2020 Michel Guignier Morgon Vieilles Vignes 750 ml

There’s a certain magic to old-vine wines. They have a quiet intensity that differs completely from the in-your-face attitude of many of their younger colleagues. They offer beautifully concentrated fruit undergirded by ripe tannins that are firm yet refined. Above all, they’re about balance: powerful yet light on their feet, complex yet approachable, ripe yet zesty.

All of this is on glorious display in the 2020 Michel Guignier Morgon Vieilles Vignes, a structured, elegant Beaujolais that blows away the competition. Born from organically farmed, hand-tended, low-yielding vines that top 70 years of age, the grapes come from vineyards in the heart of the Morgon appellation, including La Roche Pilee, La Cote du Py, and Les Grand Cras. 

Michel Guignier is a fourth-generation vigneron from Villié Morgon. Following in the footsteps of the famed Beaujolais “Gang of Four,” who pioneered the movement that eschewed pesticides and other chemicals in the vineyard, Guignier employs traditional viticultural practices—including composting and planting grasses, herbs, and wildflowers between rows—in order to protect the environment and create wines with a sense of place. 

Careful sorting both in the vineyard and the cellar ensures that only fully ripened whole bunches go into the wine. Guignier ferments the grapes using only indigenous yeasts to enhance the wine’s expression of terroir. After undergoing partial carbonic maceration for up to 10 days, the juice from each parcel is vinified separately and aged on the less in vats. The result is classic Morgon that’s packed with berry fruit, herbal and mineral notes, and refreshing acidity.