Recently I was blown away by a 2009 Morgon Vieilles Vignes by Guy Breton. P'tit Max, as his friends in Beaujolais call him, took over the family domain in 1987.
However, he was not in the mood to continue this, but it was under the impulse of Marcel Lapierre, you can't help but work on that beautiful legacy of old sticks in Morgon, that he finally took the step.
With its first vintage in 1988, Guy already distinguishes himself with his wines, not least because of the location of his vineyards. These are located in the north-east of the appellation on the Saint-Joseph and Grand Cras parcels on the Charmes terroir; one of the fresher 'climats' of the appellation that combines elegance with depth. The Breton style is a very Burgundian style, especially when you have a little patience to age the wines.
Max works just under 7 hectares of vineyards in the most natural way. No synthetic products are used and depending on rain or shine there are some passes with copper sulphate. Furthermore, grassing between the sticks and plowing the ground. The harvest is late. All wines are vinified according to the "macération carbonique" principle and their duration depends on the cuvées.
Afterwards, everything is processed in an old vertical press without adding anything. The simpler cuvées are aged in epoxy vats, which go from the best terroirs into used barrels from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. During the final transfer, the wines are given a mini dose of SO2 before being bottled.
Guy makes 2 cuvées in Beaujolais Villages, one in Régnié and 2 further cuvées Morgon from very old vines, including the VV itself and the top cuvée P'tit Max. Un Morgon, ça pinote après un certain temps en bouteille, on this…well, nothing could be further from the truth for the wines of Guy Breton, le producteur le plus Bourguignon de tout le Beaujolais. Top acquisition!!