RIP Georges Duboeuf (1933 - 2020)

Just saw via Wine Spectator that he died on Saturday of a stroke, aged 86. May he rest in peace.

He has arrived!..in heaven.

Awwww, Victor…“Georges Duboeuf est arrivé!”
Tom

A big champion of his home region and its wines, and unfortunately sometimes dismissed too easily. Like Mondavi, he made a real difference. RIP.

Yup, Greg…he made a real difference in Beaujolais. Not because of the quality of his wines, but for the tireless/unabashedly enthusiastic
promotion of the region he did.
Tom

Went to his theme park years ago

Low-budget and corny as all git out. It was a hoot-

I don’t love his wines, but respect what he did. Will have a banana in his honor.

Great one, Scott. Made me laugh.
Tom

Absolutely! He was one of the great wine marketers of all time.

I will sound a voice of enthusiasm for the wines. The crus are often the best available option on a grocery store shelf and are a good entree into why Beaujolais isn’t Nouveau.

Cheers,
fred

+1

Yes, the crus can be very good in the right vintages.

I got the pleasure of meeting Georges years ago in Beaujolais, quite the gentleman and no one was a bigger proponent of Cru Beaujolais/Beajolais and region in general, and its rightful place on the world stage. I don’t think Cru Beaujolais would be what it is today without Duboeuf, if not for the help he gave growers keeping them in business in tough times they the 90s and 00s.

Have always had a soft spot for the Jean Descombes Morgon and Moulin A Vent Rosiers.

RIP

Monsieur Duboeuf was one of the people who put me on the road to hell. It was 1967, on a train from Lucerne to Paris with my parents and the rest of the tour group. They gave us a box lunch. The contents included a slice of brie, who remembers what else, and a split of his Beaujolais. Hey, what was a 15 year old to do? Walk around the train car and collect the bottles from everyone else in the group who didn’t like wine. My first ever wine collection. It lasted all the way to Paris, and then across the pond to London, where I finished off the last of them in Trafalgar Square with the hippies.

So I suppose I should blame him, right?

I’m sorry to hear that news. I liked his wines, even if its unfashionable to admit that here.

Even though its not really the weather for it here, now I feel like I’d like a cup of Fleurie.

I agree with Fred. The crus are a GREAT illustration of terroir.

As to the banana flavor, he acknowledged it and changed his yeasts. But he deserves at least as much respect as anyone who salvaged the old vine Zin vineyards in CA. He kept a lot of producers in business. He was from the region, he wasn’t a carpetbagger, and he was passionate about his region and his wines. And his cru wines are great pedagogical tools. He was one of a kind and deserves our respect, in some ways more than the hired hands who produce indistinguishable Cabs from highly-regarded vineyards in Napa and elsewhere.

Sad to see another passing. I understand he was married to the woman shown on the right of this snapshot:

She asked “Where’s the beef?” He said “Right here!”. A match made in heaven.