Cru Beaujolais Tasting - Exploring all the Crus

Some fellow wine lovers got together to do an educational wine tasting of cru beaujolais. There has been a lot of write-ups by NYC wine shops and discussion on wine boards of this as one of the next great value areas for wine lovers, so we decided to do some exploration. Our goal was to get representative bottles from each of the 10 crus. These are pretty easy to source in NYC except for Saint Amour, Chenas and Regnie - where there just are not as many representative sample available. For these three crus we only had one bottle, but for all the others we got to try at least 2-3 bottles. Vintages ranged from 2005- 2015 - with the bulk being more current. Some of the questions we wanted to address and educate ourselves on:

-Differences among the various Crus - which ones stand out?
-Particular producers to be aware of.
-The effects of aging - does it make sense to cellar these wines?
-Generally what is all the fuss about and should I be allocating time or budget to learn and taste more.

I think we accomplished our goals and were able to get a good overall sense of these wines. These were my take aways:

1) Fleurie and Morgon are the two Crus to focus on for those looking to drink, collect or cellar. These wines really stood out as the more serious and interesting examples.
2) Moulin-a-Vent was a bit more disappointing for me - was expecting these to show equally as well and they did not - may have been the selections but they were not standouts
3) The wines may improve with a little bit of age (2-4 years) but too much > 5years (except in the best examples) and they are over the hill - don't sit on these for too long
4) Cru Bojo is a great value (usually less than $25), fresh, fruit forward with lots of acidity and very food friendly - good summer drinking
5) Producers of note from our tasting - Yvon Metras, Marcel LaPierre and Jean Foillard

• 2015 Michel Tête Saint-Amour Les Capitans Domaine du Clos du Fief

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Saint-Amour

  #1 of 21 Cru Bojo tasted - only representative from Saint-Amour which are a bit tougher to find in the U.S. The nose is very tutti-frutti, like cotton candy - has that carbonic-maceration smell to me. On the palate it tastes a bit more serious than the nose would imply - tart cherries, good acidity easy to quaff with food, but not particularly noteworthy. 1 Penny voted by the group, none from me.

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• 2005 Michel Tête Juliénas Domaine du Clos du Fief

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Juliénas

  #2 of 21 Cru Bojo tasted. 1st of two selections from Julienas. The nose on this is full of barnyard funk. On the palate there is not a lot of fruit left - think this one is definitely over the hill. Not sure that most of cru bojos are meant to age this long if this bottle is representative. The group voted 1 penny for this wine, none for me.

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• 2014 Domaine Chignard Juliénas Beauvernay

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Juliénas

  #3 of 21 cru bojo tasted. The second entry from Julienas, much more youthful than the first. This one was very tart on the palate, the acidity seemed it a bit out of balance for me. I think this would have improved if consumed with food. The group voted 1 penny for this wine, none for me.

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• 2014 Stephane Aviron Chénas Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Chénas

  #4 of 21 wines tasted. Another harder to source cru and the only representative wine from Chenas. This was pretty tasty with good balance and no rough edges - an easy quaffer, not as complex as some of the later wines but I preferred it to wines which preceded it in the line-up. The group voted 2 pennies, none from me.

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• 2005 Stephane Aviron Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Exceptionelle Flawed

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  #5 of 21 wines tasted. Unfortunately I think this one was corked - because the nose alone did not allow me to raise the glass up for a taste. However maybe it was just me as some of the group enjoyed it with 2 pennies voted by the group.

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• 2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Moulin-à-Vent

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  # 6 of 21 wines tasted. From magnum. The second of 3 Moulin-a-vents tasted in the line-up. I really enjoyed this one (In the top five of the tasting for me) with a very elegant palate of mature red fruit, minerals and an earthiness. Tried the left overs on day 3 and it was still holding up very nicely. Surprised that the group only voted 1 penny, none from me but it would have been my next choice.

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• 2014 Yohan Lardy Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes de 1903

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent

  #7 of 21 wines tasted. This was nice and enjoyable, elegant tart cherry, but not as expressive at this point as some of the better examples in the line-up. I suspect this will improve with a few years of bottle age. The group voted 0 pennies for this wine.

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• 2006 Yvon Métras Fleurie

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  #8 of 21 wines tasted. From magnum. The first of three Fleurie entries in the line-up and the head and shoulders stand out of the tasting. On the nose some light barnyard funk in a good way. Almost Burgundian tasting with a elegant mature fruit, balanced acidity and that nice complex barnyard funkiness. Overwhelming favorite of the tasting with the group voting 18 pennies - I voted 2 pennies.

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• 2015 Yvon Métras Fleurie

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  #9 of 21 wines tasted. Side by side with it's older sibling (2006), the resemblance was remarkable except for the lack of maturity. This one was bright and fresh where the '06 was more elegant - but all the good bone structure is there. Nose on this has fresh barnyard funk! The palate is bursting with fresh tart cherries. The group's 3rd favorite with 11 pennies voted. Clearly based on the group results of 21 wines - this producer is one to buy - hold some for your cellar and drink some now.

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• 2010 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Griffe du Marquis

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  #10 of 21 wines tasted. Big oaky nose, dark color. On the palate this is the heaviest in body of all the wines tasted today. The fruit has been more extracted her and the presence of oak is detectable which out of the norm. I enjoyed the wine, but I am not sure I would peg this as cru bojo if tasting blind. I think this one confused the group as 0 pennies were voted.

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• 2015 Daniel Bouland Chiroubles Châtenay

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Chiroubles

  #11 of 21 wines tasted and the first of two representing the Chiroubles cru. The nose on this is very tutti-frutti - that carbonic maceration smell too me again. I have enjoyed this before and really loved the 2014, but today this is tasting quite fruity and jammy and not giving as much pleasure. 0 pennies voted by the group.

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• 2014 Domaine Ruet Chiroubles La Fontenelle

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Chiroubles

  #12 of 21 wines tasted. Second of the Chiroubles crus - and the nose is much cleaner and less fruity than the Bouland. On the palate bright cherry flavors, quaffable but not distinctive in the line-up. 0 pennies voted by the group.

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• 2014 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  #13 of 21 wines tasted. The 1st of three Morgons in the line-up. This seemed to have more depth and complexity than many of the other crus - with an earthy minerality, however for me this was the least distinctive of the three Morgons. The group enjoyed this wine with 6 pennies voted, 1 penny voted by me.

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• 2015 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée Marcel Lapierre

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  #14 of 21 wines tasted. 2nd of the 3 cru Morgons and my favorite. In addition to the tart cherry fruit this one had a really distinctive mineral note that added complexity and put it a notch ahead of the others for my taste. This was the group's 2nd favorite wine overall with 14 pennies voted, 1 penny voted by me.

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• 2015 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  #15 of 21 wines tasted. The 3rd of the 3 crus Morgons and my 2nd favorite of this grouping. Really quite delicious with red fruit and that nice minerality. Would enjoy drinking this again. The group voted 3 pennies with 1 voted by me.

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• 2014 Xavier Benier Régnié

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Régnié

  #16 of 21 wines tasted. The only representative from Regnie - another of the harder to source crus. This was most similar to the Chenas in style, a bit smoother with lower city, quite approachable and easy to drink. Not terribly complex, but very quaffable. The group voted 2 pennies for this wine, none voted by me.

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• 2010 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Côte de Brouilly

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly

  #17 of 21 wines tasted. The first of 3 Cote de Brouillys. This one seemed to be past its prime with very little fruit left, not too lively or much going on here - suspect this was not meant to age more than 5 years. The group voted 0 pennies for this wine.

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• 2015 Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly Cuvée La Chapelle

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly

  #18 of 21 wines tasted. The 2nd of the Cote de Brouilly selections. The color is quite dark, on the palate very bright, tart fruit - fresh tasting and would be better with food. Not a lot of complexity yet, but may improve with a couple years of cellar time. The group voted 0 pennies for this wine.

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• 2015 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Côte de Brouilly

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly

  #19 of 21 wines tasted. The 3rd Cote de Brouilly and 5 year younger version of the first wine. Clearly a similar profile but much more fresh, alive and very tart. I think the sweet spot of these might be 2-4 years of age to promote some softening but without losing all of the freshness. The group voted 0 pennies for this wine.

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• 2015 Pierre-Marie Chermette Brouilly Pierreux

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly

  #20 of 21 wines tasted. The first of 2 Brouilly selections. Minimal notes on this one - but at this point it did not stand out for me from the pack in any distinctive manner. The group voted 1 penny for this wine, no pennies from me.

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• 2013 Château de La Chaize Brouilly Vieilles Vignes

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly

  #21 of 21 wines tasted. The 2nd and final of the Brouilly selections and last wine of the tasting. Lots of barnyard stink on the nose here. On the palate a bit more complexity from the couple years of bottle age - a bit interesting but not as compelling as the Morgons or Fleuries. The group voted 3 pennies for this wine, none from me.

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All wines were tasted non-blind. We voted on the wines at the end of the tasting, using the 5 penny vote system. Each voter is given 5 pennies to spend anyway they choose. These were the overall group voting results:

18 pennies - Wine #8 - 2006 Yvon Métras Fleurie - from magnum
14 pennies - Wine #14 - 2015 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée MMXIV
11 pennies - Wine #9 - 2015 Yvon Métras Fleurie
6 pennies - Wine #13 - 2014 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette
3 pennies - Wine #15 - 2015 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py
3 pennies - Wine #21 - 2013 Château de La Chaize Brouilly Vieilles Vignes
2 pennies - Wine #4 - 2014 Stephane Aviron Chénas Vieilles Vignes
2 pennies - Wine #5 - 2005 Potel-Aviron Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes Cuvee Exceptionelle
2 pennies - Wine #16 -2014 Xavier Benier Régnié
1 penny - Wine #1 - 2015 Michel Tête Saint-Amour Les Capitans Domaine du Clos du Fief
1 penny - Wine #2 - 2005 Michel Tête Juliénas Domaine du Clos du Fief
1 penny - Wine #3 - 2014 Domaine Chignard Juliénas Beauvernay
1 penny - Wine #6 - 2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Moulin-à-Vent
1 penny - Wine #20 -2015 Domaine du Vissoux / Pierre-Marie Chermette Brouilly Pierreux

A lot of fun was had and I think we all learned quite a bit.