WTN: Nicole Chanrion Cote de Brouilly 2011

Inter Beaujolais sponsored a superb 'tasting tour' of the west coast, visiting three cities to show off pairings of Beaujolais with three different cuisines. In Portland, seafood; in LA, Chinese; in San Diego, Mexican.

Here's one of the pairings from Portland, at Salty's on the Columbia

Sous-vide Salmon and Côte de Brouilly

Stepping on the heels of a delightful surprise of sparkling water with cherry impregnated ice cubes—so fitting for a meal based on gamay noir--we segued to an impressive dish of sous vide Columbia River Springer’s Salmon with spring peas, morels and Bing Cherry, immaculately paired with the Nicole Chanrion Côte de Brouilly 2011, a full-bodied yet still soft and fruity wine that harmonized totally with the rich flavors of the dish.

For the full article on the Portland pairing dinner, with pictures, go here:http://www.examiner.com/list/perfect-pairings-beaujolais-and-seafood

Hoke,
I know I've said this almost every year since '05 but Beaujolais seems to be getting better and better, with the '11, IMO, the best I've seen, even at the B-V level.
How would you assess the recent Beaujolais' and of course the Crus?

Agree 2011 is a great vintage
Nice article Hoke, agree Beaujolais is very food friendly. Nice to see a Beaujolais Blanc get mention.

Agree 2011 is a great vintage
Nice article Hoke, agree Beaujolais is very food friendly. Nice to see a Beaujolais Blanc get mention.

Thanks, Dale.

The Beaujolais Blanc you mention, Lucien Lardy, is part of Terroirs Originel, a group of dedicated small-holders who prefer to craft their wines rather than pursue the volume game. They have a pretty decent stable of members who are making some impressive wines.

Richard, I'd agree with your assessment: Anthony Collet, the Inter Beaujolais marketing/communications director (and a really sharp guy) made it clear to me that the future of Beaujolais lies in championing the dedicated producers in the 10 crus. They know that the Villages AOC is their quality base, but the focus is going to be on the crafted crus.

And yes, 2011 was superb.

Leaping on the bandwagon, I've loved the '11s that I've had, too. I don't know if I'd say that Beaujolais is getting better and better, but it's certainly getting riper Lots to like in recent vintages, though.

Mark Lipton

As backstory, Madame Chanrion is quite well known and highly respected in Beaujolais, in addition to being something of a live wire. She's a high official in the Beaujolais winemaking group, held in great respect, and has a long tradition of turning out some really lovely gamay. The 2011 is merely one of a long string of good wines for her property.