Domaine Jules Desjourneys Beaujolais:
“These are unquestionably the most intense wines you will find in Beaujolais: In their youth, there are marked by their satin-like textures and certainly err much more toward the Cote de Nuits than Beaujolais.”-Neal Martin The Wine Advocate
2008 Jules Desjourneys Interdit...$44.99
The wine that will be known as 2008 Desjourneys is none other than Duperray’s 2008 Fleurie – combining Chapelle des Bois and Les Moriers – that was refused appellation and so is officially, merely, “vin de France.” Believe me, this is “vin de France” in the same sense that Debussy signed many of his late masterpieces “musicien francais.” The high-toned floral, herbal, and fruit distillate esters that memorably marked the Chapelle des Bois from cask as well as the black tea-tinged and more bittersweetly herbal and concentrated dark berries of the original Les Moriers, have been preserved in this marriage – in fact, after recovering from my chagrin at this wine’s having been denied its rightful appellation, I am now entirely reconciled to the two sites having been blended, inasmuch as the whole seems, remarkably, even greater than the sum of its already profoundly delicious parts! This finishes with mouthwatering salinity and a tenacious, almost Gewurztraminer-like meld of brown spices concentrated floral and herbal essences. I would anticipate it being worth following for half a dozen years, but on no account should it be missed earlier-on.
Rated 93/100 The Wine Advocate
2008 Jules Desjourneys Moulin a Vent...$42.99
Pure blackberry and red raspberry in Desjourneys’s 2008 Moulin-a-Vent are garlanded in rose and violet, then mingled on a polished palate with roasted game pan scrapings and lobster shell reduction and tinged with iodine and iron filings, for a saliva-inducing and vibratory finishing impression. It’s easy to see why this wine’s author – at least when referring to fruit from his subsequently acquired Les Michelons and Chassignol parcels – compares the perfume of Moulin-a-Vent to that of a Chambertin or Clos des Beze. It’s also plain now – lest you accuse Duperray of arrogance – just how unjustly he slighted this wine by referring to it as “(merely) honorable”. And the same could almost be said for my review from barrel in issue 190, because the wine has taken on so much more richness of fruit and animal savor to complement its minerality and vibrancy. It will be profoundly worth following for 6-8 years.
Rated 92/100 The Wine Advocate
2009 Jules Desjourneys Fleurie...$44.99
An even stronger black tea smokiness than accrued (from cask) to its 2008 counterpart caps the concentrated black fruits in Desjourneys’s 2009 Fleurie, which I tasted in its final assemblage comprised principally of Les Moriers, along with fruit from younger vines in La Chapelle and a touch of La Madone. Rich and polished, with its fine tannins sublimated, this wine’s strong salinity – allied to fruit pit, chalk dust, and iodine – render its entrancingly long finish irresistibly mouthwatering and invigorating. I expect it to be worthy of six or more years’ rapt attention.
Rated 93-94/100 The Wine Advocate
2009 Jules Desjourneys Fleurie Chapelle des Bois...$51.99
Ripe dark cherry and cassis are strikingly capped with high-toned herbal and floral distillates in Duperray’s 2009 Fleurie La Chapelle Des Bois Tres Vieilles Vignes (tasted in its final assemblage), rendering it highly reminiscent of its 2008 counterpart. Wisteria and elder flower further waft across this wine’s polished, deeply-fruited palate, while nut oils add rich depth, and saline savor of crustacean shell reduction helps render it irresistibly mouthwatering and invigorating. This finishes with sensational persistence, along with buoyancy such as few wines of this vintage can equal. I suspect this will perform memorably for at least another half dozen years.
Rated 94-95/100 The Wine Advocate
2010 Jules Desjourneys Fleurie Moriers...$51.99
While the corresponding La Chapelle des Bois appeared from cask to have had an edge on Duperray’s 2010 Fleurie Les Moriers Tres Vieilles Vignes, from bottle this dramatically different wine – which he describes as “the nose of Fleurie with the palate of Moulin-a-Vent” – is no less impressive than its immediate sibling. Deeply concentrated plum and cherry fruit are allied to iodine-tinged saline, sweet shrimp shell reduction intimated already in the nose and serving for saliva gland-milking in an amazingly thrusting, gripping finish. White pepper and musky rose radish tweak the nostrils and re-emerge as an invigorating adjunct that encourages me to imagine that a profoundly intense Gruner Veltliner Smaragd had been blended-in. Nutmeg and toasted pecan complement the intense ripeness of fruit, which however never turns superficially sweet thanks in large part to its sheer freshness and to the aforementioned biting invigoration. I would plan on following this at least through 2020.
Rated 94/100 The Wine Advocate
2010 Jules Desjourneys Fleurie Chapelle des Bois...$51.99
I hesitated before offering another long note as purple as the wine it purports to describe, but from bottle, Desjourneys’s 2010 Fleurie La Chapelle des Bois Tres Vieilles Vignes has indeed well-exceeded even my exalted Issue 196 expectations, so I feel bound not just to offer an update, but one that reflects my awe. Almond extract, rowan, freesia, and dark berries and stone fruits shadowed by their distilled counterparts combine for a penetratingly high-toned and hauntingly complex aroma. The texture here has turned positively silky and this essence from centenarian vines finishes not just with the “pristine purity of fruit ... complex depth of flavor (and) vibratory intensity” on which I commented before it was bottled, but with a soaring sense of buoyancy and a kaleidoscopic interaction of floral, fruit, and mineral nuances. Although the track record for Duperray’s wines is short, I feel confident that one like this will remain awesome at least through 2020.
Rated 95/100 The Wine Advocate
2010 Jules Desjourneys Moulin a Vent Michelons...$69.99
When most recently tasted last December, the Desjourneys 2010 Moulin-a-Vent Les Michelons Vieilles Vignes outdid the already high expectations I expressed in Issue 196, but I leave it to readers to consult my previous review for additional sensory details. I’ll confine myself now to the observation that stoniness and peat-like smokiness have strikingly added to the complexity on display here, the latter to the point where you can imagine a bit of malt whiskey (without its alcohol) having been mingled with the seamlessly ripe, yet freshly concentrated dark berry and plum fruit. Plan to follow this at least through 2020. (The Desjourneys “regular” Moulin-a-Vent, tasted alongside, performed in accordance with the upper bound of my Issue 196 point spread.)
Rated 94/100 The Wine Advocate
