August Wine Focus: Gamay - Beaujolais and beyond

[Jenise]

2013 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Griffe du Marquis was tough going for several hours. Mid-weight tart and bright and not leaning on the fruit at all until many hours later when the gentle almost-silky waves began to show themselves. Cellartracker says some people have really been enjoying their bottles recently, and who knows what randomness may occur from bottle to bottle, but I'm inclined to sit on the rest of mine for a while.

I've got some 10's. I'll open one--should be about ready.

2013 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Griffe du Marquis...

I've got some 10's. I'll open one--should be about ready.

Nice. Let us know how it goes. I don't have any '10s, but have heard various things about its state of readiness over the past year, likely due to different preferences for aging and for leaner-year Beaujolais. But I think the relative newness of the cuvee also makes it harder to judge aging trajectory.

2013 Cave du Chateau De Chenas Saint-Amour Coeur de Granit:

Third bottle. The first one we really liked. Hardly any fruit left. Nice minerality, coffee and caramel notes on nose and palate. Harmonious. Looking forward to further development for the remaining bottles. Pleasant with creamy Broccoli-anchovies pasta.

2013 Cave du Chateau De Chenas Saint-Amour Coeur de Granit:...Hardly any fruit left. Nice minerality, coffee and caramel notes on nose and palate. Harmonious. Looking forward to further development for the remaining bottles.

I'm having a hard time making these notes compute. A 2013 Chenas has no fruit left! And is showing nothing but oak (coffee and caramel)! And that equals "harmonious" with the potential for further development!

Are you sure it was not just shut down or maybe corked?

Beefy Georges nowadays suffers the disdain of wine geeks although in earlier decades (from the 60s/70s) he did a lot to raise the overall standards of Beaujolais available to the wide public (good Parisian brasseries and bistrots always had excellent confidential sources!). When I saw this bottle, I thought it an opportunity to give one of his wines another whirl in the hope that it would provide a pleasant surprise. Alas.......

2011 Georges Dubœuf Fleurie - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie (8/18/2016)
A disappointing Fleurie. Thick textured without any of the text book Fleurie fragrance and charm. Instead there was heavy slightly sweet and tired fruit with hints of prune and even banana, smooth acidity and a certain bitterness on the finish which I would have attributed to high alcohol if the label did not assert only 13%. More like an undistinguished Languedoc than Beaujolais.

Posted from CellarTracker

I'm having a hard time making these notes compute. A 2013 Chenas has no fruit left! And is showing nothing but oak (coffee and caramel)! And that equals "harmonious" with the potential for further development!

Are you sure it was not just shut down or maybe corked?

We are very sensitive concerning cork and oak. No it was definitely not corked. The coffee and caramel were secondary flavours and not oaky at all.

We had the bottle open for a while and even given the wine some time in the glass before we tried. We do not have much experience with Gamay. With the first two bottles we did not like the "candy fruit" and were quite pleased that it was gone or at least had become a lot less annoying. Maybe "no fruit" was a bit exaggerating. We do not think it was shut down. It actually was drinking quite nicely. When things change like that we are always curious what else to come.

win_fried

We are very sensitive concerning cork and oak. No it was definitely not corked. The coffee and caramel were secondary flavours and not oaky at all.

Probably a function of different personal usages for these descriptors (which of course shows how difficult the TN thing is). For me, caramel coffee is an oak-related flavor and I have never tasted such in Beaujolais. But obviously we have different usages!

RVF's number for July and August contains a 13 page survey of Beaujolais under the title “The Gamay Revolution”. This is too long to translate but I will try to put down their main points here below.

The Beaujolais region is on the roll. This time, unlike the mass market orientated Beaujolais Nouveau movement, it is being led by terroir wines aimed at the truly gastronomic market.

Heavy hitting négociants from outside the region are investing. Examples of this are Jadot’s buying the Château des Jacques, Boisset’s acquisition of Mommessin, Drouhin’s associating with Les Hospices de Belleville, Henriot’s acquiring Villa Ponciago and Chapoutier the Trénel firm. And the home-grown firm Jean Loron is expanding and getting the reputation of the Rolls-Royce of the Beaujolais négoce.

On a smaller scale, a lot of young talent is emerging and some small well known estates are also investing in the region, such as Chandon de Briailles, Lafarge and Alain Graillot.

The objective of all these investors is to produce up-market wines and already prices are moving upwards with some Moulin-à-Vent now commanding over €30. Crus at present being sold for prices in the early teens are likely to top €20 quite soon.

Nowadays, Beaujolais comes in four broad styles, namely –

- The classical style made by a semi-carbonic maceration producing fresh thirst quenching wines also capable of ageing

- Wines given a long élevage in wood to produce a more velvety and Burgundian result

- “Natural” low intervention wines intended to produce maximum purity

- Ready to drink entry level wines made by the thermo-vinification technique

The survey then goes on to provide tasting notes split into the four categories. Here are a few better known estate names and their wines reviewed in the categories.


The Classical Style –

Louis-Claude Desvignes – Morgon Les Impénitents & Côte de Py ‘14
Château Thivin – Côte-de-Brouilly La Chapelle ‘14
Domaine du Vissoux – Fleurie Les Garants & Beaujolais Cœur de Vendange ‘15
Domaine des Nugues – Morgon & Beaujolais-Villages ‘14
Maison Trénel – Fleurie ‘14


Long élevage –

Domaine des Terres Dorées – Fleurie Grille Midi & Beaujolais L’Ancien ‘14
Château Thivin – Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Zaccharie ‘14
Château des Jacques – Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle ‘14
Château de Pizay – Morgon Les Sybarites ‘14
Domaine Lafarge Vial – Fleurie Clos Vernay ‘14


The « natural » style –

Georges Descombes – Morgon VV ’13 & Vermont ‘11
Jean Foillard Côte de PY ‘13
Marcel Lapierre Morgon ‘15
Kévin Descombes – Morgon ‘14
Philippe Pascalet – Moulin-à-Vent ‘14
P-H & C Thillardon – Chénas Chassignol ‘14


The ready to drink style –
Cave de Chénas – Chiroubles Coeur de Granit ‘15
Château de l’Éclair – Beaujolais La Réserve ‘14


If anyone is interested in an individual review, I'll try to translate it.

You have put in a lot of effort there Tim so thanks! Many producers in my area but for some reason I am not too thrilled to go out and check around at this time. In-house PO keeping a watchful eye on my purchases .

[Jenise]

2010 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Griffe du Marquis

This wine had huge tannins, so I wondered if in fact now would be enough time but heck, why not try it. First pour: outstanding! Brilliant fruit with the acid/tannin balance of a serious wine. Very nice with a plate of rosemary ham and Port Salut with black pepper crackers. Second pour: is this fading? Yes, in fact it did somewhat, dropping quite a bit of fruit by the end of that second (big) glass. Hmmm.....

2010 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Griffe du Marquis

This wine had huge tannins, so I wondered if in fact now would be enough time but heck, why not try it. First pour: outstanding! Brilliant fruit with the acid/tannin balance of a serious wine. Very nice with a plate of rosemary ham and Port Salut with black pepper crackers. Second pour: is this fading? Yes, in fact it did somewhat, dropping quite a bit of fruit by the end of that second (big) glass. Hmmm.....

Thanks for the note. Fading by the second pour! Curious. What about the third pour?

My first Beaujolais from 2014, so I'm thinking I may have missed some of the early fruit-shining period.

But, I still had fun with the 2014 Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette and the 2014 Foillard Morgon Côte du Py. Both showed similar ripe darkish fruit but fresh lively and focused structure, which from what I hear may be a key feature of the vintage? Both also showed the typical Foillard crushed stone and ethereal lace texture. And, as usual, the Corcelette was lighter and more facile while the Côte du Py was deeper, more composed and more satisfying (for me).

However, neither seemed to be firing on all cylinders at the moment, so I'm guessing this may be a slightly awkward time. Certainly compared to all the gushing reports I heard about the '14 Côte du Py from earlier in the year.

[Robin Garr]

Two recent Beaujolais, both decent.

Cháteau des Reyssiers 2013 Regnié ($16.99)

The subtle and earthy flavors of this clear, dark reddish-violet wine are a step above everyday Beaujolais in refinement and balance, too, although it's still typical of the region in its fresh scents of cranberry and wild strawberry with a hint of spice. On the palate it's ripe and fresh, tart red fruit shaped by mouth-watering acidity and distinct, gently astringent tannins. Good acidic balance and comfortable 12.5% alcohol makes it a winning table wine with versatile capability for pairing with food. U.S. importer: Louis Latour Inc., San Rafael, Calif. (Aug. 18, 2016)

FOOD MATCH: The producer suggests "White meats, grilled entrecote steak, barbecued ribs, appetizers and cheese." We paired it with a light summer farmers' market dinner of fresh Christmas lima beans braised with tomatoes, onions and garlic with a hint of bay leaf.

WHEN TO DRINK: The wines of the named Beaujolais villages are considered better for cellaring than simple generic Beaujolais or even Beaujolais-Villages, which are best drunk up within a few years of the vintage. Regnié and its cousins, conversely, may gain complexity and elegance with careful cellaring under controlled temperature. Even so, it's not a wine to leave for your grandchildren. Drink now or cellar properly and start sampling within five years of the vintage. Also, its taint-free "Diam" cork offers assurance that the wine will stay clean in the cellar.

VALUE:
My local retail price is closely aligned with the $16 average retail reported on Wine-Searcher.com, and I think that's a reasonable value for this interesting, food-friendly table wine.

WEB LINK
Here is producer Henry Fessy's website in English. For a fact sheet on this wine, check this link.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Compare prices and look for vendors for Cháteau des Reyssiers Regnié at Wine-Searcher.com


Louis Jadot 2014 Beaujolais-Villages ($11.99)

This clear, medium-dark reddish-violet wine offers good, typical Beaujolais Gamay scents, strawberries and tart cherries and an earthy nuance reminiscent of damp clay. Simple but fresh and juicy cherry-berry flavors come in focus on the palate, fully dry, shaped by zippy acidity and a soft but apparent buzz of tannins felt most perceptibly on the cheeks and back of the tongue. With good balance and a moderate 12.5 percent alcohol, it's an appealing and versatile table wine. U.S. importer: Kobrand Corp., Purchase, N.Y. (Aug. 3, 2016)

FOOD MATCH: The back label suggests hors d'oeuvres, mild cheeses or poultry dishes. I find good Beaujolais works well with mildly spicy dishes, and paired it with a simple Cajun-style dinner of sliced okra and fresh tomatoes from the garden, cooked up in a black-iron skillet with onions, garlic and a spicy mix of black pepper and two red peppers.

WHEN TO DRINK: Simple Beaujolais isn't made for aging, but this vintage's good fruit-acid balance and soft tannins suggests that it should hold, and possibly gain a little flavor interest, over several years. This wine is also protected from musty cork "taint" by a technologial "Diam" cork.

VALUE:
For once, my local price is right on the $12 average U.S. retail price at Wine-Searcher.com, and it's a very good value anywhere from $10 through the lower teens.

WEB LINK
Here's Louis Jadot's website in English. Its system makes it difficult to link to specific pages, but you can work your way through "Wine Notes" and "Beaujolais Villages" to find your way to a short fact sheet on this wine.

Wine-Searcher.com also has a short, useful essay on Louis Jadot at this link

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and check prices for Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages at Wine-Searcher.com

2011 Foillard Fleurie
I've had a few bottles of Foillard Fleurie from 2010 and 2011 (I think), and have never really understood the appeal. They always seemed polished and composed, which is all well and good. But they lacked the depth, precision and complexity of great Burgundy and they lacked the energy of great Beaujolais.

This was my most convincing bottle to date of the Fleurie, because after a bit of air the dark ripe suave mineral fruits were joined by a delicate lacy ethereal texture that combined to make something special. I'm still not sure I prefer this to the Côte du Py (which is of course cheaper), but I have more experience with the latter, so that could also play a role. Regardless of the analysis, it was fun and delicious to drink the wine.

Tonight I followed up with the 2012 Foillard Fleurie, which stayed true to the vintage and was crisper, harder, lighter and less deep than the 2011. I can smell the berried jewels way underneath the fruit, hinting at something more seductive, and the texture also flirts with becoming suave velvet. But mostly it remains focused on a decently soft and broad bed of gamay fruit that is marked by the elegant fine/tart crunchy nature of the the year. I have one more bottle, will see how that goes. But I have higher hopes for 2011!

[Jenise]

Interesting observations on the Jean Foillards. I love the Cote du Puy and the Courcelette (sp?), and have had his Fleurie several times including, most recently, in Fleurie itself (if it's going to taste amazing anywhere, it's going to be there, right?) And where I liked the Fleurie in each instance, it has never given me the flutters the other two bottlings have.

We opened another Bojo this week. It was the 2010 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes. Visually, a bit cloudy, bretty on the nose and salty on the palate. (In 2013, another CTer commented something like "finally a Thevenet without brett"--this producer is particularly known for that?) Not enjoyable. $30 down the drain--should have drunk them (I bought two) right away but somehow got it in my craw that I should wait on this one. I'll make a point of opening soon--my cellar's overstuffed and I don't have room for duds.

[David M. Bueker]

2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Moulin-à-Vent - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent (8/25/2016)
Supple and open, this showed a lot of red fruit and some spice and earth tones. I was very happy with the texture, and several years of age has also mellowed the fruit a touch from its exuberant youth. Lovely now and has plenty of stuffing/depth to hold on for further development.

We opened another Bojo this week. It was the 2010 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes. Visually, a bit cloudy, bretty on the nose and salty on the palate. (In 2013, another CTer commented something like "finally a Thevenet without brett"--this producer is particularly known for that?) Not enjoyable. $30 down the drain--should have drunk them (I bought two) right away but somehow got it in my craw that I should wait on this one. I'll make a point of opening soon--my cellar's overstuffed and I don't have room for duds.

I think Thevenet is the least stable and most unreliable of Kermit's Gang of Four, so I often hesitate when thinking about buying the wines, even if they can be very delicious when stable.

[Jenise]

We opened another Bojo this week. It was the 2010 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes. Visually, a bit cloudy, bretty on the nose and salty on the palate. (In 2013, another CTer commented something like "finally a Thevenet without brett"--this producer is particularly known for that?) Not enjoyable. $30 down the drain--should have drunk them (I bought two) right away but somehow got it in my craw that I should wait on this one. I'll make a point of opening soon--my cellar's overstuffed and I don't have room for duds.

I think Thevenet is the least stable and most unreliable of Kermit's Gang of Four, so I often hesitate when thinking about buying the wines, even if they can be very delicious when stable.

Thanks for confirming, Rahsaan. I'll make a point of avoiding them in future. No doubt the second bottle I own (same purchase) will be equally affected.

[David M. Bueker]

Not necessarily. Thevenet is incredibly variable. Have a backup, but you might get lucky.

That being said, I avoid Thevenet.

[Jenise]

Yeah but this is me you're talking to. My luck isn't that good. Second bottle's bound to be a dog.

Here is a nice rosé from Gamay made in the obscure appellation Saint-Pourçain, which is located in the upper Loire basin, near its tributary river l'Allier.

2014 Domaine de Bellevue Saint Pourçain - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Saint Pourçain (8/30/2016)
This is a very nice rosé full of lively Gamay fruit, some minerals and tangy mouth-watering acidity. Much more to my taste than the myriads of bland Southern pinks, which are much in vogue at present. Good.

Posted from CellarTracker

One rose' and one red.

2014 Laurent Gauthier BeaujolaisVillages Rose'. Labeled 12.5% abv. 100% Gamay Noir. Pale peach color with transparency and clarity. Refreshing on the palate with a red berry/citrus mix and nice acidity. Light in body, this wine could be adaptable to a number of dishes--tuna, chicken, quesadilla, some preparations of veal, etc.

2014 Antoine Sunier Regnie'. Caveau Selections (Scott Paul), Oregon. Labeled 12% abv. Dark garnet color with some transparency. On the palate I find tart dark fruit--plums and berries. I paired it the first evening with a piece of fried chicken and macaroni and cheese from the deli section of the grocery store. The next evening I had it with veal piccata. I also tried it with Cheshire cheese before dinner, and while not an ideal pairing, it was not too far off.

Interesting piece of writing here. Beaujolais under-rated or over-rated?

https://winespecific.com/2011/12/01/how ... ver-rated/

Interesting piece of writing here. Beaujolais under-rated or over-rated?

https://winespecific.com/2011/12/01/how ... ver-rated/

Yes, interesting article. I tend to think it's still fairly under-rated, in the sense that the top wines that deliver a whole lot of pleasure are still very good deals price-wise.

But this sentence was a bit unfair: "Except in rare cases, Gamay is not going to compete well with Pinot Noir..."

Kind of a high bar! Everything does not have to measure up to the Burgundy measuring stick!