2015 Morgon - Domaine Des Versauds

Inky blackberry, dried violet, bruised cherry. Ripe blueberry, melted chocolate, black licorice. Crushed anise and tarragon, porous concrete and sanded wood. Densely saturated fruit controls the profile as mineral earthy tones fight unsuccessfully for relevance. Texturally thick with a massive wall of tannin that comes crashing in like a Tsunami on an unsuspecting beach town. Grippy and chewy instead of fresh and delicate. This 2015 Morgon by Domaine Des Versauds is Beaujolais that went too far.

2015 was a particularly warm vintage across France and contributed to many wines from various regions becoming especially full and ripe. This bottling, sourced from the Morgon appellation in Beaujolais, is on the extreme end of what can happen when growing practices do not adjust to the extra sunshine. This stuff lacks any subtlety or grace, and instead throws globs of overripe fruit and abusive tannin at you until you are ready to submit. The granitic soil tones Morgon is known for are virtually nonexistent here behind the extreme density. Hot summer sidewalk and fennel add a bit of funk but sadly it is too little too late. Beaujolais is one of our favorite regions for light bodied, fresh, and juicy reds, but this bottle caught us by surprise in all the wrong ways.