Springtime for Beaujolais

Rahsaan

Rahsaan
2022 JP Brun Terres Dorées Côte de Brouilly
A couple of bottles of this over spring time were so so good. Beautiful pure strawberry Beaujolais, firm but with a light touch. Lacy, elegant, juicy and finely-shaped. So so good.

2022 JP Brun Terres Dorées Morgon
Again, a couple of bottles of this have been so so good. I might prefer this slightly to the Côte de Brouilly, as reflects my general Morgon bias. Silky, sappy, succulent cherry flavors and a bit more texture for the tongue than the Côte de Brouilly. But always so light fresh precise and detailed.

It’s been years since I’ve had the Brun wines and these two bottlings have really turned my head this spring. Gorgeous middle-ground between the ethereal/ephemeral carbonic Beaujolais and the plodding ‘serious’ Beaujolais.

2021 JP Brun Terres Dorées Grille Midi
This one is a bit less my style than the 2022 Côte de Brouilly and Morgon, but it’s still very delicious. Crisper, sturdier and more linear, although there is lovely silky fruit. Very nice wine. Just depends what expression you want on the day.

2022 Georges Descombes Morgon
A long time since I’ve had the basic non-VV bottling and it needs a lot of air. Very thin tart and simple at first, but once it gets going, the delicate poised berry expression is gorgeous and reminds me of the vivid jeweled Descombes profile that I love so much, although on a lighter and more lively scale than the VVs.

2022 K Descombes Morgon
I enjoyed this at the CSW tasting and figured I could explore further at home. But it’s so dark, rich, ripe and feels more ‘pumped up’ than all of the above wines that danced across the palate. Of course when I say dark, rich and ripe, that is relative to the Morgon appellation, so it’s still possible to drink and enjoy. But does not motivate me to re-purchase.

2020 K Descombes Morgon VV
Again it’s darker, richer and riper than my ideal Morgon. But, unlike the K Descombes 2020 Morgon, this gets a lot more attractive with air, gaining focus, tannic structure, while remaining silky and approachable. A bit more pumped up than my ideal, and there are so many other options for me. But I can see some folks loving this.
 
“ It’s been years since I’ve had the Brun wines and these two bottlings have really turned my head this spring. Gorgeous middle-ground between the ethereal/ephemeral carbonic Beaujolais and the plodding ‘serious’ Beaujolais.‘

Exactly.
That in between sweet spot I so crave and here it is with Brun.
What have I been doing?
Got some on the way.
Many thanks.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:

It’s been years since I’ve had the Brun wines and these two bottlings have really turned my head this spring. Gorgeous middle-ground between the ethereal/ephemeral carbonic Beaujolais and the plodding ‘serious’ Beaujolais.

First of all, thanks for the notes. It’s good to hear about ‘22 there, as I went long on ‘21 (a breath of fresh air, so to speak, after a string of "solar" years) but haven’t yet dipped my toes into ‘22. Regarding the above statement, would you mind putting some names to each category for my edification? It looks like I’ll have a Gamay crop to harvest this year, so vinification choices are uppermost in my thoughts right now.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
Gorgeous middle-ground between the ethereal/ephemeral carbonic Beaujolais and the plodding ‘serious’ Beaujolais.

Regarding the above statement, would you mind putting some names to each category for my edification? It looks like I’ll have a Gamay crop to harvest this year, so vinification choices are uppermost in my thoughts right now.

Lots of names on the carbonic side, the ones I like are G Descombes and Foillard, but of course Lapierre, Breton and so many more.

The classic image of plodding Beaujolais in my mind is Jadot, but Daniel Bouland also comes to mind. I always found Vissoux a bit foursquare, but all of these are great wines, it's just a question of what you want. The greater elegance in Brun has been so enjoyable, in the vein of Chamonard which is another middle-ground reference point for me, although harder to find.

Good luck with your gamay!
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
The greater elegance in Brun has been so enjoyable, in the vein of Chamonard which is another middle-ground reference point for me, although harder to find.

Petit quibble, perhaps more technical than gustatory: Chamonard/Chanudet is in the semi-carbonic camp, though he takes longer to come around and indeed comes off as the most austere of the Gang of Five (or Gang of 4 + 1, depending on who you ask) group.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
The greater elegance in Brun has been so enjoyable, in the vein of Chamonard which is another middle-ground reference point for me, although harder to find.

Petit quibble, perhaps more technical than gustatory: Chamonard/Chanudet is in the semi-carbonic camp, though he takes longer to come around and indeed comes off as the most austere of the Gang of Five (or Gang of 4 + 1, depending on who you ask) group.

Thanks for that. It's been so long since I've tasted. I mentally grouped Chamonard as distinct from the other poster-children for carbonic. But as you note, it's always more complicated than just assigning categories to broad techniques.
 
Thanks, Rahsaan. As you say, it’s easy to know the semi-carbonic crowd, but I was interesting to hear who went into the other camp. Haven’t tried a Jadot Beaujolais in ages, but do like Chermette a whole lot.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Thanks, Rahsaan. As you say, it’s easy to know the semi-carbonic crowd, but I was interesting to hear who went into the other camp. Haven’t tried a Jadot Beaujolais in ages, but do like Chermette a whole lot.

Mark Lipton

Chermette is semi-carbonic as well, though his grapes undergo carbonic maceration for only 12 days before going to press -- Foillard, in contrast, does 25-35 days of carbonic before pressing the grapes.


 
Sérol is my favorite not-carbonic Gamay. Éclat de Granite among the less expensive cuvées and Chez Muron among the more expensive (amphora aged) cuvées.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:

Chermette is semi-carbonic as well, though his grapes undergo carbonic maceration for only 12 days before going to press

Well there you go!

It's been many many years since I've had Vissoux, perhaps the 2009 vintage was the last time. But they always seemed blockier and less elegant than the carbonic ideals of Foillard, Lapierre and Descombes (in my mind). Could also be the terroirs?
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Sérol is my favorite not-carbonic Gamay. Éclat de Granite among the less expensive cuvées and Chez Muron among the more expensive (amphora aged) cuvées.

Thanks for the name. Had not heard of them!
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Sérol is my favorite not-carbonic Gamay. Éclat de Granite among the less expensive cuvées and Chez Muron among the more expensive (amphora aged) cuvées.

Thanks for the name. Had not heard of them!

Appears to be well-distributed in the US.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Sérol is my favorite not-carbonic Gamay. Éclat de Granite among the less expensive cuvées and Chez Muron among the more expensive (amphora aged) cuvées.

Thanks for the name. Had not heard of them!

Éclat de Granite is a house favourite.
 
originally posted by BJ:
Vissoux foursquare? That's a new one.

I also find Vissoux a bit blocky, but like Rahsaan it's been a while.

On a different note, I had a bottle of 2022 LaPierre recently that was delicious.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Sérol is my favorite not-carbonic Gamay. Éclat de Granite among the less expensive cuvées and Chez Muron among the more expensive (amphora aged) cuvées.

Thanks for the name. Had not heard of them!

Éclat de Granite is a house favourite.

Only the rosé petnat and rosé are available locally. I'll have to inquire about the reds. I've liked them in the past, but it has been a while.
 
Back
Top