Jules Desjourneys Macon-Verze 2019

Domaine Jules Desjourneys was founded by Fabien Duperray, a respected figure in the Burgundy trade who acted as agent for top-tier producers — including Romanée-Conti, Coche-Dury, and Arnaud Ente — for over 25 years before launching his own domaine. He had no production of his own until 2007, when he was able to acquire a number of very old vine parcels in the best lieux-dits of Moulin-à-Vent and Fleurie, creating wines in homage to Jules Chauvet, the pioneering figure widely regarded as the father of the natural wine movement.

Since 2012, Duperray has expanded his portfolio of appellations, adding Chénas and Morgon to his Beaujolais holdings, and beginning a collaboration with Domaine Thibert in southern Burgundy. 2014 marked the first vintage in which he produced a range of Chardonnays from organically farmed terroirs across Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché, Pouilly-Vinzelles, and Saint-Véran, later adding Mâcon-Verzé and Mâcon-Fuissé from 2016. Across his portfolio, Duperray farms biodynamically and ploughs only with horse traction, believing a tractor has too great an impact on soil structure — an approach he carries through to a meditative, minimal-intervention philosophy in the cellar as well.

The vineyard
Mâcon-Verzé sits on limestone massifs and soft marl soils, with the Chardonnay vines drawn from holdings at the top of the slope, west-facing.

Nose
A deep golden-yellow colour in the glass announces a wine of real aromatic richness: clear notes of grapefruit and white blossom dominate, layered with the textural depth typical of this cuvée.

Palate
Concentrated and textural — layer upon layer unfurling in the glass, with real persistence on a long, clean, saline-mineral finish.

Production note
A genuinely small-production cuvée: around 9,800 bottles made.

Food Pairing
A wine with both backbone and finesse — suited to richer seafood preparations, poultry in cream sauce, or mature soft cheeses that can stand up to its concentration and saline length.