2014 Yvon Métras Fleurie- France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie (3/3/2018)
Did not love this one. Consistent with other CT notes, Metras did not nail this one in 14. The nose shows that funky-tarry-stemmy thing I get from Metras, it’s quite nice if you like that style. But the palate is flabby, overly-fruited, not in a flawed way, just too ripe, almost stewed and lack of acidity leaves it feeling one-noted and heavy. I drank it, it’s not terrible, but it’s not what I look for in Metras. Or Fleurie.
Just had the 13 Fleurie, also good, but gun to my head I don’t get the love for Metras.
When they are on, they remind me alot of Foillard without the weight in the midpalate.
The good ones I have had have the funky, lactic, cream-cheese notes that Foillard almost always has followed by bright red fruits and mineral notes.
My note on the 13, had two weeks ago:
Vg. Perfect cork. Must have been standing upright for a year.
Decanted clean, clear and bright. Nice Foillard funkiness on nose. This has the slightest prickle of acid on palate, soft tannin on finish. In the middle of all that is a creamy, foillardish cheesy componenet with bright, straw and raspberry flavors.
This is lighter (finer) more delicate on the palate than Foillard, but hits many of the same notes. VG. Long, berryish, subtle clean finish.
I’ll drink it quickly just in case the bacteria decides to show up. (It never did, hooray!).
I’ve had this several times…but not once did I ever think this lacked acidity or had stewed fruit…I’ll have to crack open another one…but they’re on the lighter scale of red…definitely not overripe or overfruited…Must be massive bottle variation…
I’ve tucked away some MaV & L’Ultime from 2014. I figure these are wines I’ll be aging 20+ years in the hopes that they reward my patience. I’ve had one of each of them so far and I found them both to be special wines. It seems like there is significant bottle variation with this producer. The 12’s were the vintage I had a harder time with…thanks for the note and sharing.
Thanks for the comments, guys.
Maybe there is some variation in the 14 Fleurie. Not a shock, right. There’s a number of notes on CT that mirror what I found. And I’m a big fan of Metras, so if anything I default to positive. This just wasn’t quite right.
Yikes. I have a bottle of this in the cellar and I was really looking forward to opening it in a year or two so was disgusted to see this note on CT. I wonder if shipping conditions might have had anything to do with the wine turning out to be so disappointing? I had understood that 2014 should be a safe bet generally for those of us looking to avoid the jamminess and high ABV present in some 2015s.
Had multiple 14 of both the Beaujolais and Fleurie.
Besides the initial mandatory shake off or 1 h decant, it was very good. No acidity or stewed fruit issue. Now the 15 might be a different story.
Have not had the Metras, but your note echoes why I have not enjoyed 2014 Beaujolais. I finally gave up after testing 5 or 6 different wines. There’s always another vintage.
Looked back at my notes and '14 Metras Printemps was less than stellar, too. Maybe more of a '14 thing for Metras. Foillard and Balagny did great in '14. My data points.
I had the 2016 metras fleurie and thought it was unreal good. Last year I had the 2 2015’s; first one really impressed as it was overly ripe and the second one had some VA or Brett thing that got worse and worse where I didn’t drink 2/3’s of the bottle.
Agree completely, have loved almost all 14s I’ve opened.
Except Metras, which I didn’t care for at all. Although the “lacks acidity” comment makes me scratch my head. This was my note from last year: Opened another 2014 Metras. Acidity too high and out of balance. Unattractive flavors, not sure if spoiled, brett, or something else. One of the few bottles I’ve ever poured down the drain.
i had the fleurie on release and from what i recall it was reductive and volatile but pretty nice after a decant…very bright red fruits. good but not worth the price. I prefer the wine from his son to be honest.