2005 Morgons

My friend O. has the cellar full of Beaujolais from many, many vintages. But one of the vintages he has the most of is 2005. In our monthly Beaujolais round, he proposed to taste some 2005 Morgons and gave us the choice of two different bottlings from three different producers, five different Côte du Pys or just a mixed bag. We went for the mixed bag. All wines had been standing up for a few days and were served at cellar temperature (around 15° C) from Riedel Montrachet glasses.

• 2005 Armand et Richard Chatelet Morgon Cuvée du Père Claude 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Purplish red. Blackberry and cassis in the nose as well as black cherry, the fruit seems slightly confected. Very agreeable, not very ckomplex. In the mouth, it's quite rich with slightly rustic tannin, hints of alcohol, medium acidity, cherry again and a nice juiciness. Fairly short finish. While this is definitely not great, it's a very agreeable Morgon that drinks well with Paté.

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• 2005 Domaine Pierre Savoye Morgon Côte du Py Vieilles Vignes 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Light, transparent ruby red. Floral in the nose with violet notes, fruit on the red side (raspberry, strawberry, red cherry), hints of oak. On the palate, it's structured, but overall light with very fine, slightly tart fruit, the texture is crisp. Quite long finish. Great Morgon that I may have taken as a Fleurie or Chiroubles blind.

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• 2005 Domaine de la Côte des Charmes Morgon Les Charmes Vieilles Vignes 83 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Cherry red. In the nose, it's a bit dusty with slightly muted fruit (cherry, blackberry), a bit herbal, almonds as well. In the mouth, it's a bit sharp from the alcohol, it quickly breaks away and is not 100% harmonic. With food, this is definitely ok and a decent drink, but it's nothing I need to cellar.

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• 2005 Dominique Piron Morgon Côte du Py 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Full cherry red. In the nose, there's some reduction at first and some barnyard, but this goes away. It gets finer and finer, more and more expressive, there's some tar, there's clear black cherry fruit, it's more linear than expansive. In the mouth, there's some CO² at first, but also this goes away, fairly strong tannin, some tar again, very mineralic, long and round in the finish. At first, this was quite similar to a Northern Rhône Syrah, but it gained in Morgon profil with every minute. A great bottle of Morgon.

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• 2005 Louis Claude Desvignes Morgon Javernières 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Second bottle in one year. Medium to dark ruby red. In the nose, this is much more open than the last bottle, very elegant and complex, slightly spicy, cherries as well, harmonic, sensual and fine. On the palate, it's full, harmonic, spicy again, very young still, again quite complex and complete as well. Fine acidity, finely woven tannin that is very present though. The finish starts with slight bitter notes, but then moves towards minerality and tart cherry notes. Super long. Marvellous.

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• 1971 Raymond Bordier Vouvray Demi-Sec 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Golden yellow. In the nose, this is quite typical with waxy and wooly notes, tropical fruit, mirabelle and reineclaude, some lemon and lime zest as well as tobacco. Quite complex, really. In the mouth, it's not very sweet, has medium plus acidity, yellow wine gum notes and a long and fresh finish. Has held really well.

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The tasting showed again that 2005 is a long-lived and simply excellent Beaujolais vintage. The good wines (of which there are many) have ripe, but not overripe fruit, tannins that are present, but of good quality, just the right amount of acidity. Also the wines from the lesser known producers we had in the tasting drank decently and were - if not very complex - at least not over the hill. I simply adored the Desvignes Côte du Py Javernières, a wine that's made not for eternity, but that should show well over the next five or six years. The Piron was a bit untypical at first, but became better and better with time. I also really liked the Pierre Savoye Morgon Côte du Py VV. I didn't know the producer before, but I liked the light and red-fruited, yet structured style.