Illuminating Beaujolais Tasting-2007 to 2009

• 2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Medium depth. Caramel, spice and brambly red fruit. Very fresh and alive with spice, sap and zingy but well incorporated acidity. Really a great bottle showing beautifully. This got the tasting off to a flying start, and in fact, this held up in my mind as one of the best in this fantastic flight. Extremely Burgundian impression.

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• 2008 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Compared to the Cote de Py that preceded it, a very different expression of Morgon. Earthy and slightly vegetal aromatics, but the red fruit appears and balances this on the palate. Interesting and already complex, very good length. The one other time I had this, I thought it was too weedy, but today it was easier to discern the underlying fruit.

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• 2009 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvée Corcelette

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Obviously darker and riper than the '08. Whereas in that vintage, it leads with the soil, here the initial impression is all deep black cherry fruit and some olive. Some earthiness is injected into the finish. Much to my surprise, the earlier vintage was more to my taste today, as this came across as clunky and formless due to low acidity. It does have great stuffing, and it will be interesting to see if it settles down and becomes more shapely with age. As the first 2009 in the series, this poignantly showed the potential down sides of this very ripe vintage in comparison with '07 and '08 wines from the same producer.

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• 2007 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée Marcel Lapierre

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Very complex nose with some VA and funk. High toned fragrance that few of the '09s today had. Lovely elegant feel. Spicy, lively, and delicious with penetrating acidity and a higher dose of soil than the 2009 version. This continues to be marvelous, although I hope that there is no explosion of brett as it ages.

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• 2009 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Cuvée Marcel Lapierre

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon

  Easy to appreciate that this is much more saturated and deep than the 2007. Purer black cherry fruit on the nose as well as an element of florality, but not nearly as perfumed as the older wine. Big wine in Beaujolais terms but this has brighter supporting acidity than the '09 Foillard wine and there is an intriguing blood orange top note. Third time tasted, and today it was easier than before to feel confident that it will be stupendous, but it is going to need time.

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• 2008 Julien Sunier Fleurie

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  Pale. Pretty nose of faded roses. Earthy and tart, good acidity, some carbonic maceration notes. Short finish. This is ok but not in the same league as most of the other wines.

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• 2009 Julien Sunier Fleurie

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  As with all of these 2009s compared to the '08s, immediately obvious step up in color. Ripe dark red fruit with additional licorice. Fuller bodied melange of red and black fruit. Fairly lively and crisp in this context and more focused on the palate than the nose would suggest. Layered and really good with a significant slug of tannin on the end. Quite a step up from the previous vintage. Hopefully, this young producer will follow this upward trajectory. This wine is very promising.

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• 2007 Jean Foillard Fleurie

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie

  Intoxicating, amazing array of cinnamon and Asian spices. In addition to vibrant red fruit, there is even some spiced apple. Electric acidity makes it very crisp without the slightest impression of tartness due to its beautiful fruit. Absolutely thrilling wine exhibiting little weight but great expansion of flavors in the mouth. In a way, the most essential Beaujolais of all of these wines.

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• 2008 Guy Breton Régnié

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Régnié

  Lighter color. This shares the more vegetal rather than fruit aromas with the 2008 Foillard. Black fruit, not overly tart. We all agreed that this was the most bland, least interesting wine in this line up.

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• 2009 Jean Paul & Charly Thevenet Régnié Grain & Granit

  France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Régnié

  Very attractive blackberry and creosote. Big, lush wine, like blackberry liqueur on the entry but sufficient structure and acidity to keep it from being too much. Not my favorite wine and still seems like too much of a good thing in its weight and extraction for Beaujolais, but a much better showing than during my one previous experience with it. Maybe it will come together after all.

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It was extraordinarily enlightening to taste through these wines with both a horizontal and vertical component. In terms of vintages, 2007 continues to hold extremely well and impress with the lightness, focus, and intensity of the best wines. If anything, this may be an underrated year. As for the 2008s, I find too many bottles with dilution, muddled fruit, and underripe green notes. For many people, 2009 wines will be the real crowd pleasers-accessible early and full of fruit. Next to the '07s, however, the question for some of these wines is where is the delicacy and focus? That said, when a top producer got it right in 2009, the results promise to be spectacular if the wines are given time and do not die a non-sulfured death before reaching maturity.

By producer, Foillard hit a home run with both of his '07s. This seems to be a perfect match of vintage and producer. Both of the old vine bottlings from Lapierre are also profound bottles of Beaujolais that perfectly reflect the strengths of their two respective vintages. I would also be remiss if I did not comment on the quality of the entire set of wines across the board and the impression that many of these bottles are great candidates for significant aging.

Bravo, Terroir for putting together such a great set of natural wines.