Joli Vin imports

Domaine des Monts Luisants - Morey-Saint-Denis

Burgundy is a region that inspires intense passion for Pinot Noir lovers and therefore a region of tremendous interest and pride for importers. This is after all the Holy Grail for Pinot Noir. Against Burgundy, all other Pinots the world over are measured. Most notable producers have long standing associations with importers and because Burgundy is not growing in size, the occasions to form new partnerships here can be limited, to say the least. As such, to begin working with a highly skilled vigneron, with premier cru and grand cru (Clos de la Roche) parcels in the esteemed village of Morey Saint-Denis, is a great honor. That the wines from the Domaine des Monts Luisants in Morey stood out by far, as the most approachable, the most luxurious and the most exotic, at a recent tasting of wines from this village and those from neighboring Chambolle-Musigny, make the discovery all the more exhilarating.  

Jean-Marc DuFouleur, working off of 3.4 hectares in the northern sector of the village, just above the grand cru of Clos de la Roche, and adjoining the line of great parcels from neighboring Gevrey-Chambertin, is continuing the work of his father who pieced together these parcels in the 1960’s. The vines he now tends, planted by his father at the time of acquiring these plots, are now in excess of 40 years. In the vineyard, he is a proponent of regular plowing, encouraging roots to dig deep for their sources of sustenance and promoting the microbiological life which helps to create healthy ecosystems and also limits erosion, an important concern on the steep vineyard parcels of Morey which rise to 350 meters. In the cellar, he works his fermentations in small fiberglass open top tanks at low temperatures over 22 to 25 days to preserve the fresh fruit aromas and does daily pigeage to gently transfer the phenolic materials into his fermenting juice.

Jean-Marc made the decision that from his first vintage he would spare neither expense nor any effort to position his domaine’s wines among the very best from his village. He is a perfectionist and pays attention to the smallest of details and how each winemaking decision affects the end product. It shows. His wines express themselves with a freshness of wild fruit, fraise du bois, candied cherries, smoky black-fruited aromatics along with a melding of herbs and minerals that typify many of the wines from this section of Morey. They are supple, approachable in their youth and vividly expressive of this very distinctive terroir.

Joli Vin is more than pleased to offer these truly remarkable wines available for the very first time in California.