Opinions on the 2008 Cru Beaujolais Vintage?

Kermit Lynch has Foillard Cote de Puy (the store clerk said it is not really ready to drink yet but believes it will be very enjoyable) and a few other Beaujolais as well.

I notice the price for the best Cru Beaujo is now creeping north of $30.

Kermit Lynch has Foillard Cote de Puy (the store clerk said it is not really ready to drink yet but believes it will be very enjoyable) and a few other Beaujolais as well.

I notice the price for the best Cru Beaujo is now creeping north of $30.

Reports I have heard have been quite positive, Brian. It's not a "big" year a la '05, so more oriented toward near-term drinking. And, yes, the prices continue to go upward, though they are still undervalued IMO.

Mark Lipton

I greatly enjoy the fruity and sappy Fleurie Poncié 08 from Chermette but I haven't yet tried many others. $30 (approx. €20) is bad. My Fleurie cost approx. €13 and that is close to my limit for Beauj but it is still very good QPR compared to many other regions.

I greatly enjoy the fruity and sappy Fleurie Poncié 08 from Chermette but I haven't yet tried many others. $30 (approx. €20) is bad. My Fleurie cost approx. €13 and that is close to my limit for Beauj but it is still very good QPR compared to many other regions.

R'Amen to that, Tim.

Compared to awful mulberry-juice-vanilla-oak-soup Napa Cabs that are "reviewed highly by Robert Parker" and cost $100, $34 is not bad.

When compared to a Camus-Bruchon Savigny 1er Cru for $34 or a Chandon de Briailles Pernand Ile-des-Vergelesses for $40, the $30+ cru beaujolias don't seem like the world's greatest QPR anymore... They're starting to get to the point, price wise, where they need to be judged on their own merits and not just from a QPR standpoint.

Based on the 2005 Cote de Py from this producer, I would still judge this wine as delicious and wonderful and complex and worth the money.

Overall a very good year for the Cru Beaujolais wines, lots of juicy and simultaneously complex wines but indeed one for drinking even most of the best (Jadot excepted, several of which will cellar nicely until 2013) within the next two-three years. And indeed, (surprise for some) a very good year for the wines of Georges Duboeuf .

Keep in mind of course that the best prices for Cru Beaujolais wines are not in France, the UK or the USA but in Geneva.

Best
Rogov

of course that the best prices for Cru Beaujolais wines are not in France, the UK or the USA but in Geneva.

Why is that?

Chandon de Briailles Pernand Ile-des-Vergelesses for $40, the $30+ cru beaujolias don't seem like the world's greatest QPR anymore... They're starting to get to the point, price wise, where they need to be judged on their own merits and not just from a QPR standpoint.

I totally agree although CdB IdV probably averages (more than) a bit north of $40 these days. Of course it can be found for less and that is when I pounce, but it's not the 'normal' US price these days, from what I see.

It's not a cru, but Pierre Chermette's Vieilles Vignes '08 is terrific. Ripe red cherry, violets, and a hint of marzipan and smoke on the nose; then intense, fresh-tasting sweet-and-sour cherry, with the always surprising subtle backbone of tannins. Just gorgeous.

I greatly enjoy the fruity and sappy Fleurie Poncié 08 from Chermette but I haven't yet tried many others. $30 (approx. €20) is bad. My Fleurie cost approx. €13...

Chermette is usually a lot closer to $20 in the States.

It's the Foillard, Lapierre, Descombes and Thevenet Morgons that break the stratospheres..

of course that the best prices for Cru Beaujolais wines are not in France, the UK or the USA but in Geneva.

Why is that?

Rahsaan, Hi....

Something about the tax structure makes Burgundy and Beaujolais wines considerably less dear in Geneva than even in France. Alas, we will need a specialist in taxes or international relations to explain precisely why that is true.

Best
Rogov

of course that the best prices for Cru Beaujolais wines are not in France, the UK or the USA but in Geneva.

Why is that?

Rahsaan, Hi....

Something about the tax structure makes Burgundy and Beaujolais wines considerably less dear in Geneva than even in France. Alas, we will need a specialist in taxes or international relations to explain precisely why that is true.

Best
Rogov

If it's tax, it would logically apply to all French wine.....?

If it's tax, it would logically apply to all French wine.....?

My question exactly. What is special about Burgundy and Beaujolais in Geneva? And is this all of Switzerland or just Geneva?

We do have David from Switzerland on the board, but not sure if he is reading this thread..

Opened an '08 Moulin-a-Vent from Dom. Diochon ($21) last night. It smelled reasonably ripe and juicy but was quite tart, with only a hint of fruit on the palate. I'll check it again tonight to see if it's loosened up any, but I'd give this one some time before opening another.

If it's tax, it would logically apply to all French wine.....?

My question exactly. What is special about Burgundy and Beaujolais in Geneva? And is this all of Switzerland or just Geneva?

We do have David from Switzerland on the board, but not sure if he is reading this thread..

I assume the differences would be in 2 areas: duty and VAT and would logically apply to all wines since France does not appear to have a reduced or higher duty rate for %ABV as some countries do.

Since duty in France is pretty minimal but VAT is 19.6 last time I looked, I assume that lower wine prices for the same wine in Switzerland would be a function of differences in the VAT rates in France and Switzerland offset by whatever duty is payable in Switzerland above the tiny 0.31 Euros per 12x75cl bottle [9L] case of still wine in France.

I believe the VAT rate in Switzerland is low and there may even be exemptions depending on the size of the trade but duty may well be much more significant. While this does not provide an answer I hope it provides a possible rationale.

Opened an '08 Moulin-a-Vent from Dom. Diochon ($21) last night. It smelled reasonably ripe and juicy but was quite tart, with only a hint of fruit on the palate. I'll check it again tonight to see if it's loosened up any, but I'd give this one some time before opening another.

This may be a house style thing, Mike. My one experieince with Diochon (I think 2006?) was very similar...pretty lean and tart.

With regard to the price of French wines in Geneva and as to how that relates specifically to Geneva and the areas of Burgundy and Beaujolais:

As I say, I have no expertise in such matters but a little voice in memory is telling me that it has to do with a special treaty signed after Switzerland's last foreign war, that with France in 1815, the treaty being rather specific about the importation of wines from those two neighboring areas of France. Those memories, perhaps not fully focused, from the days in the late 1960's early 1970's when I was more or less commuting between Paris and Geneva and learning a great deal about wine by tasting, talking and undertaking various oenological challenges at Les Caves Au Palais de Justice.

Best
Rogov

This may be a house style thing, Mike. My one experieince with Diochon (I think 2006?) was very similar...pretty lean and tart.

Tonight's taste supports that idea. If anything, it's a bit more tart than last night.

Did you pick up the Diochon at 58 Degrees, Mike?

Did you pick up the Diochon at 58 Degrees, Mike?

No - it was at Taylor's Market on Freeport.