Thumbs up or down? Generally speaking…
I don’t know but Id like to say Im happy to see you posting here!
Im also curious about 2012 beaujolais
Not a vintage I am buying in any quantity. I did have a Lapalu that I thought was a nice exception.
Thumbs down, but the wines are getting a little better now. The question is: for how long? I just counted: 39 bottles in the cellar. I’ll be happy to drink them, some of them are wines I really, really liked: Vissoux Coeur de Vendanges, Thibault Liger-Belair Moulin-à-Vent VV, Château Thivin Zaccharie, Raphael Chopin Archambault. But in about 90% of all cases, I like the 2011s and 2013s better than the 2012s.
What is the issue Steven? Too ripe? Not ripe enough? I have not paid attention to the reports that vintage at all.
Not ripe enough - at least for my taste. I think quite a lot of wines taste a little leafy and thin. For me, 2012 does not seem like 2010 where a lot of wines started out as rather reserved, but are coming into their own slowly. I’m rather doubtful that the 2012s will develop in a similar way.
Thumbs down. Time and time again, I’ve been underwhelmed by a variety of 12s. Not sure if its all simple under-ripeness. Thin and “flat”, more than green. 11’s and 13’s offer better quality and consistency IMHO.
Not impressed overall. Recently tasted a very good 2012 Lapalu Croix Rameaux that i was impressed by.
Although I am more in the camp of appreciating the differences among vintages, I believe that Richard’s assessment here is good. 2011 and 2013 are really good Beaujolais vintages, in my opinion. 2012 is definitely leaner, and the wines are firm. They lack the texture and flesh of the 2011s and 2013s. Like Richard, I don’t find them green, however.
I have a couple of bottles of this in my cellar so good to hear it performed well. I appreciated your recent note on CT about the Lapalu (at least, I’m guessing it was yours.)
Otherwise, mainly buying 2011s of which there are still quite a few on the market, and dipping my toes into 2013.
'12 probably has the least exciting virtues of any beaujo vintage '09-14, broadly speaking.
And the '13s are such good classic Beaujolais…
Wonderful!
I agree about leafy, thin, and not having the texture I want (they can be quite astringent). The biggest problem for me is the pronounced green/vegetal character in many of the wines, even from some of the best producers. This must be something like the '04 Burgundy problem with huge variance in sensitivity, because I was shocked to see people say they don’t get green notes in the wines. To me, in many wines, they are very strong. A few have been able to integrate those notes fairly well for me, but there’s no question it is a very tough vintage in general. Even some producers who I think make good wine almost every year have really underwhelmed me in 2012. I hate to say it’s a vintage to skip, but with the strength of the '11s and '13s, and with what I’m hearing about the '14s…
edit: I just reread this post, and it sounds bad. I mean everything I said, but I should point out that I have tasted a few (very few) nice wines from 2012.
I think that your evaluation is reasonable, Doug.
Indeed, there are some fantastic wines made in '12 (some of the Desjourneys wines that I tasted at the estate in November come to mind, but he’s on his own weird little planet).
But the variability and more-often-than-not uninspiring quality is one to sort of pass on, unless you get to taste otherwise.
wait for 2013 which are excellent
2012 bit thin - but hard to generalise as the Foillard are pretty good
Where are we on 2010? Continue to hold?
Would agree with the assessments of 2013 vintage Beaujolais, the ones I’ve had are focused, bright, fresh and delicious. I would also add that the 2014 vintage wines that I have tasted all show many of these same characteristics, and I am looking forward to tasting these again.
I can speak well for JP Brun Morgon and Guy Breton Morgon. Mostly let down otherwise.
I only have a few 2012’s in the cellar. However, I’ve been happy with every bottle I’ve opened so far. I think the 11’s have more long-term structure and so do the 13’s. However, I’m more than happy to have the wines I do have. They have always shown beautifully for me. I can definitely agree that they are leaner in style this vintage. Yet, I like that about this vintage.