in 2013 while David was working for Mathieu Lapierre. David followed Michele back to New York where she was the wine director of Brooklyn Fare, but soon the two decided to move back to where it all began. Once settled in Beaujolais, the two began to source vineyards together, focused on acquiring vines that are on slopes and only farmed organically. Many of the now 6.5 hectares that they farm are old vines that are planted with high density. You will see two labels from them, Domaine Chapel being from their own vines, and Smith-Chapel which is their micro-negoce of all organically farmed grapes. I recently met the two while visiting the region and was incredibly impressed by their wines. We tasted a mix of wines from 2025 back to their first vintages, 2016 and 2017. Long story short, these are two incredibly special people making fantastic wines from an incredibly special place.  - Hanna Krilov Cohen

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