A thought on Beaujolais

I am not sure Burgundy should be excluded. But there is a question of net effect - what are the market forces that influence Burgundy, and will the winemakers be ultimately pushed back by the consumers?

Having taken the fatboy correspondence course, I am withholding details, but I felt like some people tried to make "2005s" in 2006, to justify the prices, the hype, whatever.
 
I think Claude's right, too; B'x is a more apt model than B'y for a dystopic vision of what could happen if Beaujolais experiences a sustained upswing in demand. I wasn't completely serious and know next to nothing about the growers, anyway. But the supply-demand relationship is well-understood, and nothing messes with people's minds like lot of ambient money.

It's the print writers (and 'points guys') who lead the charge of popularization; board chat just helps to move the word along efficiently.
 
I think Claude raises an excellent point.
I imagine that some winemakers start making their wine from the point of view of the grapes. These are the grapes they have and this is the wine they will make based on the type of year it was. Others, it seems, start from the point of view of the end product. This is the wine they want, regardless of the grapes they have, and now they will do what they have to to produce that wine.
This is the potential downside of a successful vintage in our time. Most of the world wants the familiar and gets upset when it changes. Think Dylan going electric. I tend to appreciate winemakers who do what Monk did, keep making their own music, regardless of popular opinion. This is easy for me to say, as my living is not dependent on making wine. It took me a long time to appreciate that wines weren't supposed to taste the same vintage to vintage, and if they did I was probably missing something.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
I am not sure Burgundy should be excluded. But there is a question of net effect - what are the market forces that influence Burgundy, and will the winemakers be ultimately pushed back by the consumers?

Having taken the fatboy correspondence course, I am withholding details, but I felt like some people tried to make "2005s" in 2006, to justify the prices, the hype, whatever.
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The reason Burgundy isn't a model is because people in the major Cte d'Or appellations get so much already for their wines that they have the luxury and liberty to make whatever pleases them with the knowledge that they will sell it and at a good price. People in the other appellations, such as the Hautes Ctes and the Cte Chalonnaise, don't have the option of trying to make big style wines because they still struggle in many years to get the ripeness that would be necessary.
 
originally posted by Brad Widelock:
I think Claude raises an excellent point.
I imagine that some winemakers start making their wine from the point of view of the grapes. These are the grapes they have and this is the wine they will make based on the type of year it was. Others, it seems, start from the point of view of the end product. This is the wine they want, regardless of the grapes they have, and now they will do what they have to to produce that wine.
This is the potential downside of a successful vintage in our time. Most of the world wants the familiar and gets upset when it changes. Think Dylan going electric. I tend to appreciate winemakers who do what Monk did, keep making their own music, regardless of popular opinion. This is easy for me to say, as my living is not dependent on making wine. It took me a long time to appreciate that wines weren't supposed to taste the same vintage to vintage, and if they did I was probably missing something.
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yes. exactly.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
I've been scouting around for 07s since this tread was spun. Actually, since BJ began 'popularizing' them a few months ago :).
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Huh. I thought Cory was the one who had brought the fire down from the mountain.

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originally posted by Brézème:
Bravo Claude.

Chauvet clearly had the same analysis about 1947 50 years ago. And he was right.
BTW the 2009 hype seems to be limited to North America. And a very few growers are exporting to these markets.
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Really? Who am I to question Brezeme, but the Beaujolais growers I talked to this summer were falling all over themselves about the 09s...to a person.
 
originally posted by Brad Widelock:
I think Claude raises an excellent point.
I imagine that some winemakers start making their wine from the point of view of the grapes. These are the grapes they have and this is the wine they will make based on the type of year it was. Others, it seems, start from the point of view of the end product. This is the wine they want, regardless of the grapes they have, and now they will do what they have to to produce that wine.
This is the potential downside of a successful vintage in our time. Most of the world wants the familiar and gets upset when it changes. Think Dylan going electric. I tend to appreciate winemakers who do what Monk did, keep making their own music, regardless of popular opinion. This is easy for me to say, as my living is not dependent on making wine. It took me a long time to appreciate that wines weren't supposed to taste the same vintage to vintage, and if they did I was probably missing something.
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While I agree with Monk (and you), I also see that people have to make a living and, in a market which has contracted in size and acceptable price point, I would not fault a winemaker for becoming result oriented, particularly in Beaujolais where no one makes a lot of money to begin with (on the small producer end).
That said, I think such a decision short-sighted and, in time, counter-productive. But that doesn't make it wrong.
The market will out . . .
Best, Jim
 
Don't get me wrong 2009 IS a great vintage.
As Claude said "un millsime exceptionnel".

So, at least in France, people who didn't care for beaujolais so far are not massively turning to it.
I have seen on other boards SQN/KB fans who are now raving about Lapierre!!!
Will they still do next year? And the years after?
There is no chase for 2009 Bojos. I wasn't urged by any wine retailer to buy the-3-last-Foillard-before-it's-gone.
07s from good producers are at least as rewarded as 09s.
2010 is coming and every beaujolais drinker is waiting for it as they did in the past.
And may I say that some (rare and shy, I admit) voices whisper that, after all, some of these wines are not showing that well now, and might in the future but balance?
Of course I am not one of them.
Just what I heard. And not from close friends of course. Beer drinkers probably...
 
If anyone is still looking for 2007s in the current market, Kermit Lynch has a few Foillard 3.14s left in the Berkeley shop. I took a few but haven't tried one yet.
 
I don't know about you guys, but 2010 Napa was superb this year (cabbage that is). So back up the truck and fill your cellars with kimchi stuffed onggi. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onggi

My mother's kimchi was atypically phenomenal...which is even more shocking because she had to spoof this year's batch by replacing the shrimp with anchovies in the brining solution to accommodate my sister's fiance's shellfish allergy. O tempora, o mores.

Crisp, yet chewy. Bright, and long on the finish with vibrant saline notes. But, it was lacking...a certain je ne sais quois. I just wish it could have been a bit brinier...a little truer to the sea, but I guess we didn't want the guy to go to the emergency room. C'est la vie.

2010 for Napa Cabbage in the States...un millesime exceptionnel. Think '82 Bordeaux, '07 S. Rhone, and, dare I say it, '09 Beaujolais. Game changing...personally I think we need to hire Michel Rolland. With a little reverse osmosis, I'm sure every year from now on will be a 2010.

But skip 2010 kimchi in Korea. Abysmal, nasty, thin in the midpalate and totally lacking in finish. I'm 73 points on it.

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originally posted by BJ:
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
I've been scouting around for 07s since this tread was spun. Actually, since BJ began 'popularizing' them a few months ago :).
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Huh. I thought Cory was the one who had brought the fire down from the mountain.

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winedisorder.com
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I've been banging the drum for a while...

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Moses!
 
Shit, I thought Don Rice had invented 2007 Beaujolais while resting from his labors inventing Vouvray.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
I've been scouting around for 07s since this tread was spun. Actually, since BJ began 'popularizing' them a few months ago :).
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Huh. I thought Cory was the one who had brought the fire down from the mountain.

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winedisorder.com
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You, Cory, and Brad all open interesting doors with your notes. You should be getting percentages of the subscription fees!

But I hope your livers aren't being eaten diurnally as payback.
 
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