WTN: Jean-Paul Brun in Belgium and some Loires.

This Liège firm runs the best regular Saturday afternoon tastings of which I know. Its owners, Roger and David Michel, are amongst the most adventurous and reliable pickers of French wines, often from little known appellations and estates but also from stellar ones like Huet, Mas Jullien, Château Simone, Tempier, etc. However, the round trip of 210km at diesel prices of € 1.40/litre is quite dissuasive but I was attracted this time by the presence of Jean-Paul Brun, about whose wine I have read a lot of good in these pages, as well as by some Loire offerings.

Jean-Paul Brun – Terres Dorées

Brun is a stolid, no nonsense and no frills person who is less loquacious that most wine growers but what he says makes sense and is informed with quiet humour. The name, Terres Dorées, is derived from the colour of local soil and stone in his Southern Beaujolais area; apparently a lot of the local buildings are quite striking having been built in this golden yellow stone.

I have read comments that Brun’s wines, while excellent, do not seem to have Beaujolais typicity. They are certainly fuller of structure and flavour than the wines of the ubiquitous Georges Duboeuf but I don’t think that, blind, I would opt for any other region than Beaujolais. They are chunkier and less smooth than the wines which I recently tasted and admired from Chermette’s Domaine du Vissoux. All of them, except perhaps Cuvée Première, need more time to show at their best and are a long way from “drink before the next vintage” which many French journalists have been conditioned to believe for Beaujolais.

Beaujolais blanc 2007 (€ 9,20), made from Chardonnay, shows floral and meaty aromas, mouth-filling generosity and an unusual after-taste a touch reminiscent of glue, which Brun says is derived from the Terres Dorées terroir; 15/20. Beaujolais Cuvée Première 2007 (€ 6,70) from young vines shows prune and liqueur aromas and gluggable round fruit with grip; 15/20. Beaujolais L’Ancien 2007 (€ 8,90) from old vines is more subdued but also deeper and more complex in its aromas and the palate is more structured and intense with as yet unresolved acidity and tannins; potentially 15.5/20. Fleurie 2007 (€ 12,90) is another step up showing complex prune aromas, minerals, excellent mouth-fill and tannins; 15.5/20 with + potential. Côte de Brouilly 2006 (€ 10,40) is rounder and fruitier than the previous but still with noticeable tannins; 15.5/20 with + potential. Morgon 2007 (€ 10,90) is more discreet and closed but impressive matter; 15/20 now with ++ potential. Finally a pink sparkler, FRV 100 (€ 9,50), shows seductive fruit with cherry and strawberry notes, generosity and a marked creamy sweetness offset by good freshness; 15.5/20. (Brun is making a Pinot Noir cuvée, very unusual in the region, which was not however shown here.)

Loire dry white selection

Muscadet Amphibolite 2007 Domaine Landron (€ 8,20) is very light but shows lively aromas and attractive tang; 14.5/20 and may be too light for assertive seafood. Pouilly-Fumé Buisson Renard 2004 Didier Dagueneau (€ ? not on tasting sheet) is intense with complex aromas of grass, gooseberry and honey, round fruit, minerals and length; 16/20. Montlouis Clef de Sol 2006 Domaine de la Grange Tiphaine (€ 12,60) is dry but conveys richness with good round fruit, honey and mineral touches and mouth-fill; 15.5/20+. I was less taken now with Savennières 2006 Moulin de Chauvigné (€ 11,20) which was somewhat closed aromatically but showed green apple notes as well as minerals and length; Savennières can be difficult when young and this may surprise me; 14/20 at present.

Loire red selection

Anjou 2005 Domaine Leduc (€ 7,70) explodes with fresh round fruit offset by delicious tang; 15.5/20. Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil La Mine 2006 (€ 13,50) is similar with an added touch of leather complexity but, remembering how the 2005, perhaps even more delicious at a similar stage, rapidly degenerated into the barnyard, I feel cautious about its future; 15.5/20 + now. Chinon Franc de Pied 2006 Bernard Baudry (€ 14) is made from pre-phylloxera vines which survive in a sandy soil and is already delicious with complex red and dark fruit, leather, fine depth, structure and length, and a certain distinction; 16/20 with + potential.

The Loire reds from 2006 are supposedly less “great” than from 2005 but all that have so far come my way are drinking beautifully even though they may not be built to last.

Loire sweety

Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin 2007 Domaine Delesvaux (€ 10) shows honey mixed with glue on the nose and the palate shows a delicious balance between acidity and sugar. I have found some of the more ambitious offerings of this estate cloyingly sweet but this one is nice; 15/20.

Sounds like a good tasting, but is there no train you could take to cut down on gas costs?

I assume Brun was present. Did he mention anything about how losing the AOC might influence his sales?

Was Landron also present? Any news about the development of Muscadet in 2008? (I heard many growers lost huge portions of their crop with spring storms)

Sounds like a good tasting, but is there no train you could take to cut down on gas costs?

I assume Brun was present. Did he mention anything about how losing the AOC might influence his sales?

Was Landron also present? Any news about the development of Muscadet in 2008? (I heard many growers lost huge portions of their crop with spring storms)

Rahsaan,

I know that we are all being urged to abandon our cars to improve our carbon footprints as well as our bank balances. However, in spite of the fact that I can get an oldster's ticket for anywhere in Belgium for as little as € 4, taking public transport would triple or quadruple my journey time (dog's leg and train change through Brussels and bus in Liège) and I would not be able to bring back a couple of dozen bottles. So I took to Politically Incorrect and expensive option. IMHO, the car is a wonderful convenience for which I am prepared to pay quite a lot.

Brun was the only grower present and I did not ask him about the appellation changes as a previous crop of vignerons showed little interest in talking about the subject. I don't think that the Beaujolais and Beaujolais crus appellations will disappear. Have you heard or read something different?

taking public transport would triple or quadruple my journey time

Sounds tough. Yes, I know that depending on where you need to go, public transport can be tricky, even in Europe.

Brun was the only grower present and I did not ask him about the appellation changes as a previous crop of vignerons showed little interest in talking about the subject. I don't think that the Beaujolais and Beaujolais crus appellations will disappear. Have you heard or read something different?

I was referring to his loss of the AOC for a batch of the 07 L'Ancien: http://louisdressner.com/

I was referring to his loss of the AOC for a batch of the 07 L'Ancien: http://louisdressner.com/

I had read some reference to this but forgot about it. It would have indeed been interesting to hear what he had to say. This may explain a certain sharpness in his remarks about Georges Duboeuf and his yeasts.

This sort of thing discredits the AOC rules. From what I have read, the new AOC approach should in theory reduce the chances its recurring in future.

Really good notes, thanks!
I really like Brun's whole lineup. I'll have to look for the glue taste in the Chardonnay! Silly that the l"Ancien could be considered atypical- unless you regard mass produced dross as the definition of typicity.
I love mass transit, but when transporting bottles, I love my car.
Thanks again

Sounds tough. Yes, I know that depending on where you need to go, public transport can be tricky, even in Europe.

Out here, two trains a week. One east, other goes west!!

Sounds tough. Yes, I know that depending on where you need to go, public transport can be tricky, even in Europe.

Out here, two trains a week. One east, other goes west!!

Did you know that Belgium was a pioneer in the building of railways? Right from its inception in the 1830s strategic lines were laid down from East to West and North to South crossing at Mechelen (then known as Malines). This gave a kick start to the country's prosperity. Nowadays Belgian public transport is one of the worst in Western Europe (the UK wins the wooden spoon) and it will get worse with the country's imminent split into Flemish and French components.

POSTSCRIPT

Côte de Brouilly 2006 Jean-Paul Brun

I opened a bottle last night.

First, I was disconcerted to note that Brun has opted for a synthetic plastic stopper. This is a bad choice for a wine with some ageing potential. Whenever I raise the issue of the superiority of screwcaps here in Europe, I am told that there is no market here for wines so closed. A serious educational effort is needed.

Second, the wine was showing much less well than at Saturday's tasting. Almost no bouquet and less roundness and structure on the palate, though there were nice mineral and prune notes. Is this due to premature variability from the synthetic stoppers or to the shaking up on the return trip from Liège?