Vissouxtudes

Chermette “Domaine du Vissoux” 2004 Beaujolais “Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Traditionnelle” (Beaujolais) – A cellar orphan, buried (due to its ridiculously and incomprehensibly fat bottle shape) under things that were guaranteed to reward aging. It’s not like I regularly hold basic Beaujolais – other than the shouldery Brun, perhaps – for this long very often. That said, it’s doing quite well, though I certainly wouldn’t hold it any longer in the hopes of anything positive. There’s brett, there’s volatile acidity, there’s spritz…a bit of a parody of “natural,” the cynic in me muses…and drying cherry, but there’s more than enough of the essential, fun, spiky fruit this had in its youth to have said that the accidental aging, while not a “success” as such, was also no failure. Call it a teachable moment. (10/11)

Cast the last stone

Lapierre 2002 Morgon (Beaujolais) – Brett, volatility, fizz, and particulate sludge through which a strobe light is pulsing its vivid signal. Were the fruit identifiable any longer, it would be bright red and cranberry-ish, but the various natural-wine bugbears are on full display. And yet, not impenetrably so; despite not much liking brett and loathing volatile acidity, I kind of like this. No reason to hold it past about three years ago, though. (10/11)

Old, really old, no really...

Brun “Terres Dorées” 2005 Beaujolais “l’Ancien Vieilles Vignes” (Beaujolais) – Muscular, but I’m not sure there’s much flesh to the musculature anymore. Or maybe this is just a really long ager, and I’m underestimating it. But I think not; Brun’s wines are always structured and strong, but I’d need convincing that this hasn’t very slightly outlived its finest years. What’s left is appealing, albeit dark and tannin-laden…more bitter earth than bright fruit…and it helps the wine’s cause if one doesn’t think of it as Beaujolais at all, but as something more in the cabernet or malbec realm. No, it’s not that firm, but it bears only a passing resemblance to even the most structured Beaujolais at the moment. Drink up? That’s my guess. That said, I’m going to hold one a while longer, just to see. (10/11)

Descombes over

Descombes 2006 Régnié (Beaujolais) – Smoothed out and thoroughly liquid. By which I mean there’s not a solid left to be found here. Just pure flowing red fruit in steady-state volume. Drink up, in other words. (10/11)

Head of the class

Louis Tête 2003 Beaujolais-Villages (Beaujolais) – Very clearly showing the fundamental flaw of the vintage, which is not extreme overripeness but a ponderous weight paired with both fruit and structure that are not nearly as ripe as the gravity suggests. Even hot-climate gamay, fully ripened, would at least have boisterous fruit. (8/11)

Burgaud meister

JM Burgaud 2002 Morgon Côte du Py (Beaujolais) – From magnum…and, I should note in terms of recording Beaujolais’ recent ascendancy, sold for a price that would be a the lowish side for a 750 of quality Morgon (Côte du Py or not) these days. So, anyway, Burgaud is known for what seems a surplus of muscularity and burl, and they haven’t receded a whole lot. What has receded is the fruit, so that the whole picture is rather smoky at the moment, and fairly ungenerous. Normally I’d be confident that this is just a closed phase, and there’s no reason not to maintain that confidence other than my unfamiliarity with older Burgaud. (8/11)

And Pepsi is the father

Coquelet 2008 Chiroubles (Beaujolais) – Not in the best of all possible places, this is showing some withering muscle in a stew of bright acidity, all of it washed in vivid red hues. I suspect it will emerge later in a better-knit state, but right now it’s a little knotty. (8/11)

Coudert taint these proceedings?

Coudert 2002 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette “Cuvée Tardive” (Beaujolais) – Corked. (8/11)

Combesover

Descombes 2006 Brouilly (Beaujolais) – Salt-spice, diverting earthiness, a gentle and unclenched hand soft with flesh and yield. This bottle, at least, has done all it intends to do. (7/11)

A Terres in the universe

Brun “Terres Dorées” 2008 Beaujolais “l’Ancien” (Beaujolais) – Bought on closeout, but I’d forgotten the type of closure until it was too late. So this is harsher and far more advanced than the wine deserves, a razor-wire slash of acidity and lacerating red fruit with no generosity or fun to it. Blame the plug, not the wine…and also, blame the buyer, who should have remembered to open this years ago. Back in the day, this was delish. (7/11)

Dave

Coudert-Appert “Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois” 2007 Fleurie (Beaujolais) – There was a time when this Fleurie would have pleased me greatly, and that time was back when I realized just how indifferent Dubœuf’s Beaujolais are. And while I couldn’t in any way say that I’m displeased, especially as the soft multi-berried fruit and gentle soil elements are nicely crisped by acidity, there really isn’t much comparison except in the broadest strokes between this and more exciting Fleuries, like Chermette, Métras, Coudert (the latter is a bit of a special case, granted), and so forth. Still, one can do a lot worse. (6/11)

Rum, tea

Cheveau 2007 Saint-Amour “En Rontey” (Beaujolais) – Every bottle of this wine is more textural than the last, and I think to the wine’s benefit. The texture is sort of suede-like, maybe a little lighter than that, which nicely compliments magenta-tinged alpine berries and a levitatingly light body. (6/11)

Leynes change

Boissieu “Château de Lavernette” 2009 Beaujolais-Leynes “Le Clos” (Beaujolais) – I admit that I am a shameless collector of appellations, and this one was unfamiliar to me, which pretty much guaranteed its purchase. Though I can’t say that, poking around the INAO’s site, I’m overwhelmed with the urgency of this particular designation. Well, appellations don’t matter as much as the wine, right? And the wine’s very good. Sharper than most 2009s, marrying the crisp, sprightly fruit of “basic” Beaujolais to the more intense insistence of 2009 Beaujolais, this manages a savvy balancing act of fruit and transparency, intensity and anti-gravity, blitheness and earnestness. Crispy red berries, a little granitic dust, a lot of acidity, and the chlorophyllic bite of freshly-cut leaves. What one drinks Beaujolais (no cru) for. (2/11)

Vissoux Storm

Chermette “Domaine du Vissoux” 2009 Beaujolais “Cuvée traditionnelle vieilles vignes” (Beaujolais) – Would I guess this was Beaujolais, blind? Quite possibly not. Gamay? Maybe, but I bet I’d guess New World. Neither Q/A is meant to be an indictment of the wine, by the way, which is big, muscular, a bit heavy, but not too over-anything. At least, that’s my hope. The future may prove me wrong. Fruit remains decidedly red and of the berry variety, there’s acidity (though less than usual), and despite the gravity there’s still some zip and zing to be found. But now we need to age our basic Beaujolais? I guess we do. (2/11)

Rontey Barber

Cheveau 2007 Saint-Amour “En Rontey” (Beaujolais) – Light and shade on a floral still life. Red, pink, lavender, magenta. Brittle. Not engaging, but un-ignorable. (1/11)

Dupeuble, Colorado

Dupeuble 2009 Beaujolais (Beaujolais) – A reduction sauce as much as a wine, so incredibly concentrated and markedly thick that it’s almost hard to swallow. It’s not, I feel I must add, out of balance as a result. There’s acidity, there’s a little brushstroke of tannin, and while the fruit is massive it’s not overbearing beyond the usual fruit-burst quality of Beaujolais in more normal years. But while this might appeal to those who’ve always found Beaujolais too thin for their tastes, I suspect it will be many years before it appeals to fans of the region. Or, at least, that’s true for this particular fan. Will it last that long? Let’s hope. (1/11)

Stanley

Thévenet 2001 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes” (Beaujolais) – Corked. (12/10)

Thévenet 2001 Morgon “Vieilles Vignes” (Beaujolais) – Very light and soft, a slow-flowing river of memories. Minerals and earth are to the fore, with wood ear mushrooms lingering. Gentle and entirely lovely. (1/11)

Appert a tiff

Coudert-Appert “Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois” 2009 Chiroubles (Beaujolais) – Big, brawny, and very 2009-ish (to the extent that generalization means anything), but retaining a red-berry sharpness that redeems it. At the moment, it’s pretty disjointed despite being packed and stuffed with flavor. Will time help? It couldn’t hurt. (12/10)

The Villa of the piece

Villa Ponciago 2009 Fleurie “la Réserve” (Beaujolais) – I don’t even know where to start with the name, so let’s do the wine instead. Where the hell is all this mint (peppermint, mostly) coming from? And why is it in my Fleurie? There’s a little sweet violet fruit lurking way in the background, looking like it was jacked in the playground by mint bullies and left to cower behind the jungle gym until just before the next bell rings, after which it will sprint to class and hope to avoid further violence. There’s plenty of tannin, and were this wine at all pleasant, I’d say it’s a candidate for aging. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but I sure don’t care for how it tastes now. (11/10)

Bouland Bouland, Bouland Bouland (give it a try, Yale)

Bouland 2009 Chiroubles (Beaujolais) – Really, really, really good. In fact, you math geeks put a bar over that “really.” It does, however, bear marks of its birth year; the fruit tastes perfectly in-form, all rolling cherries with a hefty contribution of violet-tinged fruit, but it’s big. No, “big” isn’t quite the right word. Lush? Expansive? Microbursting? Fractal? Oh, I don’t know. It’s a serious mouthful of simultaneously serious and unserious wine, though, with the texture of rough suede and powerful vibrancy. I’ll take a foudre of this, please. (11/10)