Wine Impressions 9-6-18

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Unlike other appellations, it seems to me rather odd that people are discussing favorite Bojo producers without separating them into the semi-carbonic and conventional fermentation camps.
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Parent-child relationships aside, is there a list?
 
originally posted by Brian C:
originally posted by VLM:


No suffering.

I like Foillard just fine, but Coudert, Desvignes and, for me, Descombes are 95% of the Beaujolais I cellar. I guess I sub Descombes for Foillard because they're easier to find and I find them roughly equivalent in style and temperament.
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Curious, VLM, do you cellar Descombes for very long? He's long been my favorite producer but I tend to want to drink them younger than Coudert or Desvignes.
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Not really. Down to my last bottles of 2010-2012. The 2013 and 2014 are starting to drink, although not where the 2011 and the best bottles of 2010 are.

FWIW, I opened a 2013 Coudert Tardive the other night in a WTF moment. It was OK, but too closed for me, so I opened something else. 2015 Descombes Morgon VV, which was too young, but drank better than the Coudert.
 
originally posted by BJ:
I am just going to throw down the gauntlet here and say there's a little too much close mindedness around here when it comes to Beaujolais. It's a big old world out there.
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Rahsaan and I talked about this the other day. I simply haven't had the bandwidth to get to know wines I don't already know. I've got a young guy taking the reigns at the restaurant and since all of the wines that generally get mentioned have become tightly allocated, it is his job to go out and try the Sunier's, etc. of the world. I'm looking forward to seeing what he digs up since I've been raising him on the aforementioned wines but his palate is young and still developing.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Unlike other appellations, it seems to me rather odd that people are discussing favorite Bojo producers without separating them into the semi-carbonic and conventional fermentation camps.
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Parent-child relationships aside, is there a list?
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Not that I know of. Would love to know who else, besides Brun and the Jadot crus, are not semi-carbonic. Sure there are plenty, and may explain why some tastes differ.
 
Isn't Apinost fully non-carbonic? (Speaking of some of the greatest Beaujolais, easily). Coincidentally from limestone, as is Brun's L'Ancien.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
As a result, I prefer teh Bojolay that is, or tastes, conventionally macerated and, as a corollary, despise the vulgar, fruity, glou glou carbonic versions that are eager to please and, by inference, lacking in self-esteem."
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I don't know that I would describe Métras as lacking in self-esteem.
 
originally posted by fillay:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
As a result, I prefer teh Bojolay that is, or tastes, conventionally macerated and, as a corollary, despise the vulgar, fruity, glou glou carbonic versions that are eager to please and, by inference, lacking in self-esteem."
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I don't know that I would describe Métras as lacking in self-esteem.
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Depends on the metric.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
Isn't Apinost fully non-carbonic? (Speaking of some of the greatest Beaujolais, easily). Coincidentally from limestone, as is Brun's L'Ancien.
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You can still buy Bruno Debize wine? I’m jealous, those are special.
 
I generally think along the lines of VLM above, including bandwidth and resource limitations. Except VLM knows Descombes in a way I do not. And he does not live in NYC, where geeky folks may be more exposed (VLM?) to an embarrassment of spoils of geeky (and often tasty and sometimes complex) Beaujolais, most of it semi-carbonic, through respected fellow geeks.

Despite general open-mindedness toward new wine experiences, none of this changes, or has changed, my own m.o. when it comes to what I buy for my own cellar. Which isn’t much any more. For my cellar I’m potentially looking at Coudert and Desvignes because I have consistently liked their interesting development with bottle age. I’m also happy and open-minded to enjoy an older bottle from someone else if someone else pours it for me, including you all folks who tend to drink and cellar more Beaujolais than I do.
 
FWIW, I've grown pretty excited about Chignard over the last couple of vintages, as a producer outside the circle of usual suspects.
 
originally posted by Brian C:
FWIW, I've grown pretty excited about Chignard over the last couple of vintages, as a producer outside the circle of usual suspects.
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Chignard was actually a formative Beaujolais for me, along with Chanrion and the Gang of 4 as KL was my first introduction. Chignard seems sort of a middle ground between a Descombes/Foillard style and a more serious Coudert/Desvignes style. Sappy and well fruited, but with nice mineral tang. You don't really need to age it, but you can if you want.
 
Desvignes uses Burgundian vinification. Desvignes to me is most similar to the Jadot Beaujolais. However, I have yet to drink a Jadot Beaujolais I really care for.

I am going to admit something I am pretty embarrassed by. I did not know Jean Paul vinifies non semi carbonic. I have visited him twice at the domaine and somehow that past me by - perhaps a language thing. I would believe the l'Ancien is Burgundian style given its density, but not the cru's - they seem like semi carbonic given their freshness and fruitiness. It gives me even more respect than before that he is getting that result.
 
You better believe the Rosenthal Beaujolais are great, though we generally rarely see them in Seattle. Ed Addiss used to have a great Beaujolais book until the growers formed some kind of cooperative, but I am sure the three he has now are solid.

We stayed in Regnie in a gite a decade or so ago for a couple weeks. It was owned by one the hundreds of growers in the crus. We tasted his stuff, it was all solid, and he had one centenarian cuvee that was totally top tier, gorgeous. I asked him if he ever thought about exporting and he said he didn't know how and asked if I really thought anyone in outside of the area would be interested in his wines. I have the feeling that story can probably be writ large dozens of times. We know the wines of LD, KL, and Chambers because that's our little world. I'm not saying those producers are the same as all the others, they are top tier, but it is a large pool. Walk into any of the cru village communal tasting rooms - there are dozens and dozens of producers and cuvees to try.
 
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