Sleek black label and sinister black plastic cork, the latter instantly promoted to pirate ship in my daughter's bathtub fleet of real and plastic corks. Classic beaujolais color, but the smell reminds me more of basic bourgogne, with sour cherry and light green stems. Very tart before food, with clear medium tannins and good fruit. Becomes quite balanced after some cheese, with the correct amount of acidity to make this an excellent food wine. Brooding, for a beaujolais, well rounded and satisfying, though hardly complex. I find myself thinking "About as satisfying as something this simple can be".
At times like this I wonder what is the role of a beaujolais (or perhaps a basic borgogne too) in the wine constellation. It seems to me hard to justify their importance on a standalone basis, but as food wines, or restaurant wines, they can perform admirably.
