Mainly '09 Beaujolais: Brun, Thevenet, Lapierre, Breton, Diochon, Sunier and more
Arlequin Wine Merchant, San Francisco, California
Tasted Thursday, November 18, 2010 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,153 views
Introduction
Twenty-nine years ago, when I was a young lawyer in L.A., I co-hosted a "Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé" tasting party with a friend. We bought up all the bottlings of Nouveau we could find, and several bottles of Villages as well. The bottles were pretty--all those Duboeuf flower bottlings--but the wine was pretty dreadful, all bubblegum and banana--and the evening put me off Beaujolais for years. It wasn't until a '97 trip to Lyon, when I discovered the joys of minerally, high acid Beaujolais paired with a weeklong diet of rich Lyonnais food, that I started to appreciate this appellation.
I still loathe Nouveau, which still amounts to 30% of the region's annual production. I have, however, developed great appreciation for Cru Beaujolais, not only from the Kermit Lynch dubbed "Gang of Four," but also from other quality makers. And 2009 has been widely trumpeted as one of the best vintages ever for Beaujolais, so I've been trying to get to all the '09 "Bojo" tastings I can. The biggest one yet was this tasting on the day of this year's release of Nouveau. Arlequin poured 20 wines, including 13 from the '09 vintage, comprising wines of three different distributors (including Kermit Lynch), and 11 different producers.
The six '08s poured weren't bad, but they were light and thin and compared to most of the '09s. The best of the '09s for me were from Jean-Paul Brun (Domaine des Terres Dorées), and Coudert's Clos de la Roilette. Best of all, in this sampling, was the Brun Côte de Brouilly: complex, peppery and structured. It's going to need a couple of years of bottle age to really strut its stuff, but should last for many years.
Flight 1 - 2008s (6 Notes)
Flight 2 - 2009s (13 Notes)
Flight 3 - Sparkling Finish (1 Note)
2008 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
Medium cherry red color with pale meniscus; Jolly Rancher, herbal, mineral nose; tangy, tart currant, Jolly Rancher, herbal, mineral palate; medium finish 88+ pts.
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2008 Georges Descombes Brouilly Vieilles Vignes 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly
Medium dark magenta color with pale meniscus; big, carbonic maceration, herbal, tart currant nose; tight, tart currant, mineral, tart red Jolly Rancher palate with juice; medium finish
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2008 Domaine Diochon Moulin-à-Vent Vieilles Vignes 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent
From magnum - raspberry, currant nose; tasty, tight, tart currant, red fruit palate with medium acidity, needs 3-plus years (at least in this format); medium finish
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2008 Julien Sunier Fleurie 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Light medium red color with clear meniscus; tart red fruit, mineral nose; light bodied, tart red currant, mineral, tart watermelon palate; medium finish
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2008 Julien Sunier Morgon 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon
Medium red color with pale meniscus; carbonic maceration, tart red fruit, tart currant nose; tasty, light-medium bodied, tart red currant, mineral palate with tang and grip; medium finish 88+ pts.
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2008 Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly
Dark cherry red color; plum, currant nose; soft, red currant, red plum, mineral palate; medium finish
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