Maison Dominique Piron, Beaujolais-Villages 2020

Sitting at the southern tip of the Burgundy region, Beaujolais differs from its parent region because here the Gamay grape, not Pinot Noir, is king. Look beneath the surface and Beaujolais is producing some beautiful, age-worthy wines that can be as profound as the Burgundian wines made further north. And the team at jancisrobinson.com agree , previously naming Dominique Piron’s Beaujolais Villages their ‘wine of the week’, finally Beaujolais seems to be getting the recognition it deserves!

Piron’s Beaujolais-Villages is a million miles away from your light, simple Beaujolais. It comes from hillside vineyards where the vines average 50 years of age. These old-vine grapes are all harvested by hand and yields are low, resulting in concentrated flavours in your glass. The Piron family have been grape-growers in Morgon for 14 generations. Dominique Piron started making wine from his family's 10 ha and then established Maison Piron in 1988 so that he could buy in grapes to increase his production. In 2013, Piron went into partnership with Beaujolais native and winemaker Julien Révillon who had spent a decade working in the Rhône. The aim was to modernise, raise the quality of the wines, and improve biodiversity and sustainability in the vineyards. Révillon brought with him another 7 ha of vineyards to the domaine. Currently they work with about 88 ha of vines in 140 parcels, some of which they own, some they lease and some they co-own with friends.

‘The juicy, ripe 2020 vintage is bursting with fresh blackcurrant and raspberry fruit, and you could happily enjoy on its own. But it’s also one of the most food-friendly reds around, going with just about anything.’ Tamlyn Currin JR.Com

Described by Tamlyn as “ridiculously good value” at £13