There have been a couple of recent threads with members expressing interest in 2014 Beaujolais, so my aim is to get a thread started where those interested may find consolidated tasting notes. Shortly I hope to get to Kermit Lynch’s entire line-up, but I will start things off with the 2014 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon VV, as it is made in small quantity (approximately 2,000 cases per year) and doesn’t last long in the market.
This has a sweet, red plum perfume with just a hint of spice. As I get with many low-sulfur wines, there is a beguiling rawness or rusticity to the aroma. On the palate, the sappy old-vine fruit (much of the fruit for this wine comes from 110 year-old vines) shines as there is no lull to be found on the palate. The attack is of the same plummy, fleshy fruit with the granite, earthy core of the wine keeping it firm, and good acidity keeping it bright and fresh. What strikes me most about the wine is the material here; lots of it. As the wine comes up from cellar temperature, everything becomes more expressive. I sense that this will drink really well young, old and in between. If this is any indication of what 2014 holds, Beaujolais drinkers have some fun in store.
I will get to Chanrion, Chignard, Diochon, Dupeuble, and Thivin shortly, and Foillard, Lapierre and Charly Thevenet when they arrive, but I encourage others to post their TNs here and to add anything about the domaine they believe others may find to be of interest.
2014 Pavillon de Chavannes Cote de Brouilly Cuvee des Ambassades - Big fan of this wine in the past. Sadly this bottle was so fizzy it could have passed for spumante. I am just so sick of this trend. Someone please make it stop. There is a purple stain on my ceiling from the blowup after I tried to shake the fizz out of this. I probably should have used a blender. It took well over an hour before it was drinkable. If I had ordered this in a restaurant it would not have been drinkable until after the check came. And what the heck is the point of a Beaujolais that can’t be served in a bistro?
2014 Domaine Chignard Fleurie Les Moriers - bright, cranberry, almost watermelon-like aroma; the palate is of the same high-toned, light red fruit, with a marked soil/herb aspect; a distinctly more feminine, transparent wine than the Thevenet above, without the density of fruit, such that the other components are more discernible; as with the Thevenet, this became more expressive over the course of the evening; what I have come to expect of Chignard.
Keith, I was a bit disappointed with this wine on opening as well, but not for any frizzante(!) resemblance. It just seemed thin and angular at the pop and pour. To your point, it took several hours of airtime to come together and even then, fell short in delivering the mineral wallop I’ve come to love with this wine in prior vintages. Here’s hoping a couple years in the cellar can sort things out…
2014 Marcel Lapierre Morgon: Still young, but this is a very promising showing from Lapierre. The nose is nice and open from the get go, with lovely floral and herbal aromas. It’s got plenty of warm, juicy red fruits on the palate and the signature, iron-inflected mineral twang on the finish. By far the strongest Lapierre since 2011, and another positive sign for the 2014 vintage in Beaujolais.
2014 Nicole Chanrion Cote de Brouilly - Nicole Chanrion has nailed the 2014 vintage. I always like her wine, but this is the best that I have tasted from her. The aroma is fresh, red and subtly spicy. On the palate the signature strawberry fruit is deep and pure, with an earthy/mineral/forest nuance. For my nose/palate, this is about as much wine as $20ish can get you. Thivin will have to be bringing it to compete with Chanrion’s 2014.
2014 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly - Lovely, crimson color, as always; fresh red fruit aromas with a distinct smoky component (this must come from the granite soil, which I get more of in this wine than any other cru Beaujolais); the palate is tightly packed with sappy, sweet (and at the same time subtly tart) cranberry fruit, with a pine/orange peel note. The wine is more transparent, detailed and nuanced than the more rustic Chanrion, but not necessarily better. Based upon Thevenet, Chanrion and Thivin, 2014 Beaujolais is the real deal.
2014 Lapierre Morgon is terrific, definitely the best since '09. Ready to enjoy right from the pop of the cork. No spritz! and already in harmony. Lively and juicy, of course, but the fruit is in a black pitch - black cherry, blackberry, black raspberry - and the tannins are almost surprisingly refined. Nevertheless, a divine match with Shake Shack burgers.
2014 Lapierre Raisins Gaulois is just as the label suggests (cartoon-like man holding a bunch of grapes above his mouth with a cork screw in it). It is grapey (what a surprise) and simple, but a good drink on a warm San Diego evening. I like to drink it quite cool out of a small bistro tumble. WWND (wife would not drink).
2014 Cédric Chignard Fleurie Les Moriers - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie (10/18/2015)
My first taste of 2014 Beaujolais and it was terrific. Very expressive aromatics right from the start. Light red fruits. Cranberry and strawberry. With a dusty earth element. I really love the smell of this wine. The palate follows suit in a more subdued manner. Light bodied and showing a good amount of tannin without the tannin hiding too much. Continued to open up as the night went on but kept the structured feel. I’ll wait a little while on the next bottle.
2014 Damien Coquelet Chiroubles: As usual, Coquelet manages to deliver a Beaujolais that packs plenty of character into a lithe and fresh (we’re talking 11% ABV here) frame. Plenty of red berries and light florals on the nose, along with a slightly gamey and spicy element. Light-bodied but full of racy energy on the palate and a lovely finish that leaves a lasting mineral tingle. Almost impossible not to finish this in one sitting, and with that low alcohol level, you should have no regrets in doing so! (91 pts)
The 2014 Domaine Depueble is business as usual. The aromas are a high-toned cranberry affair that jump out of the glass. The red fruit is both gently sweet and tart on the palate, with old-vine sap and vigor, and a silky texture that one often finds with old-vine fruit. If one likes Beaujolais, this is a lot of wine for sub-$15. It is not from one of the ten Beaujolais crus, but two thirds of the property is on granite-based soil, a good portion of the vines are over 100 years-old, and the wine is vinified without SO2. To my palate, one of the purer expressions of Gamay, and a perfect mid-week drink.
The 2014 Bernard Diochon Moulin a Vent VV is my favorite Beaujolais from the vintage thus far. The color of this wine often distinguishes it, as it has a distinct purple hue. The 2014 definitely wears a five o’clock shadow, but it does so over finely chiseled features. The aromas are purple/black and floral; even at this stage they billow out of the glass with little coaxing. The fruit on the palate is cool, dark, and fleshy but firm, and the texture is the stuff of old vines - silky and fine. One can almost feel the granite in which the grapes are grown. It finishes with some grippy tannins, but they are ripe and satisfying. From time-to-time I tuck a case of magnums of this wine in the cellar and certainly will do so with the 2014. Should be low-mid $20s for a 750ml.
Although to my palate Gamay is Gamay and not Burgundy-like or anything else-like, at least when young, the 2014 Guy Breton Morgon VV is northern Rhone-like in its structure. The vines are approximately 80 years-old and yield a somewhat lightly-colored wine, which Breton gets into the bottle with low alcohol (12.5% on the bottle). The aromas are bright, fresh and floral, and the wine is cool, clean and stony on the palate. This is a wine I could drink every night and never feel cheated. Foillard, Lapierre and Thevenet get more attention, but this is another wine I cellar each vintage as I really dig the stoniness, old-vine texture and low alcohol. At this stage, I am willing to say that the 2014 Beaujolais vintage is a really good one.
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… Have they decided to diversify in Beaujolais wine?