Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes : Javernières "Les Impénitents" 2023

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for the Javernières "Les Impénitents" 2023 Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes

Tasting Notes

Colour
This French red wine displays a deep, dark ruby colour.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet reveals notes of black fruit, such as black cherry and blackcurrant, mingled with hints of liquorice and a graphite-like minerality. With aeration, aromas of black tea and black olive emerge.

Palate
Medium-bodied, the palate is built around fine, slightly chalky tannins. The black fruit from the nose returns, alongside mineral, tea and olive nuances. The whole offers wonderful gourmandise and remarkable smoothness, underpinned by a mineral tension that stretches into a long, intense finish.

Food and wine pairing

The estate suggests pairing this wine with grilled bone marrow, beef cheek or veal fillet mignon. More generally, it pairs beautifully with game meats such as wild boar or venison, herb-roasted poultry, as well as aged hard cheeses like Saint-Marcellin. It also enhances truffle-based dishes and tomato-based preparations.

Service and storage

For optimal preservation, this wine should be kept in a cellar between 13 and 15°C, away from light and vibrations. Built for long-term evolution, this Javernières "Les Impénitents" 2023 will reach its peak drinking window between approximately 2029 and 2039, with a potential to age gracefully for several decades.

The Authentic Expression of Morgon Terroir by Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes

The Estate

Established in the Beaujolais region, this historic estate has a winemaking history dating back to 1712. Located in the heart of Villié-Morgon, the Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes estate spans approximately 13 to 14 hectares of organically farmed vines. Following the passing of Louis-Claude Desvignes in 2021, an emblematic figure of local tradition, the estate is now run by his children, Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît Desvignes. Representing the eighth generation, they carry on an ancestral expertise, favouring parcel-by-parcel vinification and a deep respect for the environment to reveal the authenticity of their terroirs.

The Vineyard

This wine comes from the prestigious Morgon cru, and more specifically from the Javernières microclimate, located at the foot of the famous Côte du Py hillside. Facing southeast, the century-old vines, planted between 1912 and 1916, thrive on deep clay soils heavily infused with iron oxide and blue volcanic stones rich in manganese. The vineyard is farmed according to organic principles, with no herbicides used since 2004, mechanical soil work, and entirely manual harvesting.

The Vintage

The year 2023 was marked by a particularly demanding growing season, illustrating the contemporary challenges linked to climate change. Despite these complex weather conditions, the growth cycle was successfully managed thanks to meticulous care, resulting in a harvest of remarkable quality.

Winemaking and Aging

The making of the Javernières "Les Impénitents" 2023 relies on a traditional, minimal-intervention approach. The grapes are hand-harvested in whole bunches, with destemming limited to around 5%. Fermentation takes place in concrete vats through semi-carbonic maceration for about ten days, using the grid technique to keep the cap submerged. The wine is then aged on fine lees in these same concrete vats for around ten months, with no oak contact whatsoever, in order to preserve the brightness of the fruit and its mineral identity.

Grape Variety

100% Gamay.