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)

How green is my Vallières?

JM Burgaud 2007 Régnié Vallières (Beaujolais) – Tart strawberry, vivid and crisp. There’s some salty ferric stuff, as well, but mostly this is about incisive – or perhaps incising – fruit. (7/09)

Bravery & Vallières

JM Burgaud 2006 Régnié Vallières (Beaujolais) – Straightforward gamayness, light and red-pink-purple-fruited, with an engaging appeal. There’s not really much more to say. It’s good. It’s tasty. It’s highly drinkable. It’s no more than that, though. (1/09)

Charmes bracelet

JM Burgaud 2006 Morgon Les Charmes (Beaujolais) – Except for the higher-toned, red-hued acidity that floats from the glass, this is as much a pinot as any Morgon I’ve tasted from this house. Structured, earthy, and yet quite restrained, it doesn’t hold back so much as reach a lower peak volume than it has in the past, with the dark fruit only in the beginning stages of forming into muscularity. This will be a shorter-term Morgon from this house, though it should still age for a few years. (7/08)

Charmes life

J-M Burgaud 2006 Morgon Les Charmes (Beaujolais) – Light to the point of insignificance at first sip – a shocking thing for a Morgon – this gains weight, flexibility, and complexity with food. Dark berry vines writhe and heavily-salted minerality abounds. There’s very little point in opening this wine until it knits, and it should improve for a half-decade with little effort, but it’s wan right now. (6/08)

Rosé, row-say, rosez!

JM Burgaud 2007 Beaujolais-Villages Rosé “Rosez!” (Beaujolais) – Indifferent, watery pink fruit with a flat granite wall about ¾ of the way through. Boring. (5/08)

Thulon to wait

JM Burgaud “Château de Thulon” 2006 Beaujolais-Villages (Beaujolais) – More biting than previous vintages, with a sharp zing to the zippy, underripe cherry, raspberry, and cranberry fruit that carries just a hint of floral complexity. It’s unmistakably Beaujolais, but it needs food to tame it; no cocktail wine, this. (5/08)

Morgon Fairchild

JM Burgaud 2006 Morgon Les Charmes (Beaujolais) – While it would be hard to mistake this for “serious” gamay, this isn’t the first Morgon that’s put me in mind of syrah; there’s a structured smokiness to it, perhaps a little strappy leather to the aroma, that makes me think of syrah with the volume turned way down. It’s very nicely balanced, though lacking the fierce intensity of the 2005…which, depending on one’s point of view, may be a blessing. That is to say, it’s a “lesser” wine than the previous vintage, and that lessening has both good and less good facets. Certainly, it remains ageable, but appealing (with full-flavored food) right now. (12/07)

Burgaud time

JM Burgaud “Château de Thulon” 2006 Beaujolais-Villages (Beaujolais) – Basically a bottled version of why one drinks Beaujolais, with the pretty, friendly, fresh fruit upfront and a timeworn gravel foundation underneath. Nothing too structured or firm, just pure essence of…well, Beaujolais. Sometimes, notes need to be recursive to make any sense. (12/07)