2022 Mary Taylor, Beaujolais-Villages, Marine Descombe Vigneronne a Saint-Etienne-des-Oullieres

A textbook blue stone Brouilly-style Beaujolais-Villages from one of the great women winemakers in France. Beautiful purity of Gamay Noir fruit – meets cement aging – showcasing the unique expression of Beaujolais that cannot be reproduced anywhere – but here! Elegant, soft, but still vibrant and juicy ripe red fruit dissolves across your cheeks. Pure and complex bouquet of sweet dark berries, cassis, a bit of smoked meats, and cranberry. Lovely base of granitic soil tones, cumin and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a lovely core of black fruit, excellent soil signature and grip, a fair bit of ripe tannin and a long, structured and complex finish.

Marine Descombe runs Vins Descombe, her family’s Brouilly winery founded in 1905, and now oversees everything from farming to bottling while still pushing past the region’s entrenched patriarchy. She recently expanded by buying and restoring the 17th-century Château Pougelon and now farms 30 hectares under HVE standards, which she defines as minimal phytosanitary treatments, protection of vineyard biodiversity, limited fertilizer, and reduced water use. Her vineyards sit in the varied climate of Beaujolais-Villages, known for its high-altitude granite hillsides that bridge the softer southern Beaujolais AOP and the ten granite-driven crus to the north. She harvests by hand, sorts and partially destems the fruit, and vinifies in a Burgundy style with gentle pressing, ten days of vatting, a month-long fermentation, and aging in cement tanks. Alongside her Beaujolais-Villages, she also produces Morgon, Juliénas, and Brouilly.