I had a few friends over so I made a big pot of Karelian stew in an atypical Nieminen-clan recipe. Usually it is made with chunks of beef and pork and root vegetables simmered for hours in water. But my grandparents, for some reason (probably because it's better!), started making it with chunks of lamb, too, and instead of water, they would make it with rye beer. Despite the beer, it's a wine-friendly dish - nothing "fine" but just what one needs in these cold autumn days.
I opened up a few recently acquired Beaujolais and a Loire:
2010 Puzelat-Bonhomme Pineau d'Aunis Touraine La Tesnière - France, Loire Valley, Touraine
12,5% abv. I haven't had many Pineau d'Aunis but if my small sample has been representative, I think it's a lovely grape variety. Light colour but multifaceted aromas. It has ripe, red, juicy fruit but with a fantastic, savoury edge slightly reminiscent of white pepper and root vegetables. On the palate, too, it is ripe and juicy, fairly soft in acidity but light enough in body, though so full of flavour, that the whole is very moreish. Lovely.
2012 Damien Coquelet Morgon Côte du Py
Very young, of course, but it is still very good. A slightly rugged, rustic style of CdP that reminds me quite a bit of Burgaud's style - though perhaps not quite as tannic and with a slightly sweeter edge to the fruit. Nice structure and quite moreish though I really should be writing that it's painfully young. Hold for a while.
2011 Georges Descombes Brouilly
Corked.
2012 Georges Descombes Régnié
12,5% abv. This is neither a cru nor a producer I'm very familiar with. But the wine is very pleasant. I was a bit startled because initially it smelled very estery and being sometimes called the 5th member of the Gang of Four, who makes natural wines with ambient yeasts, I wasn't expecting bubblegum aromas. But gladly they blew off very quickly and what emerged was a pretty but primary wine smelling strongly of raspberry. Crunchy, racy, tangy palate; moreish and pleasant but needs a few years.
2011 Jean Foillard Morgon
A little inexpressive initially but opened up with a couple hours of contact with air. Very pretty but primary aromas (raspberry, cherry, all that one would expect of Foillard); nice and lively and a bit less ripe and sweet than the CdP. But still a bottle to hold a few years. I think it will become very good.