Domaine Louis-Claude Desvignes is an 8th-generation Morgon grower. It is run by brother sister team Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît Desvignes, who joined papa Louis-Claude a couple of decades ago. The family’s 14 hectares lie in some of the very best vineyards in the Morgon cru, most notably on the Côte du Py hill and the Javernières slope just below it. “The kids” have gradually transformed the estate’s production into truly elegant wines, delicious and complete in their youth yet built to age. The crucial change came in the farming: they converted from conventional to certified-organic practices and began working the soils, learning as they went, as explained by Claude-Emmanuelle in a 2012 interview with their American importer Jules Dressner: 

My brother had a lot to do with the decision to work organically. I had experimented with one hectare before his arrival, but he was adamant about completely changing our work methods. He had a valid point: you can’t claim to make wines that highlight terroir by using a ton of chemicals in the vineyard. One big mistake we made was to convert everything at once. We ended up ripping out all the superficial roots by plowing everywhere, which resulted in the vines yielding half of what they usually produce. It took a while for them to recover, but we don’t regret it. It’s better now: the soils are alive and you can tell! 

Claude-Emmanuelle and Louis-Benoît made a couple of other key adjustments as well. When they joined their father, he was selling off up to half of their crop every year; they put an end to that practice to focus exclusively on estate wines and more individual terroirs within the line-up. Additionally, harvest had moved later and later in the 1990s-early 2000s; as the climate has heated up, harvest dates are being carefully calibrated vintage to vintage. Since the average vine age hovers in the 50-70-year range, concentration comes naturally to Desvignes fruit and wines. Not surprisingly, given the close attention to quality vineyard work, the harvest is done by hand. 

While much changed in the vineyard over the last 20 years, little has changed in the cellar, which dates to the 1960s. Vinification and aging remain identical across the 8 different Morgon bottlings (the newest of which are from small, rented, mainly old-vine parcels in various Morgon lieux-dit). A mix of whole clusters and destemmed berries go into old cement vats without sulfur. The vats are sealed, allowing for a partly carbonic fermentation; macerations are 10-14 days with a submerged cap and no punchdowns. A little sulfur is added after malolactic fermentation. The wines are all aged in concrete—there never has been wood in this winery—and bottled in the following spring/ summer. 

Desvignes wines are extraordinarily expressive and balanced year in and year out. As vintage conditions vary widely, and even wildly, in recent years all over France, the domaine’s consistency is that much more striking. These are not simple, juicy, playful Beaujolais: they are concentrated, structured, sophisticated Gamay wines that transmit their terroir transparently. They are relatively “serious” yet still a pleasure to drink in their youth—while also being prime cellar candidates. Desvignes flies slightly under the radar while unquestionably growing and making some of the very finest wines out of Morgon. - Juliette Pope, Louis/Dressner portfolio manager

The cost of this seminar is $40 and a $20 credit at the store will be extended to each guest for a future purchase. Seating is limited and special pricing on the featured wines will be made available only to attendees. We hope you can join us on the mezzanine at 6pm on Tuesday, March 31 for this special evening.

Cancellations can be processed for a refund with at least 48 hours' notice before the start of class. See all our policies here.