Photo of a barrel in Lapierre's cellar courtesy of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.
We’ve written regularly of our love and admiration for the Morgon bottlings from the Lapierre cellars, benchmark Beaujolais and some of our favorite wines to enjoy each vintage. Today, we want to highlight their "Cuvée Marcel," which comes from the domaine's oldest vines, mostly from the Cote du Py. Generally, we’re lucky to offer a few odd bottles of this special cuvée, but we were fortunate to access a treasure trove from the 2018 vintage that will arrive towards the end of January.

The production of this wine is similar to their flagship Morgon – native yeast fermentation, aging in old Burgundy barrels, minimal sulfur, etc. The beauty of the Cuvée Marcel comes directly from its special vines, a parcel planted over 1.5 hectares and over a century in age. These incredibly old vines have nestled deeply into the gravelly granite soils, making them capable of withstanding the rigors of challenging vintages and extracting every last drop of magic from truly great ones. Gamay simply does not get much more complex, intense or sophisticated than you’ll find with this bottling. The energy and charm that is such a signature of Lapierre’s wines is still very much on display here, and the interplay between power and finesse in the warm 2018 vintage is utterly fascinating. This is one of Beaujolais’ most profound expressions, and we’re extremely pleased to be able to share this special wine with a wide audience today.

The wine below is offered on a first come, first served basis and will arrive in late January 2020. Follow the link below to purchase directly from our site or call/email us if you need some assistance.

Cheers,
  
THE WINES
 
M. & C. LAPIERRE - MORGON, CUVEE MMXVIII 2018
24+ BOTTLES AVAILABLE
$58.00/BOTTLE
Cuvée Marcel is meant to be the crowning achievement of this legendary estate each vintage and the 2018 delivers in spades. The wine is outstanding, relaying all the depth and power of the very best of Morgon. The nose is wildly aromatic, with swirls of ripe berries, musky floral notes, black tea, pepper spice, and mint. The palate has chewy tannin for Gamay with the hallmark acidity we’ve seen in Beaujolais from this vintage shot through with the minerality typical of Lapierre. This wine is impeccably balanced and simply one of the best bottles we’ve encountered from this special vintage. 5-10 years in the cellar will certainly allow this wine to blossom into something extraordinary, though it is masterfully composed already.