WTN: From Morgon to Volnay

I thought I would join the Beaujolais Train with 2018 G Descombes Morgon Vermont VV, primed to be a perfect match for pizza with a few cheeses, tomato sauce, roasted oyster mushroom, a dash of roasted spring onion and celery leaf herbs. But it was just too hot 2018. The elegant Descombes structure was there, but on too big of a scale, and the overripe flavors plus slight brett funk didn't help either.

So I pivoted to 2012 Louis Boillot Volnay Les Grands Poisots. A fresh clear delicate and crunchy jewel but with juicy body that stands up to the pizza. Not the most complex wine, but vibrating perfectly for my tastes on the evening. Better than another bottle from a few months ago, and much more delicate than the recent vintage Boillot I've tasted. I've been loving 2012 Boillot across a few bottlings recently, so may try to enjoy that while it works for me.

[Jenise]

Ah, another lousy '18. Used to love those Descombes but haven't seen any around in a long time.

Your '12 Volnay sounds good. I have a few other Burgundy '12s that have turned out to be great--not compared to other vintages of the same wine so much as for the silly prices I paid when a distributor closed out some decent stuff. Grand Cru's for $40? Couldn't resist.

Nice pivot, too bad about the Descombes. 2018 can be rough.

Used to love those Descombes but haven't seen any around in a long time...

Local distributors stopped carrying? That's too bad. I'm a big fan of the wines, although I'm sure you have plenty of other good options, so many these days.

This is the 'big/prestige' cuvee for Descombes, which may have been a bad match with the 2018 vintage. But they don't make it every year and it was the current release for Vermont when we visited last year. Perhaps I could have held it longer, but I was curious and now I'm glad it's gone!

There were several bottles of 05 Descombes Morgon VV at the Rieslingstudy earlier this week. Fun to taste and fine to drink but a bit bretty for my palate and didn't convince me that waiting 20 years was necessary.