2006 Domaine de Robert Morgon Beaujolais

Here's their distributor's page.http://www.mwines.com/
The photos are also cool-those are some gnarly Gamay vines!

Dark purple in color. Quite a lifted nose, with some licorice? Menthol? notes on both the nose and the palate. Delicious spritiziness, not bubbles exactly but a certainly effervescence that seems common in Beaujolais, to my limited experience. Definitely blackberry cobbler fruit-delicious fruit, but there is the tobacco or something??? in the background, alnong with a profound earthiness even at this young age. Delicious, and $17. Let's see....I could rink overoaked Cali Chard or Sterling Napa Valley Cab for this price-or something more fun! Yum.

Grand cru Beaujolais can be magnificent, and ageworthy. Unfortunately, far too little of the great stuff leaves the region. I had some grands crus Beaujolias when I visited the area in person 10 years ago that were real eye-openers.

-Paul W.

Unfortunately, far too little of the great stuff leaves the region.

Any non-exported great stuff in particular that you would recommend seeking out?

By my count, there's an awful lot of great Beaujolais that does leave the region : Foillard, Breton, Coudert, Brun, Thevenet, Desvignes, Lapierre, Chermette, Chanrion, Michel Tete, Descombes, Madone, Savoye... (and that's just off the spit-top of my head, more than one could hope for from a lot of other wine regions. I.E. how many producers of top-flight Madiran make it to the States. Two?)

Rahsaan: It particularly helps if the retailer/distributer has "connections." I keep talking these guys up to an annoying degree, but the three owners of Terroir in SF on Folsom just before Seventh-they have "connections" or at least know which importers to talk to. K&L ain't bad either, and Darryl Corti.