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Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 1:22 am
by Mark Lipton
Rahsaan wrote:Do you often age Breton? I never really thought to, as they seemed more fragile than Foillard, Thevenet and Lapierre when young. But this sounds interesting, if not particularly thrilling.

FWIW, I thought the 07 Descombes VV was pretty thrilling throughout 2011.


I haven't bought enough Breton to do a thorough study, Rahsaan, but on the basis of this one datum I'd have to agree with you. It was an interesting wine, but I doubt that it had gained any appeal over its earlier incarnation. FWIW, this was my only '07. I'm now down to '05s, '09s and '10s.

Mark Lipton

Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 4:11 am
by Tim York
Rahsaan wrote: I have never really gotten sufficiently excited by Vissoux to explore the wines in depth.


I too am not a member of the Chermette rave club but I think that his Bojos are the best which are fairly easily available alongside those of Brun and Marcel Lapierre and are several notches above those of the ubiquitous beefy Georges. I tried three of them during this WF and thought this Fleurie a cut above the others in distinction; the other two were very enjoyable and quaffable as Bojo should be.

I find unsulphured Lapierre extremely attractive and full of character but am frustrated by my inability to age them at <14°C throughout the year so as to explore their full Morgon potential.

Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:55 am
by David M. Bueker
I'm done with Beaujolais for the month, but I just want to say that I look forward to revisiting this topic in a year or two. The 2005s will be getting close to a decade old, and it will be interesting to see how they are coming along. I'm not a big believer in aging Beaujolais (or Muscadet), so it will be a great data point for me to pop some crus from Brun, Foillard, etc.

Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:31 am
by Rahsaan
Tim York wrote:I too am not a member of the Chermette rave club but I think that his Bojos are the best which are fairly easily available...


Well I guess that all depends on what is easily available. Certainly here in Nyc we seem to have a wealth of delicious options.

2009s

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:40 am
by Rahsaan
This weekend I opened the 2009 Descombes Morgon and the 2009 Chamonard Morgon Clos de Lys. Both wines benefit from a good chunk of air, but with that they are both brilliant to my tastes.

The Descombes is a tiny bit blurry/funky (not sure if it is brett, if so it is a modest level because I'm pretty sensitive) which I have found off and on in this bottling. But it goes really well with food and is delicious meaty winey deeply flavored wine. Slightly tannic but overall very easy to drink and slips down quickly!

The Chamonard is always an interesting contrast and this bottle is very much like its predecessors. Plenty of 09 ripeness, but finer than the Descombes, more composed, more elegant, but still with enough life to make me happy with each sip!

Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:38 am
by Ben Rotter
David M. Bueker wrote:I purchased some Vissoux/Chermette a couple of years ago (2007s), and was not all that impressed. Have not gone back since.

Tim York wrote:I too am not a member of the Chermette rave club

Rahsaan wrote:I have never really gotten sufficiently excited by Vissoux to explore the wines in depth.


Out of interest, what is it about Vissoux's that leave you cold?

Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:54 am
by Rahsaan
In my case, it's just a personal taste thing. I don't think anything is wrong with the wines, but in a marketplace overflowing with great Beaujolais (and with great wine in general) they just don't speak to me as much as other wines and time is limited!

Re: Wine Focus for April: Beaujolais!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:22 pm
by Tim York
Ben, I would say that, until the three bottles of 2010 bought for this WF, I was in the Chermette rave club. None of these was less than very enjoyable but the Beaujolais VV was a touch heavier and more pruney than I like and the Brouilly had some slightly confected notes which seemed out of place in a Bojo cru. The Fleurie was up to the high standard which I was expecting from him. One bullseye out of three is not enough to keep me in the club pending a new sample.