Domaine Mont Bessay aims to reinvigorate the entire Juliénas appellation. Judging from their wines, they are well on their way. The team of Philippe Pascal and Guillaume Marko, who, by the way, are elevating the Givry appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise with Domaine du Cellier aux Moines estate there, are doing so by careful parcellation of the vineyard based on extensive soil analysis and classic Burgundian vinification techniques–no carbonic maceration here. The result is an uncanny depth and complexity for Juliénas. A dark mineral component marries seamlessly with a ripe black, slightly briary, fruitiness. The inherent acidity of Gamay keeps the wine from the hot 2023 vintage fresh and lively. Part of what sets this Juliénas apart and above is its suave texture, which I attribute to their introduction of a second wine–rare in Beaujolais–called Les Amourettes, which allows them to be highly selective with the blend for En Bessay. Pascal, a former CEO of both Veuve Clicquot and Moët Hennessey, shows his business acumen when he told me, “When you make a second wine, you can make a much more drastic sorting because you are not throwing stuff away.” Drink this summer with hearty things from the grill.
94 Michael Apstein – April 29, 2026