Louis Leyre Loup Morgon Réserve

Grape: Gamay
Region: Morgon, Beaujolais, France
Vintage: 2020
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Dry
Style: Savoury
ABV: 13%

A structured, beautifully evolved Gamay from Morgon in Beaujolais. The 2020 has had time to settle into itself, with ripe cherry and red berries moving into darker fruit, spice and savoury, earthy notes. It’s medium-bodied with fresh acidity and silky tannins, showing considerably more depth and seriousness than the light and juicy Beaujolais you might have in mind.

Leyre-Loup works with Gamay vines more than 50 years old, planted on the steep, poor granitic soils of Morgon. The fruit is harvested by hand and slowly semi-carbonically macerated at low temperatures, preserving Gamay’s freshness while building enough structure for the wine to age.

The Réserve spends 12 to 18 months in older oak barrels and larger demi-muids. The idea isn’t to make the wine taste like oak, but to slowly soften its tannins and build texture through gentle micro-oxygenation. The domaine considers the Morgon Réserve capable of aging for around a decade or more.

Beaujolais with a little age and a lot more muscle. Still unmistakably Gamay, just all grown up.