Beaujo-Bargains! Creme of the Crop: Thivin, Bouland, Foillard

• New 2024 Release from Daniel Bouland
• Foillard Cote du Py and Fleurie
• Thivin's Top 2 Cuvees

2024 Domaine Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Chatenay RRP: $65 | Offer: $59
Chiroubles is the highest-altitude cru in Beaujolais, with vineyards reaching approximately 400 metres above sea level. This bottling originates from a 0.65-hectare site on the steep Chatenay slope, where soils of granite and yellow sandstone are characteristic of the appellation. The vines, aged between 35 and 45 years, benefit from a north-facing aspect sheltered by adjacent forest, creating a surprisingly warm microclimate. The 2024 vintage shows the cru's hallmark transparency: bright red and blue fruit, floral aromatics and fine texture. Drink now and for a decade.

2024 Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette RRP: $65 | Offer: $59
This is the first of three single-terroir cuvées from Bouland's Corcelette vineyard in Morgon, where sandy and granitic soils distinguish the site from the more schist-dominated areas of the appellation. These lighter soils are known to produce wines of greater aromatic intensity and softer, rounder tannin structure. The vines used here average 60 years in age and are classified as Bouland's younger Corcelette holdings; his oldest bush vines from the same area are reserved for a separate Vieilles Vignes bottling. Vinification follows the estate's consistent approach: whole-bunch fermentation with indigenous yeasts, with foot-treading employed at the close of fermentation to extend maceration naturally. The 2024 presents as the most approachable of the Corcelette series, showing silky blueberry, red floral notes and sarsaparilla on a seamlessly structured palate. Tannins are marginally firmer than those found in the higher-altitude Chiroubles, yet integration is precise and the overall impression one of effortless balance.

2024 Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette VV Sable RRP: $65 | Offer: $59
This Vieilles Vignes Sable is drawn from granitic sand soils, sable being the French term for sand, within the same premier lieu-dit. The vines were planted in 1926, making this a genuinely historic holding and the oldest in the Corcelette lineup. It is the direct counterpart to the Cailloux bottling, with the two wines offering a compelling study in how subtle soil variation within a single vineyard can shape entirely different expressions of Morgon.
Despite the exceptional vine age, Bouland's approach in the cellar remains consistent across the domaine: whole-bunch fermentation with indigenous yeasts and foot-treading to complete fermentation naturally. The result is a wine in which age of vine does the talking, delivering the depth, concentration and distinctly individual character that only very old roots can produce. The 2024 shows compact, vibrant raspberry fruit with a fine, juicy precision and an elegance that invites comparison with the great Pinot Noirs of Chambolle-Musigny on the Côte d'Or. For a wine of this pedigree and vineyard age, the value it represents is remarkable. A standout of the vintage.

2024 Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette VV Cailloux RRP: $65 | Offer: $59
Where the Sable cuvée is rooted in the sandier soils of the lieu-dit, this bottling draws from the rockier, more mineral-driven parcels of the same vineyard — cailloux meaning "stones" or "pebbles" in French. The vines are only marginally younger than those behind the Sable, placing them firmly in centurion territory. The distinction between the two was formalised on the label from the 2019 vintage onwards, and the two wines reward direct comparison.
The rockier subsoil lends this cuvée a slightly firmer structural profile than its sandy counterpart. The 2024 is long, concentrated and built for the cellar — this is a wine with genuine ageing potential. It is also, notably, Bouland's personal favourite from the 2024 vintage, which he describes as resembling a master blend of everything in the cellar.

2024 Domaine Daniel Bouland Morgon Délys Vignes de 1926 RRP: $65 | Offer: $59
The wine comes from a single hectare on the Morgon-Chiroubles border at the foot of the Corcelette valley, in a historically recognised terroir known as Délys. The southeast-facing slope is planted at a density of 10,000 vines per hectare, and the vines themselves have now reached 100 years of age, gnarled, low-yielding, and deeply rooted.
Bouland considers this his most age-worthy wine, and the 2024 vintage affirms that reputation convincingly. The palate is dense yet silken, underpinned by a graphite-like minerality and exceptional length. While it is already a pleasure to drink, the tannins remain the most tightly structured of the Bouland range, steely and coiled, signalling a wine with decades of development ahead of it. 

2023 Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py RRP: $141 | Offer: $129
'The 2023 Morgon Côte du Py comes from several parcels of granite and schistous soils with many centurion vines. This has a wonderful, very complex bouquet with exquisite delineation: crushed stone filters through dark berry fruit alongside hints of ash and light stony scents. The sapid and vivacious palate has filigree tannins, a silver thread of acidity, and a touch of cracked black pepper towards the long finish. This is one of the best Morgon's you can buy...but that's old news.' 94 Points - Neal Martin, Vinous

2023 Jean Foillard Fleurie Rouge RRP: $159 | Offer: $146
'The 2023 Morgon Côte du Py comes from several parcels of granite and schistous soils with many centurion vines. This has a wonderful, very complex bouquet with exquisite delineation: crushed stone filters through dark berry fruit alongside hints of ash and light stony scents. The sapid and vivacious palate has filigree tannins, a silver thread of acidity, and a touch of cracked black pepper towards the long finish. This is one of the best Morgon's you can buy...but that's old news.' 94 Points - Neal Martin, Vinous

2022 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly 'La Chapelle' RRP: $91 | Offer: $85
This is the probably the best La Chapelle ever, with the juxtaposition of ripe red and black berry fruits, spicy currants, pepper, and then some finer more seductive elements of Asian spice, woodsmoke, autumnal and rose petal notes. The body is full, palate is long, tannins ripe, fine; and firm, and the balance is superb. Randall

 'Simultaneously deep, sophisticated and taut on the medium-bodied palate, this has the stony intensity we associate with the best wines of this appellation. A touch of zesty blood orange freshness accentuates the freshness of the red fruit character, particularly at the long and racy finish. From 70- to 80-year-vines at the top of the hill of Cote de Brouilly, where it is really steep and the soil is very stony. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.' 95 points  – Stuart Pigott, James Suckling

2022 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly 'Cuvee Zaccharie' RRP: $141 | Offer: $129
'This is Thivin’s best wine usually from old vines, often 100yo, but from no specific site (it may vary form one year to the next), just the best small cuvée of the vintage. It’s aged in older 228lt barrels and one small ceramic egg, but the aim is to have absolutely no new oak influence. It’s made, blended if necessary and aged with long-term cellaring in mind. The 2020 received 100/100 and sold in a flash, but the 2022 is set to be better; more intense and more “relaxed”.' 95 points – Stuart Pigott, James Suckling'