“My ambition is to make a Gamay that's among the world’s 50 best wines,” Fabien Duperray told us once. If most vignerons had said it, we’d be sceptical. But as the agent representing many of Burgundy’s top domaines, including DRC and Coche-Dury, Fabien truly knows fine wine, and what it takes to make it.
The bottles Fabien produces under the name ‘Jules Desjourneys’ are of the highest quality. The reds come from vineyards in Beaujolais’ top crus: Fleurie, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, and Chénas. The whites come from Chardonnay parcels in a range of Côte Maconnais appellations: Macon-Verzé, St-Veran and three of the Pouillys (Loché, Vinzelles and Fuissé).
A combination of old vines and meticulous biodynamic farming means yields are very low and quality sky high. In the winery, Fabien’s entire focus is on coaxing the most balanced, age-worthy wines possible from this superb fruit, with ageing in custom-made glass vessels and stainless steel tanks.
The Jules Desjourneys wines are built with the harmony and structure to age for the long-term but – like the top quality red and white Burgundies that they call to mind – there is a drinkability to them that makes it hard to resist pulling their corks immediately.
