This past month’s group tasting was at Peter and Trish’s, with a theme of Cru Beaujolais. I don’t have a whole lot of experience in this area and the tasting proved to be both a lot of fun and a very positive learning experience.
Starters:
Sadly, there was a bottle of NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut Reserve already sitting empty on the table when we arrived, but our host quickly rectified that by pulling out a few more options.
N.V. Pol Roger Champagne Brut. This was a great bottle, offering up a very effusive yet chiseled bouquet of smoke, graphite, lemon peel, stones, yellow apples and grilled herbs that is very inviting. In the mouth, it is fine-knit and fairly firmly-strucutured but wide open and giving, with a big creamy mousse carrying all the way through. It pumps out a ton of apple, pear and mineral flavors in a really tasty package.
1998 Château Couhins-Lurton Pessac-Leognan Blanc. There is a really interesting bouquet to this wine, featuring aromas of honeycomb, melted candle wax, petroleum jelly and some mysterious earthy notes that are hard to pinpoint or describe. In the mouth, the profile continues the theme of that difficult-to-describe earthen quality overlaid by notes of lemon pepper, mineral, dried pineapple, waxy yellow fruits, and an ever-increasing level of funk. There is also an unusually squeaky, oily texture to the wine, almost like rainwater and oil on a raincoat. Rather than distractions, these unusual elements are actually distinctive and welcoming and the wine as a whole has good length and a fair bit of focus, with a good dose of personality.
Main event:
2002 Marcel Lapierre Morgon. The appearance is a touch cloudy and perhaps faded a bit around the edges, but the nose is strongly alive and giving. The aromas feel creamy and sort of lactic and there is a strong spice component running all the way through. Lovely elements of raspberry, creamy cherry and cranberry meld very nicely with the spice, toasted orange peel and rustic earth tones. In the mouth, it is fully-resolved and shows no hard edges or tannin, but does have a nice lifted quality to the sour cherry, black raspberry and tart cranberry fruit flavors. Otherwise, it is creamy in texture and gives a moderate sense of expansiveness across the palate. It is an attactive, nuanced, fun and food-friendly wine. My notes say “what’s not to like?” but I found out later that my wife and perhaps one or two others really did not care for this at all. So, maybe it is one of those take it or leave it sort of wines, I’m not sure. The second glass later on seems to be drying out a bit, so I wouldn’t wait too long to explore that question any further. My #3 WOTN and group #3.
2007 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette. The bouquet here initially features a lot of toasted brown stems, but those aromas slowly fold into the purer notes of cherry, strawberry and rose petals that come on strong with air. It retains some smoky earth tones, too, and I grow to increasingly enjoy it as the evening progresses, though it does seem to go through a bit of a peek-a-boo routine at times—opening up for a while and then retreating in on itself a number of times. In the mouth, it tastes grounded but also silky-smooth, cool and acidically bright--with tight and fairly linear black cherry and black raspberry fruit melding nicely with the earth and black tea notes all the way through. The finish features some interesting leather and five spice powder flavors and enough tannin to give the wine a bit of a fine rustic edge. For me, it is also pretty youthful and perhaps a bit aloof, and I’d be interested to re-visit it in another 2 or 3 years to see if I can make a better connection to it. Group #4 wine of the night.
2007 Louis Jadot Moulin-à-Vent Clos du Grand Carquelin Château des Jacques. The nose here is pretty nice, with aromas of fresh cherries, brown spices, pine sap and sweat showing good presence and push. In the mouth, it is similarly-profiled, with flavors of brown spices, pine, pure red fruit and smoke riding atop a slinky vein of driving acidity. At the same time, it feels medium-bodied and gently-knit, showing some soft tannins toward the back of the palate that may need some short cellaring to resolve.
2007 Château de la Terrière Moulin-à-Vent Cuvée de la Lure. This wine is quite a bit more savory on the nose—with aromas of leather, dirt, grilled green pepper skin and black cherry sharing the stage with some floral elements. In the mouth, it displays greater density and bass notes than most and is clearly the most toughly tannic of all the wines. It comes across as dry, serious, highly-structured and a bit unyielding—not ready to drink at all.
2006 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py. This wine shows a lovely, creamy semi-sweet core of cherry and raspberry fruit surrounded by delightful Asian spices, soft wood and forest aromas. It is exotic and enveloping, and slowly folds in some funkier barnyard elements that when taken all together make it really gorgeous and inviting. In the mouth, it is all about that core of nicely sweet cherry and black raspberry flavors that wash over the palate in creamy layers. It also features interesting notes of spice, leather and tobacco. It is luscious, full of flavor and very well balanced. It may not be quite as large or full as the 2007 tasted alongside it, but it is more engaging and a delight to drink now. My WOTN and group #2.
2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py. The nose here is also quite nice, bieng a bit more lithely-constructed and serious than the ’06, though more overtly floral, as well. It is darker-fruited and not quite as funky or earthy, focusing more on the purity of black cherry fruit and black leather aromas. It is really promising, but not yet as welcoming as its older sibling. In the mouth, it is darker, more compacted and decidedly more sinewy—with a sort of ropy quality to its personality. Still, the flavors of chocolate-covered cherries accented by gently chewy tannins are tasty and pleasing, but may just need some short-term cellaring to more clearly come into its own.
2007 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes. Just like the bottle I had of this back in December, the bouquet is a delight. It features savory aromas of earthy barnyard, aged leather, dusty old library and funky tobacco leaf riding atop fresh and lively notes of black raspberry fruit—all of it sporting a lot of character. In the mouth, it feels more grounded and denser than when I last tasted it, though it again ends on an airy, ethereal note. It possesses very smooth and rounded dark red fruit flavors galore that are inviting but also classy and serious. The length is great and the overall mouthfeel is beautiful. This should just continue to get better and better. My #2 WOTN and the group’s #1.
Afterwards:
2004 Château Fleur Cardinale St. Émilion. This wine really fills the nostrils with aromas of dark plum, spice cake, black currant and cool stone. In the mouth, it is on the heavy side and feels youthfully intense after all the Cru Beaujolais. It drapes over the palate with rich warm fruit and chocolate flavors, but also sports a solid dose of tannin and structure. Good promise, but a bit forced right now.
-Michael