thanks Martin for all these tasting notes, they are really great. I’m a wine newbie and heard that beaujolais can be a great wine to start exploring, especially because of the relative value and how food-friendly it is (Eric Asimov from the NYT always speaks of this), so it’s encouraging to hear that the most recent vintage looks tasty. Can’t wait to check out some of the nearby retailers and hopefully contribute my own TNs to this thread.
Welcome to the board, Fred. Beaujolais would be a good place for you to start (and then make your wine journey an easy one going back and forth between it and Burgundy!), as it is wonderfully food friendly with its generally bright fruit, cleansing acids and easy tannins. Asimov is correct. At a wine dinner last week, we had open a Nikolaihof Riesling, Thivin and Chanrion Cote de Brouilly, and a bunch of northern Rhones, including some from Clape and Gilles, and once the Nikolaihof was gone the two Cote de Brouilly interested me most.
Thank you for this thread, Martin. I’ve been mulling over the purchase of a '14 Lapierre mag the past couple of weeks, and the positive words on that wine in this thread are helping me make up my mind. Now, if only I can find a way to rationalize breaking my wine buying moratorium …
FWIW, Brian, I have heard from other savvy Beaujolais drinkers that Lapierre’s 2014 is much the way Keith Levenberg described it above. I have had a bottle of the cuvee “N” (the 750s which Kermit Lynch distributes here in California) ready to go for about two weeks now but haven’t gotten to it. I am certain that you will not regret having a magnum of Lapierre’s 2014 Morgon in your cellar. Nice looking package too, as you know.
Good to know, Martin. And, Yes, the mag. is presented nicely. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Here’s a note on a Coudert from a few months ago:
2014 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie (9/27/2015)
This is ever so young, but ever so good. Obviously still very primary, the fruit is pure and transparent with laser focus and a bit of polish. Ripe red and purple fruits are mixed together on entry and through the middle where they are met by a high-toned herbaceous note on the backside and through the mouth-puckering finish. This is rather full-bodied but still in good proportion with the bright acids hidden underneath the youthful fruit. While this certainly needs some rest to show its more nuanced attributes, this is actually drinking fairly well now, albeit in a very primary state.
Very Good – Drink or Hold (92 pts.)
I’ve been wondering how to fill out the remaining case at K&L for a few days now and this thread has me wondering if I want to even stop at a case. Thankfully K&L has many of these in stock, particularly the Diochon Moulin VV and Chanrion Brouilly. Throwing in some 2014 Baudry as well. Perhaps the 2014 vintage has been kinder to France than previously anticipated?
2014 Jean-Paul Dubost Beaujolais Villages “Tracot” - spot on delicious Gamay. Aged in concrete tank. Nothing too serious, but there’s plenty of delicious cherry fruit and earth, gently structured. This is an easy everyday Beaujolais at around $15.
The 2014 Coudert Fleurie is just ridiculously good, the best since 2010. The Tardive also is but needs more time.
2014 Pavillon de Chavannes Côte de Brouilly Cuvée des Ambassades - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly (11/24/2015)
A pretty bojo nose shaded towards the dark end of the spectrum. Relatively full and dense palate - sweet black and blue berries and a coiled presence of tannin on the finish that would benefit some age. (91 pts.)
2014 Marcel Lapierre Morgon - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (10/25/2015)
Pure bojo nose and palate but with serious depth. The flavors and finish persist. The crunchy and cool body delights. (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Let me pile on top of the praise for the Coudert Fleurie. Might be the single best 14 value I have had so far - kept pace with the Lapierre Morgon for me, and may have even surpassed it at the moment, though that would be a fun race to look in upon over the next decade.
The 2014 Lapierre Morgon “N” tonight was as delicious as the good notes above indicate. Fruit is on the dark side, and the wine is bright, cool and fresh as a daisy (or, if you are an Aussie, a trout). It was, however, missing a decent burger.
So, another take on the Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon VV - there are wines that hit every nook of your nose and every corner of your mouth, and this is an outstanding example of a wine that fills the senses to the brim. Let me mention the vibrant, plush, mouthfilling texture, too. It’s velvet and silk, but there’s a rush of brisk acid as this passes through your mouth that gives this wine great energy and tension. There’s still more to come with at least three to five, and maybe 10 or more years in the cellar.
With air, this becomes a little more grippy and stony in the middle. Intense flavors of raspberry, red cherry and red plum.
Makes me think of this:
"I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold"
That is a really fine take, Jim. Thank you for posting.
Drinking the '14 Thevenet and Lapierre Morgon side by side. A little more fruit to the Thevenet, both very nice and crisp. Waiting for the mains to be ready. Happy Thanksgiving all.
2014 Roilette Tardive - Beautiful vintage for the Tardive. Built more along the lines of the 2010 than the 2009 for those making comparisons, but I like it better than the 2010 as the fruit seems more vibrant and the material finer. The fruit is bright wild berries with an almost tangy snap, laced with a strong gravelly minerality. The tannin is burly but playing in its own track and doesn’t get in the way, and adds some tougher accents to a profile that’s otherwise feminine and slender.
Just took delivery of my Lapierre MMIX last weekend. I wanted a mag, but they didn’t have any. Also ordered some Cuvee Camille which I’m looking forward to trying as well.
Any sources of the 2014 Clos de la Roilette Tardive on the west coast? Seems mostly limited to New York and the shipping is quite pricey.
Mine came from Envoyer.
Thought I’d open one of these early because I was concerned by some rather lukewarm CT notes and also because I could shoehorn this note into the QPR Charity thread. I usually give my Suniers a couple of years before opening them. I then usually drink all of them quite rapidly and can never lay any down because they are so damn quaffable. This vintage is no exception.
Julien Sunier Fleurie 2014
Florals, especially violets, and strawberries on the pretty nose. Violets and raspberries on the palate with a persistent undertow of balancing acidity. Delicate and feminine with precision and, as always with Sunier, a lovely purity to the flavors. Lots of salinity (other might call it minerality) on the lingering finish. If there is any knock on this, it is that it seemed to lose oomph when paired with our rather mild-flavored dinner (a buttermilk dressed green salad and roasted root vegetables.) The first half-glass while preparing dinner was the best. 12% abv.