If more women like Marine Descombe worked in wineries, there would be no need to worry about the future of the industry. The Kedge Business School graduate joined the family winery in 2013. Nine years later, she was one of two women to be admitted to the Grand Council of the Compagnons du Beaujolais. Until then, it had been exclusively male. In 2024, she was included in the French list of ‘Forbes Femmes 40’. She was the first female winemaker ever and one of the few women not from the greater Paris region. On her estate, she not only produces classic wines under the Beaujolais appellation, but also pét-nats and red and orange wines to be drunk chilled as vins de table. That is why she was elected this year as the new chairwoman of the industry association Anivin de France, the interest group of Vins de France. How do the wines of this power woman taste?
Les Vins de Table
The Miss Gamay series kicks things off. This is a quartet of wines under the Vins de France label. At least some of the grapes are purchased from other sources, and some of the cuvées could probably also be sold as AOP. But Marine Descombes is convinced: ‘Vin de France is a designation that inspires winegrowers and winemakers because it allows them to break new ground. But also consumers who know that the world of VdF wines is free, accessible and innovative.’ This does not necessarily have anything to do with the price. In fact, it is higher than the winery’s entry-level Beaujolais. Right at the beginning, the words ‘Récolte à la main’, meaning hand-picked, catch the eye. On the back label, words such as unfiltered, intracellular fermentation, Méthode Ancestrale and spontaneous fermentation appear. Some of the grapes come from certified organic vineyards. This has nothing to do with the traditional ‘de masse’ table wines of large wineries. These are perfectly vinified drinking wines of today!
Unfortunately, the Miss Chardo: Macération, a Chardonnay vinified as an orange wine, is currently sold out. So the tasting begins with the Pétillant Naturel made from Gamay grapes. Despite spontaneous fermentation, the non-vintage Pét-Nat is very pure, fruity and lean, with only 10 per cent alcohol, a lovely, invigorating start (85p.) The Rosé Gamay from 2023 is a rosé wine to be taken seriously. The nose reveals delicate rhubarb notes and floral aromas. On the palate, it has ripe but not overripe fruit, with surprising structure and length without any distracting sweetness (87p). Plums, sour cherries and spices can be found in the bouquet of the Gamay noir from 2022, which is best served chilled. Here, too, the seriousness of the vinification is striking. Freshness, transparency and a present acidity are its great strengths, even if the wine then remains quite short on the palate (86p.). Of course, this is actually a Beaujolais, but it probably markets itself better that way today.
Château de Pougelon
The Descombe family’s own Beaujolais wines are marketed under the Château de Pougelon label. Built in 1662, this 12-hectare estate was acquired by the family from Saint-Etienne-des-Oullieres in 2017. It is located a few kilometres north of the original winery and, like it, in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation. The property there was gradually expanded to include parcels in some important crus in northern Beaujolais. Through Marine’s marriage to Kevin Jandard, several hectares were added in the Pierres Dorées in the south. Here, Chardonnay is planted on loamy-calcareous soils. Like all wines in the Pougelon range, the Beaujolais Blanc Pierres Dorées 2022 comes from organically farmed land and was bottled without sulphur. Pear, peach and thyme on the nose, the wine is medium-bodied, creamy and with a ripe acidity structure on the palate. The beautiful texture is not due to the wooden barrel, but to the 12 months of ageing on the fine lees. A good accompaniment to food with a nice drinking flow (88p.).
I’ll skip the Beaujolais-Villages from Pougelon and move straight on to the crus. These are all offered as ‘lieu-dits’. However, this is not the same as in Burgundy, where these are genuine (non-classified) single vineyards. In Beaujolais, they tend to refer to sub-communes. The Brouilly Lieu-dit Voujon, for example, comes from the hills around the small commune of the same name in the north-west of the appellation. While the Brouilly Lieu-dit Clos Reisser comes from a plateau about 250 metres above sea level in the commune of Cercié in the north-east – both already in the neighbourhood of Régnié. Clos Reisser 2022, from old alluvial soils, is the more open, fruit-driven wine, with cherries and spices, but above all distinctive strawberry aromas. Fresh, with good acidity and very drinkable (88p.). Voujon 2022 leans more towards cherry and still has noticeable reserves. Cool and quite pure on the palate, it is denser and, with aeration, offers a broader spectrum and a more beautiful texture (89–90p.).
Beaujolais on granite
The Juliénas Lieu-dit Beauvernay comes from the northernmost Beaujolais cru where the family owns vineyards. The vines are located in the commune of the same name, in the southwesternmost tip of the appellation, at an altitude of around 400 metres. The soil here is schistous, known as ‘Pierres Bleues’ or ‘blue stones’. The grapes from the Morgon Lieu-dit Courcelette come from roughly the same altitude. Here, the vines are located in the sector of the same name west of Villié-Morgon, which is characterised by weathered granite soils. The Juliénas from 2022 is the only wine in the range that initially appears somewhat reductive. With a little aeration, blueberries, plums and floral notes dominate the bouquet. A medium-bodied, almost slender wine that is enormously enjoyable to drink, partly because the tannins are extremely smooth (90p.). The Morgon from the same year is darker and more powerful. More focused and less hedonistic, it only reveals some fruit on the second day, filling the entire mouth (92p).
The Descombe family gave themselves a birthday present with a special cuvée to mark their 120th anniversary. La Centenaire 2022 comes from vines planted in 1919 at Château Pougelon. This is, so to speak, a Beaujolais-Villages ‘de luxe’, of which there are only 985 bottles and a few magnums. It does not loudly proclaim itself a ‘Grand Vin’. But, like all the family’s wines, it impresses with its finesse and elegance. Accordingly, it was not aged in wood, but, like the Beaujolais Crus, entirely in cement. Despite the hot vintage, it has only 12.5 per cent alcohol, which is also characteristic of Pougelon wines. The bouquet reveals sour cherry and beetroot, while on the palate the wine is transparent and almost Burgundian, with reserves for long ageing. Certainly one of the best Beaujolais-Villages on the market (94p.).
It will be exciting to see what Marine Descombe and her team will achieve in the coming years. An ultra-modern cellar was recently inaugurated at Château de Pougelon. In 2017, the Domaine Passy le Clou was also taken over, where the family produces Chablis. The négociant business now extends to Burgundy and the Rhône, with wines ranging from Chassagne-Montrachet to Côte-Rôtie.
Image rights
Portrait of Marine Descombes: Famille Descombes
Other photos: Stefan Pegatzky / Time Tunnel Images
