The wines here are certified organic (with the exception of the Aux Pierres Javernières, which is in the process of being certified organic).
The wines are made with semi-carbonic maceration in open-top concrete containers and then aged in concrete tanks. A very small amount (1-2 g/hl) of sulfur is added after malolactic fermentation and sometimes again when the wine is bottled, thus Desvignes is found in many of the natural wine locales in Paris.
The 2021 harvest began on 17 September (in recent years, Desvignes has been harvesting later than most other vignerons in the region). Notwithstanding the late harvesting, the style is elegant.
2021 Morgon La Voûte St-Vincent
This is the estate’s base cuvée. Red fruits, especially cherries; this wine is young and light, made for easy drinking. It is made from a number of parcels around the Morgon appellation. 87/B
2021 Morgon Corcelette
The Corcelette light with long fruit that shows some sapiness. This wine is from purchased fruit. 88/B
2021 Morgon Château Gaillard
The Château Gaillard is light, stylish, and elegant with dark fruits. 2020 was the first vintage for Desvignes for this wine; previous to that, the grapes had been included in the Voûte St-Vincent bottling. Château Gaillard is part fo the Douby climat, near the border with Fleurie. The vines are on sandy granite soils that face south and they are about 80 years-old. 90/A-
2021 Morgon Montpelain
As with Château Gaillard, the grapes from the Montpelain vineyard had long been included in the Voûte St-Vincent cuvée, in this case, first vintage of the separate cuvée was 2017. The vines here are about 60 years-old and also in the Douby climat, not far from Fleurie. This wine shows more weight than the previous one, reflecting the fact that there is more clay in the soil; but overall still is medium-light compared to most Morgon that I taste. The fruit shows crushed dark berries and is most attractive, with promise for further development in the bottle. 90+/A-
2021 Morgon Côte de Py
The Côte de Py is rounder than the Montpelain with dark plum fruit and good length, but the overall finesse of Desvignes’s style is still apparent. There’s some tannin showing so this wine should improve with further time in the bottle. The decomposed schist soils here, which have quite a bit of manganese, make for wines that are noble for their structure and long lives. The vines here average 70 years of age and are exposed north-east at the top of the Côte de Py hill. 90+/A-
2021 Morgon Javernières
Desvignes’s Javernières is from east-facing vines that average about 40 years of age. The vineyard is situated at the base of the Côte de Py hill, thus the soils are heavier and deeper than those from further up the hill and they are rich in iron-infused red clay. As a result, the wine here is softer and dense with intense, penetrating dark fruit that is pure and long. There's some minerality in the dark fruit aromas, too. 92/A
2020 Morgon Aux Pierres Javernières
This wine comes from a plot that Desvignes recently acquired, and the 2020 is the first wine the estate has produced from it. The wine is round and full within the context of Desvignes’s elegant style. The fruit is dark and long and shows good freshness. The 90 year-old vines face east and the soils are stony-clay with schist, pyrite, and decomposed volcanic rocks. 92/A
2020 Morgon Les Impénitents
Les Impénitents is from the Javernières lieu-dit at the base of Côte de Py, and specifically, from the three oldest parcels that Desvignes owns, having been planted in 1912 and 1914. The wine is round, intense, deep, and ripe in its dark fruits. 90/A-