Wine for sale: Jean-Marc Burgaud

Jean-Marc Burgaud

For the last 30 years, domain Jean-Marc Burgaud has been one of the top wine-makers in the Beaujolais area. Producing serious wines that are meant to be kept a few years, the domain is now a true must-have.

The story begins in 1989. Jean-Marc Burgaud rents three hectacres of vines and sells everything he produces to a negociant. He then marries a local girl in Morgon whose parents manage vines in the area. Burgaud's estate gradually increases in size as he takes over the vines of his in-laws between 1988 and 2002 and then those of this father in 2006. Today, his production output is relatively substantial for the region. Burgaud has 19 hectacres of which 13 belong to the Morgon appellation (8 of these hectacres are Côte du Py, 4 in Grand Cras and 1 in Charmes), 1 belongs to the Régnié appellation, 4.5 to the Beaujolais-Villages appellation and 0.5 to the Beaujolais blanc appellation (these vines are planted in clay soils). Jean- Marc Burgaud admits himself that, at the beginning of his winemaking career, he made conventional, ‘textbook' wines : ‘it took me 3 or 4 years to finally understand what it was to make a true Morgon'. These beautiful and historic vines that Burgaud has inherited in Morgon are the beating heart of the Burgaurd domain. Although Burgaurd has carefully worked these soils for tens of years, he still allows for foliar treatment if the vines desperately need it. Natural yeast is used in the vinification process. Great care is also taken during maturation, where every barriqueunder goes a rigourous selection process before being chosen. Burgaud's wines are some of the best examples from the region and are particularly well suited to ageing.