2003 & 2005 Desvignes Javernières and a Burgundian Moulin-à-Vent
Tasted October 9, 2013 by octopussy with 338 views
Introduction
Yesterday, I met up with some Bojo friends to catch up on a few things and drink a few glasses of wine. We all brought a bottle without saying what we would bring, but - surprise, surprise - all brought a bottle of Beaujolais Cru and - really a surprise - two of these were Louis-Claude Desvignes Morgon Côte du Py Javernières (2003 and 2005). This gave us the opportunity to try two mildly aged bottles side by side.
Flight 1 (3 notes)
Since I had transported my bottle of Javernières 2003 on the bike in the morning to the office and in the evening to my friend's house, it seems like a lot of sediment was whirled up as the wine was slightly cloudy. This didn't impair tasting the wine though. We started with the 2005, which was tight and compact as most 2005 Beaujolais Crus from the quality producers are right now. It was already a pleasure to drink, but my guess is that it'll take at least three more years until a wine like this really opens up. The 2003 was ready to drink. It was much less jammy than I had expected, reminded me of Morey St. Denis a lot. Actually, the similarities to the 2005 were only slight. I guess we wouldn't have guessed that it's the same wine from different vintages if we had drank it blind. I loved the 2003 though. It's back-aroma of bay leaves and juniper was simply spectacular. I still have a bottle of it, but I won't wait too long with drinking it. I suspect that it won't get better and will only go downhill from this point.
After the two Desvignes, we had a bottle of 2009 Moulin-à-Vent VV from Thibault Liger-Belair. I had only tried the 2010 VV before. Even though I'm aware that Thibault has a pretty rich and ripe style, I really like it for what it is. Especially, I like his less expensive bottles like the Bourgogne Grands Chaillots and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits wines. The 2009 Moulin-à-Vent VV is quite similar to the 2010 in that it is very typical for Thibault's style and not so typical for Moulin-à-Vent. Like quite a few others in the village, Thibault produces his Moulin-à-Vents in a Burgundian style without maceration carbonique. I think it's aged in 100% used barriques. What I like about the wine is that - while it's typical for the winegrower's style - there's at least something that shows that it's a Gamay and not Pinot Noir. And that little something adds to the charm. I think though that this bottle should receive at least another five or six years of cellar time. It's good to drink now, but there is so much more to come judging from its structure.