Vissoux

Happy to hear that.

I've found the mature-ish Garants to have a personality distinct from those of the other Vissou crus - Trois Roche, Poncié. It's leaner, lither, zippier and, in youth, less fruit-heavy. Why it's my favorite.

Finding one of my bottles of 2011 is now priority.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
My experience has been that these wines can be rich in fruit (plush) in youth (especially the Poncié, though not the Garants) but, like most very good cru Beaujolais (and other wines) they shut down, passing through a kind of garbagy-to-dumb phase, to emerge on the other side a very different wine: refined, even silky fruit and tannins, supported by palate-cleansing acidity.

The cru Beaujolais I've tasted in this mature stage are comparable in style and quality to some villages and premier cru Burgundies of my acquaintance, though different in flavors-aromas. I've yet to taste one where the Gamay 'pinoters,' in the sense of tasting like Burgundy.
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i believe that the tern used in beaujolais for aged gamay that has become pinot noir-like is 'pinotase', a term which in beaujolais is considered derogatory, as they would rather have their wines taste of gamay. read 'the art of eating' issue with jean-paul brun on the cover for more on this.
 
"Pinotase" - good, thanks.

I don't subscribe to The Art of Eating, but my disquisition on the virtues of aged Beaujolais wines, in any event, explicitly does not praise them for presenting like Pinot, except perhaps in texture. The mature Beaujolais I've tasted very much have their own, distinctive, Gamey-derived flavors and aromas.

I can enjoy Beaujolais young and old; however, tasting a good cru that has undergone the transformation I'm describing is worthwhile for the experience alone - the change in character is really arresting, and the resulting wine can be of startlingly high quality.
 
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I'm a fan. Blocky is just about the last word I'd use to describe them. They are plush and satiny, easy to like. I can see people who want their Beaujolais with more ripping structure finding them perhaps too slutty.
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When borrowing Nathan's term, I mean blocky in the sense of foursquare, rather than in a structural sense. You may be right that they're a little plush for my palate.
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Blocky and foursquare mean pretty much the same thing to me, but I still don't see how it applies to these. Plush and foursquare strike me as mutually exclusive.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I'm a fan. Blocky is just about the last word I'd use to describe them. They are plush and satiny, easy to like. I can see people who want their Beaujolais with more ripping structure finding them perhaps too slutty.
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When borrowing Nathan's term, I mean blocky in the sense of foursquare, rather than in a structural sense. You may be right that they're a little plush for my palate.
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Blocky and foursquare mean pretty much the same thing to me, but I still don't see how it applies to these. Plush and foursquare strike me as mutually exclusive.
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I meant foursquare in terms of flavor, not structure. I think that was the point of departure. Anyway, I think we're describing the same wine. Again, thanks to all for the feedback.
 
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
Okie, but what does it mean for a flavor to be blocky?
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To me, without much nuance or subtlety.
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I'd agree with this, but to me it also implies a wine with some density, structure or thickness on the palate. Probably due to the visual imagery of a block. For example, I wouldn't call a lean, simple-flavored Sauvignon Blanc "blocky".
 
my favorite thing about vissoux is the discovery of nicole chanrion. A wd lurker and I once took the train up to see the view from the cellar guy, carrying every single bottle of 2009 vissoux (just released) that we could get our hands on. We wanted to taste them all, and figured might as well get a professional opinion. As we are finishing the line-up, we spot a third-full 2008(yes, not a typo) dom de la voute des crozes that had been opened a couple of days earlier, and the host generously offers a taste. With all the problems of that vintage, and with all the (apparent?) lack thereof in 2009s at the time, it was the wine of the evening.
 
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