Known to friends as Kéké, Kewin Descombes has spent nearly a decade carving out his own name in Morgon while honoring one of Beaujolais's great natural wine families.
Backstory
Kewin is the son of Georges Descombes, a leading figure of natural Beaujolais. He made his first vintage in 2013 at the age of twenty-one, renting about 1.15 hectares in the Beaujolais appellation and 1.6 hectares in Morgon from a retired vigneron who had previously leased the land to his father. That same year he also bought a parcel of roughly 1.2 hectares of 85-year-old Morgon vines.
The Region
He is based in Villié-Morgon, at the heart of the Morgon cru, where granite soils give Gamay both structure and depth.
Vineyards & Farming
Kewin works around four hectares of Gamay on granite, farmed organically. His parcels include venerable old vines that lend concentration and character to the wines.
Winemaking
In the cellar he keeps intervention to a minimum, relying on native yeasts and using only minimal sulfur, in the natural tradition he grew up with.
The Wines
His range centers on his home cru, with bottlings such as the easygoing Beaujolais Cuvée Kéké, Morgon Vieilles Vignes, and Moulin-à-Vent, plus a white Vin de France. The wines are vibrant, fruit-driven, and unmistakably Beaujolais.
