WTN: 2016 Descombes Saint-Amour VV

After a few weeks of slogging through warm vintage Foillard CdP (2015 and 2018), it was such a pleasure to return to the joys of recognizable Beaujolais with 2016 G. Descombes Saint-Amour VV. Dark berry flavors but with crunchy juicy fine elegant texture. Maybe not the layers and layers of thick silk from the warm vintage Foillards, but such fresh fragrance and still plenty of sappy fruit. Gorgeous!

[David M. Bueker]

Sounds lovely. I have only ever had 2014 Descombes Morgon, and it did absolutely nothing for me. Vintage?

Sounds lovely. I have only ever had 2014 Descombes Morgon, and it did absolutely nothing for me. Vintage?

2014 was definitely a light year. I didn't love the 2014 Morgon VV. I drank a few bottles with dinner and that was it. But I've been very happy with most other years. They can be a bit cranky in the awkward stage after the young fruit. So timing is also an issue. But that awkwardness lasts much less time than something like Burgundy, so it's not too much of an issue.

Did you have the regular or the VV? (No labeling difference, but wax capsule is VV). I'm a huge fan of all the VVs but with my strict decisions for what to buy, the regulars are just a bit too simple to keep my interest. They are nice well-made wines that I might buy for a party/dinner party, but that's not how I drink most wine.

Also worth noting that not all styles speak to all people! I'm a huge Descombes fan but wouldn't necessarily say they are better than all the other top-notch Beaujolais that other people love but may not speak to me the same way. Stylistically, they share the semi-carbonic fragrance and silky texture with Foillard, Lapierre et al but with greater clarity, precision and detail (maybe a bit less weight).

[David M. Bueker]

It was the regular. No wax capsules.

After a few weeks of slogging through warm vintage Foillard CdP (2015 and 2018), it was such a pleasure to return to the joys of recognizable Beaujolais with 2016 G. Descombes Saint-Amour VV. Dark berry flavors but with crunchy juicy fine elegant texture. Maybe not the layers and layers of thick silk from the warm vintage Foillards, but such fresh fragrance and still plenty of sappy fruit. Gorgeous!

Tonight another bottle of 2016 G. Descombes Saint-Amour VV was so so good. Crystal clear vivid gamay berry fruit, light and refreshing but with sappy snap. So so good. A lovely interpretation of the Descombes style, different from the other crus. I wish I had more!

The New Hampshire State Liquor Stores have a "Power Buy" discount section. They use it to move inventory that's getting a bit long in the tooth, but over the past year or two they've also been featuring wines from Massachusetts distributors and importers that they don't normally carry. Lately these have included 2016 grands crus Beaujolais from a bunch of producers. And the claimed discounts from suggested retail price are significant--$40 wines going for $20. At those prices I've bought several of them and found them just coasting up to maturity and absolutely delicious. Now that the wine focus is on gamay, I'll post notes on some of them. My conclusion so far is that the Beaujolais crus had a good year in 2016. I'm not sure why the wholesalers are dumping them. But I personally wouldn't pay $40+ for them and maybe I'm not alone. Effect of the Trump tariffs, perhaps?

-Paul W.

Lately these have included 2016 grands crus Beaujolais from a bunch of producers. And the claimed discounts from suggested retail price are significant--$40 wines going for $20. At those prices I've bought several of them and found them just coasting up to maturity and absolutely delicious...My conclusion so far is that the Beaujolais crus had a good year in 2016. I'm not sure why the wholesalers are dumping them.

2016 was a tough year in that area with all the crop loss, but the concentrated yet silky wines that resulted are absolutely gorgeous. Same for red Burgundy, although obviously those are shutting down harder and will take longer to reach maturity. Yet another reason to love Beaujolais!