WTN: A Juliénas

I'm sipping a perfectly decent little wine, a Ch. de Durette "Colline des Mouilles" Juliénas 2017. It's not a great example of Beaujolais, but neither is it the estery bubblegum horror type that so many still seem to think is normal for Gamay. It's just fine. Fairly robust for Beaujolais, ripe, juicy and nicely acidic so it has a bit of grip.

Yet I kind of feel happy drinking it - more so than I should from something that is far from the best the area can offer. But I guess Beaujolais is a bit like Musar for me: I don't even want to analyse it since it just takes me directly to my happy place. Mediocre vintages of Musar and ok bottles of Beaujolais are wines that bypass all critical faculties and go straight to the emotions. I hope everyone else has such wines/areas/grapes, too. It's ok to just have fun and enjoy a wine without analysing it to death. (Wow, such a deep philosophical point no one else had ever come up with, right? )

But if I try to think about it instead of just being a happy fanboi: good, not great. If you see it on a list or on the shelf for a good price, it's definitely worth trying. No point actively seeking it out.

[David M. Bueker]

In terms of wine lovers the bubblegum Gamay is a thing of the past. Sure, maybe a bottle of Nouveau every year for fun, but not the normal pattern anymore.

One of the impacts of wine boards is that the focus has tended to turn to the 'crème de al crème' wines. Berserkers is a classic example, with this board probably being the least 'high end'. Many people don't feel ready to provide notes for a 'simple' wine when hedonistic offlines with DRC and like are common posts.

But sometimes a 'simple' wine, because it doesn't have the weight of expectations, created largely but not only from high prices, can satisfy more than a high end wine. I think the lack of oak and freshness in these wines also helps - they are 'easier' to drink than wines made to age.

To me, a Cotes du Rhone Village can have a similar impact to your Beaujolais (especially in the winter months). I agree a Beaujolais too is often a wine of pleasure and freshness (not so much in 2015). A juicy German kabinett is one of my favourite wines that you don't feel guilty about opening midweek or whenever, any season: it's pure pleasure to me. Various types of rose also can be 'happy' wines too and Marlborough sauv blanc can also be a lovely, thirst-quenching wine in the summer in particular. Muscadet also makes me very happy on a summer's day. A village Chablis can be a 'happy' wine, with its mineral thrill. It's such a pleasure not to have to think about these kinds of wines - just enjoy.

Not a producer I've run across, thanks for notes
I don't remember the last time I had a bubble gum Beaujolais (or a banana yeasty one) but I don't really taste industrial Beaujolais.
There is definitely a lot of fun to be had without getting to lofty price or status levels