Cellar Favorite: 2019 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial Rully En Guesnes Wadana

BY NEAL MARTIN | JANUARY 27, 2025

I suspect that nearly all wines from the Rully appellation are consumed in their youth. The 2019 Rully En Guesnes Wadana proves that not all Rullys are made equal, certainly not with respect to winemaker Vincent Dureuil-Janthial. This particular cuvée comes from a section of his parcel in En Guesnes whose vines were planted in 1955. The bunches were destemmed by hand, leaving pedicels intact, and the wine was matured entirely in new oak. I brought it along to a lunch with far grander and more expensive Burgundy bottles, and it more than held its own in esteemed company.

Showing minor aging on the rim, the 2019 is deeper than many Rully wines. The bouquet is plush and generous due to the vintage and lack of stems, maraschino cherry commingling with mulberry and light marmalade scents that “hug” the senses. The palate is beautifully balanced and built around a core of red fruit—raspberry, wild strawberry and touches of cassis. It is endowed with wonderful purity, while the velvety finish leaves you hankering for more. The Wadana is perhaps an incongruous part of Dureuil-Janthial’s portfolio, predesigned with a more modern sheen, ergo, some might prefer the regular bottling or other cuvées. But I adored this. Give it another two or three years in bottle. It will continue to mature with panache over many years. 93/Drink 2026-2045.

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