The Beaujolais TN thread

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Pretty impressed by the '23 Source d'Agape St. Amour Petit Besset. New wave Beaujolais, a bit naturelle, but without brett or VA. Pretty dense and spicey, but with enough Gamay glou to keep the sips coming.
 
Several lovely glasses of 2023 Michel Tête Juliénas Tradition that were delicate, crisp, ripe and flavorful. I've struggled to understand this producer in the past (and just last week had a funky 05 at the Riesling/Beaujolais study) but this was all good.
 
Yesterday and today I drank through a bottle of Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2023 Fleurie "Cuvee Tardive": spritely acidity, just-so ripeness, mid-weight on the palate, cran-cherry as you might expect young gamay to be, pleasure in every drop.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Yesterday and today I drank through a bottle of Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2023 Fleurie "Cuvee Tardive": spritely acidity, just-so ripeness, mid-weight on the palate, cran-cherry as you might expect young gamay to be, pleasure in every drop.
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Glad to hear about the evolution. Flavors were much richer last year, but this all sounds positive.
 
I love Beaujolais but somehow it still manages to take me by surprise when it's been a while and the bottle is overflowing with joyous pleasure.

Tonight that honor went to the 2022 Guy Breton Morgon VV. From the beginning, such gorgeous fresh light red strawberry fruit, with crystal cut but also juicy modern 2022 body. Not a light weight wine in absolute terms (13.5% quand même), but lighter and more delicate than their peer Morgon wines. And so perfect with dinner.

10-15 years ago, the Breton lightness was less exciting. But now, I may need to revisit this domaine in a world of over-done wines...
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
I love Beaujolais but somehow it still manages to take me by surprise when it's been a while and the bottle is overflowing with joyous pleasure.

Tonight that honor went to the 2022 Guy Breton Morgon VV. From the beginning, such gorgeous fresh light red strawberry fruit, with crystal cut but also juicy modern 2022 body. Not a light weight wine in absolute terms (13.5% quand même), but lighter and more delicate than their peer Morgon wines. And so perfect with dinner.

10-15 years ago, the Breton lightness was less exciting. But now, I may need to revisit this domaine in a world of over-done wines...
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Gtk, his wines are always on my radar, and age well too.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
... and age well too.
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Also Gtk. I was thinking about that, as I remember having some aged Breton but then this bottle made me think the lighter style might be better suited for drinking young (felt perfect last night) compared to Foillard/Descombes. Although it did deepen a bit as it aired.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
10-15 years ago, the Breton lightness was less exciting.
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Yeah, well, the wines were often less than clean. Sometimes, upleasantly so. Alas, I just cannot do 13,5% ABV beaujolais. To me, that is not fresh and light.
 
originally posted by mark e:
Alas, I just cannot do 13,5% ABV beaujolais. To me, that is not fresh and light.
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Yes, as I said, in absolute terms, we are still in the modern world. But the relative stylistic difference to Foillard/Descombes was striking.

And I do remember Breton/Thévenet being the less clean/less reliable ones, which is why for so long I avoided them both.
 
originally posted by mark e:
originally posted by Rahsaan:
10-15 years ago, the Breton lightness was less exciting.
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Yeah, well, the wines were often less than clean. Sometimes, upleasantly so. Alas, I just cannot do 13,5% ABV beaujolais. To me, that is not fresh and light.
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Yesterday, I was looking at some bottles of '23 Coudert Tardive and '22 Coudert Griffe: 14% abv.

Ouch.
 
'23 Tardive was a high-octane chocolatey powerplay last year, very far from fresh or light. Although I did enjoy it, as a different expression (which I didn't need to buy in quantity).
 
Opened my next-to-last bottle of '09 Brun Cote de Brouilly (12.5%). This wine is by no means over the top or too ripe. I am shocked (pleasantly) by the acidity which may be what's keeping it in check. If I was served this blind, I'm pretty damned sure that I wouldn't guess the vintage. Terrific wine.
 
originally posted by Larry Stein:
Opened my next-to-last bottle of '09 Brun Cote de Brouilly (12.5%). This wine is by no means over the top or too ripe. I am shocked (pleasantly) by the acidity which may be what's keeping it in check. If I was served this blind, I'm pretty damned sure that I wouldn't guess the vintage. Terrific wine.
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Ooh, I have a couple of those still. Adding to the pull list...
 
originally posted by Larry Stein:
Opened my next-to-last bottle of '09 Brun Cote de Brouilly (12.5%). This wine is by no means over the top or too ripe. I am shocked (pleasantly) by the acidity which may be what's keeping it in check. If I was served this blind, I'm pretty damned sure that I wouldn't guess the vintage. Terrific wine.
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Bad news, depending on how you want to look at it. That was one of the best 09s on release imho. :-)
 
15 years ago, I used to drink more of the wines from Domaine du Vissoux, but then I moved to NC and they weren't available and I lost touch. Back in Nyc, I reconnected with the 2023 Pierre-Marie Chermette Brouilly Pierreux and it's a ripe raw young wine, evoking the sun of 2023. Goes very well with my late-summer robust farmers market cooking - cod in fresh tomato/olive sauce, sauteed jimmy nardellos and kale, roasted potatoes and basil - it was really perfect.

With air, a bit of the underlying mineral precision is apparent, but it's always young juicy and layered. Promising, so I suppose I should buy more to track it.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
15 years ago, I used to drink more of the wines from Domaine du Vissoux, but then I moved to NC and they weren't available and I lost touch. Back in Nyc, I reconnected with the 2023 Pierre-Marie Chermette Brouilly Pierreux and it's a ripe raw young wine, evoking the sun of 2023. Goes very well with my late-summer robust farmers market cooking - cod in fresh tomato/olive sauce, sauteed jimmy nardellos and kale, roasted potatoes and basil - it was really perfect.

With air, a bit of the underlying mineral precision is apparent, but it's always young juicy and layered. Promising, so I suppose I should buy more to track it.
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Nice!
 
originally posted by mark e:
Alas, I just cannot do 13,5% ABV beaujolais. To me, that is not fresh and light.
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I'm sure you've read it, but I was flipping through Adventures on the Wine Route again today and came across some great lines that made me think of you. In particular: "When the alcohol content rises above 12 degrees, it is no longer Beaujolais."

Although, when he wrote, the big sin was chaptalization, whereas these days the sun does much of the work. And great quotes from Chauvet about how the Beaujolais of 9% and 10% in the 1930s went out of fashion once 1945 and 1947 showed people how rich it could be naturally, then they wanted 13% and 14% every year.
 
Honestly, I think it is a case of reality. Most classic Beaujolais producers aren't spoofing, they're vinifying what comes at them. I think we are all having a dawning realization that the Beaujolais of not long ago is for the most part not what it now is.

In the hierarchy of climate concerns, probably far down the list, but still lamentable.
 
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