Domaine de la Bonne Tonne
Bonne Tonne "Grand-Cras" Morgon 2023
Bonne Tonne "Grand-Cras" Morgon 2023
Beaujolais, France
Gamay
Aurélien Grillet is the seventh generation to farm these slopes in Morgon, which feels both impossibly old and exactly right for a place like Beaujolais. He works just 4 hectares spread across the region's best-known crus (Les Charmes, Les Cras, La Côte du Py) with the help of a Comtois horse named Caline and a whole lot of biodynamic preparations. Organic certified, Demeter in conversion, the whole thing.
This Morgon comes from a 1.8-hectare parcel called "Grand-Cras," planted with 65-year-old Gamay vines on granitic clay at 280 metres. The whole clusters get a cold soak for about 12 hours, then they get the typical Beaujolais semi-carbonic treatment for 18 days in concrete. Aged partly in oak (just 20%), but mostly in concrete. Unfined, unfiltered, just 29 mg/L of sulfur.
It smells like a Beaujolais dream: plums and sweet spices, round and ample on the palate, with tannins that feel more like silk than structure. The finish is fresh and tonic and all finesse.
Drink it now with a slight chill, or bury it for a decade. Give it 30 minutes in a carafe if you can wait.
Why Morgon Matters So Much
Why Morgon Matters So Much
Morgon is one of the most important Crus in Beaujolais because it produces powerful, age-worthy, complex reds that completely dismantle the misconception that Beaujolais is just light, fruity, forgettable Nouveau. As one of the ten Crus, it exists on a different plane entirely, built for depth, built for time.
The vineyards, especially on the famous Côte du Py, are planted on something called roches pourries ("rotten rock") decomposed shale and schist that gives the Gamay here a mineral grip and earthy complexity you don't find anywhere else. It's why Morgon wines are often described as the most "masculine" of the Crus (we hate that sort of semantics but trust it carries the message), with the ability to age 5, 10, even 15 years, transforming bright red fruit into something deeper: cherries soaked in kirsch, stone fruit macerated in eau-de-vie.
This is the Cru they gave a verb. Morgonner means to taste like Morgon, that unique, terroir-driven thing that happens as these wines age. And it's where the revolution started. The Gang of Four (Lapierre, Foillard, Breton, Thévenet) were based here, fighting for organic farming, natural fermentation, minimal intervention, long before it was trendy. They proved Beaujolais could be serious without being stuffy, that Gamay could stand next to Burgundy and hold its own for a fraction of the price.
Morgon matters because it's Beaujolais that grows up. That asks you to pay attention. That rewards you for waiting. It's the Cru that changed everything.
