WTN: Burg, Loire, Saar, Oz, more

1989 Domaine de la Mabilliere Vouvray Demi-Sec
A bit sweeter than I remembered, full-fledged demi-sec, baked apple pie, a little waxy note, round for Vouvray. B/B-

2013 Lapierre Morgon
with white beans, leftover barley/mushrooms, spinach, salad.
Beautiful crunchy red fruits, spice and earth. This is what I want in young Beaujolais.B+/A-

2010 Matrot Bougogne (375 ml)
with roast turkey breast, sauteed arugula,
moderate acids, apple and pit fruits, pleasant B

2011 Schiopetto Friulano (Collio)
with quick bouillabaisse (snapper, clams, shrimp, and scallops) and broccoli rabe .
Big, a honied note, a touch clumsy. I’ve liked this more in past, not sure if it’s the match, the bottle, or just me. C+/B

2011 Falkenstein Niedermenninger Sonnenberg Spatburgunder Spatlese Trocken
with bbq chicken, grilled asparagus, sauteed oyster mushrooms, and whole grain Israeli couscous.,
Sour cherry, very bright acids, crisp long finish. Betsy says she likes a lot, a good reason to buy more. B+

2011 Pepiere Muscadet
with a few oysters, the basic Ollivier showed beautifully, saline and citrus, a touch fuller and riper than I expected (I looked to see if I had opened a Briords by mistake), nice length, what a bargain. B++

2012 Bize “Les Champlains “ Bourgogne Blanc
with grey sole, potatoes, and salad
Pleasant Chardonnay, crisp fruit, a bit of earth, nice. I think I liked a recent 2011 a bit more. B

2001 Yarra Yerring Dry Red #1
with skirt steak, squash, cauliflower/tomato/pimenton, and couscous.
Warmer redder fruits, a little mint/eucalyptus and iron. Only 12.5% abv. Pretty, easy, if not especially complex. Drink up.B

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[Jenise]

We've bonded on that lapierre before. Meanwhile, have you tried the 12 Foillards? I bought a case of mixed cote du py and the one that's something like Cocelette, and not been happy so far. Having benchmarked my palette with the 09 vintage, maybe I'm doomed go expect too much.

Meanwhile, have you tried the 12 Foillards? I bought a case of mixed cote du py and the one that's something like Cocelette, and not been happy so far. Having benchmarked my palette with the 09 vintage, maybe I'm doomed go expect too much.

As you may know, '12 was a 'difficult' vintage in Beaujolais and I don't think anyone would consider the wines great. Over the past 6-9 months I've been drinking 2012 Foillard, Lapierre, Descombes VV, Breton and Chamonard and it comes and goes which one shows better. For a while Descombes was at the top of the pack for its vibrancy and Chamonard was there for its sneaky depth, but I have yet to be impressed by the '12 Foillard CdP and look forward to finishing my last bottle sometime this spring/summer. Of course it may turn around to improve and blow people away in the future, but I'm not storing it on that chance.

More broadly, as you know 09 was freakishly ripe and nothing since then has been similar. But '13s are very good (I've had one Foillard CdP and am happy to watch it evolve, it may not be the most forward vintage) and by all accounts '14s are also very good and more forward pleasure than '13.

Without going deeply into vintage generalizations, 2012 has not been my favorite recent Beaujolais vintage, but there are plenty of very good wines. I'd say 2005 and 2011 are my favorites. I personally didn't find 2009 freakish, though clearly quite ripe. 2003 was freakish.