"Daniel Bouland is one of the best winemakers in Morgon. Perhaps his profile is not as high as the likes of Lapierre or Foillard, but I think his wines are on the same quality level.” — Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate.
Daniel Bouland is a great producer of old-fashioned Morgon and one of Beaujolais' modern day luminaries. He is one of only six producers in the region that has received two stars or more by the revered Le Classement de Revue du Vins de France. His wines have a feverish cult following in France, so much so that allocations bound for Australia get tighter each year.
Based in the hamlet of Corcelette, Bouland is a hardworking, humble, discreet and sometimes anxious vigneron. He prefers a solitary life and happily spends 12 hours a day working on his diverse and exceptional terroirs. He takes care of old (60-100 year-old) bush vines traditionally planted at high density on Vialla rootstock; all of this by hand on steep slopes where no tractor could go.
From less than 7 hectares of old vines in the Douby, Côte de Py, and Delys, lieux of Morgon, plus small parcels in Chiroubles and Cote de Brouilly, Daniel Bouland makes wines that can age 20 years, and are comparable to fine Côte de Nuits Burgundies. His Corcellette Morgon vineyard is 60–75 year old vines. DeLys (between Corcellette and Ville Morgon) was planted in 1926. In 2014, he acquired another old-vines parcel – Bellevue, on schiste and granite soils. All his grapes are hand-harvested. His wines are staunchly traditional, fermented with 100% whole bunches and then aged in predominantly neutral oak foudres. Bouland follows them through élevage with great care and bottles them without filtration. This makes for some long-lived and old-fashioned Gamay, some of the deepest and finest in the whole of Beaujolais. His Morgons are his most sought-after cuveés.
