Jules Desjourneys Chénas ‘Le Jugement Dernier’ 2016

Domaine Jules Desjourneys

Fabien Duperray has been a renowned agent for top-level Burgundy producers (among which Romanee-Conti, Coche-Dury, and Arnaud Ente) for more than 25 years, but had no production of its own until 2007. Then he got the chance to buy a number of very old vine parcels in the best lieu-dits of Moulin-a-Vent and Fleurie, from which he has since made wines that are as rare as they are groundbreaking.

From the vineyard to the wine cellar, Duperray spares no effort or cost. He cultivates his vineyards according to biodynamic principles and plows only with a horse (Duperray feels a tractor has too great an impact on the soil structure). His grapes are hand-picked at maximum maturity, with yields kept extremely low (often below 30 hl/ha). After fermentation (mostly whole bunches, with natural yeasts and no added sulfites), the wine is aged for up to 36 months in tanks or fiberglass containers (previously old oak), and even after bottling Duperray keeps the wine in its cellars until he thinks they are ready for the market.

Since 2012 Duperray has expanded his portfolio of appellations, adding Chenas and Morgon to the Beaujolais list but also starting a collaboration with Domaine Thibert in Southern Burgundy. 2014 was the first vintage in which Duperray produced a range of stellar Chardonnays from beautiful organically farmed terroirs in Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché, Pouilly-Vinzelles, and Saint-Veran, as well as  Macon-Verzé and Macon-Fuissé since 2016.