Jean-Marc Burgaud, Morgon `La Roche`

Jean-Marc Burgaud has been dubbed ‘Monsieur Côte du Py’ by Bourgogne Aujourd’hui magazine, and for good reason. Jean-Marc’s eponymous Beaujolais estate boasts five hectares of vines at the summit of Morgon's famed ‘Côte du Py’ vineyard. These gobelet-trained vines were planted between 1940 and 1974, at a high density, using massal selection. “Gamay needs high density to reduce its natural vigour,” says Jean-Marc, whose obsession with quality means working exclusively with his own, estate-grown grapes. Coupled with what Jean-Marc calls ’la vraie vinification Beaujolaise’, this accounts for the quality and style of these striking wines. As such, Jean-Marc has been described by Neal Martin (Vinous.com) as “a master working in the Côte du Py who can occasionally evoke almost Pinot-like characteristics."

There are no set recipes here. Jean-Marc makes judgements based on an intimate knowledge of the grapes and his extensive winemaking experience. “We don’t make wine with computers; we do wine by hand!” he states emphatically. Jean-Marc originally hails from Lantignié, where he has 4.5 hectares of Beaujolais Villages vineyards. His wife, Christine, is from Morgon, and the domaine’s 11.5 hectares of Morgon vines were inherited from her side of the family. “My father used to tell me that Lantignié produced the best Beaujolais, but when I first met Christine, her father opened a 20-plus-year-old bottle of ‘Côte du Py’ for me, and that opened my eyes to the potential of Beaujolais,” Jean-Marc explains.

Today, Jean-Marc’s domaine comprises 18 hectares of vineyards across three appellations. The 2024 Morgon reclassification, in which six climats were subdivided into 60 lieux-dits, has meant that several of Jean-Marc Burgaud’s Morgon wines have been renamed to reflect this. According to Jean-Marc, a good Beaujolais must be made from ripe grapes to ensure mature tannins. Maceration needs to be undertaken for just long enough to extract these tannins without also extracting any bitter, green flavours. As a result, his fermenting wine must be tasted daily to judge when the tannin level is right. All these wines are whole bunch fermented, except for a small percentage in ‘Chollet’ (previously ‘Grand Cras’), which is destemmed. The juice is fermented between 23 to 28°C, with only one pump over per day. Maceration varies from about seven days for the Beaujolais Villages to generally 12 -15 days for the various Morgons, with pre-fermentation maceration completely avoided.

Jean-Marc’s Beaujolais Lantignié is a masterclass in balance, defined by red fruits, alongside a fleshy palate, with fine, grainy tannins and lifted perfumes. “Judge a domaine on its entry point wine,” says Jean-Marc. “I do as much work in the vineyard and cellar on this wine as I do on my Côte du Py.”

‘Ruyères’ (previously ‘Les Charmes’) is a lovely introduction to Jean-Marc’s Morgons. Sourced from old vines planted on granite soil, it is a wine defined by dark fruit notes, with lovely richness and tannic structure on a palate that finishes long and intense. Jean-Marc recently purchased a parcel of Morgon ‘La Roche’ (previously ‘Corcelette’) that was first planted in 1932, with further vines added in 1970. The resulting wine is supple and elegant due to its pink granite and stony soils.

Like his other wines, Jean-Marc’s ‘Côte du Py’ is aged in concrete. “Gamay has a difficult relationship with oak,” he says. The ‘Côte du Py’ is one of the few outcrops of decomposed blue rock in Beaujolais (Côte de Brouilly is another), creating wines of greater structure than many might associate with this region. The intensity from Jean-Marc’s vines on the south-facing ‘Côte du Py’ slope, coupled with the freshness and balance from his vines on the plateau, exemplify why this hill is so famous and why Burgaud is held in such high esteem.