2005 Jean Paul Brun Terres Dorées Morgon Beaujolais Burgundy France. Chambers Street Wines, $16.99. Importer: LDM Wines Inc., NYC; Louis/Dressner Selections.
With three great tasting notes, by two tasters that I respect greatly -- and in this case can't pick even a nit with -- why write anything further? 4*+. [One of the best Beaujolais I've ever tasted.]
Robin Garr: Garnet, on the dark side for a Beaujolais, with a clear edge. Ripe black-cherry and plum aromas add faint back note of fragrant black pepper. Bright, mouth-filling and tart, juicy cherries and lemon ice, with just a wisp of tannin in the finish. A bit tight when poured, opens up with a little time and swirling in the glass. Delicious.
Lyle Fass:
By email: The nose was very meaty (saucisson?) with pure red fruits and some barnyard aromas (brett?). I let it sit for awhile and the funk blew off and you had a Haute Cote de Nuits look-a-like. Some spice, red fruits, herbs and that pronounced meatiness along with an elegant palate with ripe tannins, silken-like texture and a long finish. Will be interesting to see where this wine goes in three years. :
By website: The ’05 Brun Morgon has vivid raspberry and cherry fruit with crackling acidity. There is an understated elegance to the wine with a crunchy (acid, fruit) finish that really fleshes out once the wine is properly aerated. The soils are mainly schist and broken granite. There is a nice minerality to the wine but Morgon is more about fruit and mouthfeel than minerality.
Louis/Dressner: The Domaine des Terres Dorées is located in the Southern Beaujolais, just north of Lyons, in a beautiful area known as the "Region of the Golden Stones." Jean-Paul Brun is the owner and winemaker at this 40-acre family estate. Brun has attracted the attention of the French and American press for the wonderfully fruity and delicate wines he produces.
Brun wants to make "old-style" Beaujolais and his vinification differs from the prevailing practices in the region. He believes that the charm of the Gamay's fruit is best expressed by the grapes' indigenous yeast, rather than by adding industrial yeast.
Brun's view is that Beaujolais drinks best at a lower degree of alcohol and there is no need to systematically add sugar to the must (chaptalize) to reach alcohol levels of 12 to 13 degrees. So he chaptalizes minimally or not at all - depending on the vintage and the cuvee. His Beaujolais is made to be pleasurable - light, fruity and delicious - not an artificially inflated wine that shines at tasting competitions.
Only a minimum amount of SO2 is used at bottling to keep the wine fresh and "headache-free." Fermentation naturally produces a lot of CO2, which acts as protection against oxidation during aging; leaving some in the wine at bottling time also helps to keep it fresh. Filtration is also minimal so that the wine keeps its original fruit and aromas. Brun's wines are not "blockbusters" in the sense of being "big." The emphasis is not on weight, but on fruit. Beaujolais as it once was and as it should be.