Good day Berserkers!
I don’t know much about Beaujolais except that my wife enjoys them and has been asking about finding a tasting that will have some. And since I buy the majority of the wine, keeping wifey happy allows me to continue buying new bottles that the enablers on this board turn me on to! I’d be very much appreciative of some recommendations for bottles primarily below $30 but would consider some really good juice up to about $50.
I thank thee in advance!
Hi David,
Lapierre, Foillard, Thivin, Metras and a few others are considered at the top. I’d look for the Lapierre Morgon and Thivin Brouilly, pretty sure both can be found for $30 or less.
Other producers I like are Vissoux, JP Brun, Jadot, and Drouhin. Drouhin Morgon is a steal for the quality, imho. Really though, there’s an ocean of good Beaujolais and some of the recent vintages have been good to outstanding. Best part is it’s not an expensive pursuit and you can really sample a broad range without dropping serious $'s.
The 2012 Julien Sunier Regnie and Fleurie are wonderful right now. Daniel Bouland & the JP Brun wines are fairly easy to find and are great values under $30.
Coudert, Coudert, Coudert.
One that doesn’t get talked about much is Domaine des Billards from Saint Amour.
+1 on Thivn and Foillard. Also, Cedric Chignard, Nicole Chanrion, Georges Descombes, Chantal et Eric Appert-Coudert, Paul Cinquin. These are all going to be Cru Beaujolais.
Hi David,
If you’re new to Beaujolais, I recommend starting with current vintages of Georges Duboeuf’s different Cru bottlings (Fleurie, Chénas, Morgon, Brouilly, Régnié, etc). Don’t expect to have your socks knocked off, but do expect to have a great deal of fun exploring the 10 Crus at sub $20 per bottle. Only from there would I then proceed to explore more expensive domaine bottlings.
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Good to hear on Coudert, bought some 2013s.
Most of the best producers have already mentioned and I heartily endorse them.
Someone to consider who doesn’t get a lot of press, but makes wines that are generally not hard to find and, with all respect to Mark, I think are a big step up from Georges Duboeuf is Stephane Aviron. A negociant operation, but a particularly careful one, in my experience.
(Full disclosure: I sell Mr. Aviron’s wines. But honestly, I’d be a fan even if I didn’t)
I have a couple of cases of each of the 2012 Georges Descombes Régnié and 2010 Georges Descombes Fleurie Vieilles Vignes that serve me very well as a house red at the moment.
Not to drift excessively, by the way, but how are the 2013s?
David - Vissoux is another good producer: the Traditionelle comes in under $20 and is made from very old vines (check out the website).
Many cru bottlings from better producers need a couple or few years to come 'round - Coudert’s basic Fleurie, for example.
Brun, descombes, Coudert, Metras if you can find it, foillard, lapierre are my go tos.
+1
Descombes often flies under the radar, but the wines are fantastic.
Lots of good options, many already mentioned. I most often buy:
Coudert
Foillard
Thivin
Lapierre
Brun
Vissoux
Bouland
Jadot Chateau des Jacques
Drouhin
I agree with the rec on Aviron (and I don’t sell it). Check to see if chambers street wines has any of the '07 or '05 Pierre Savoye Morgon cote de Puy left. Hard to beat for $17.99. The pignard 2012 morgon that they import is also nice for the same price.
I found the '07 Savoye a bit disappointing. Not bad, but I expected more from a producer I like in one of my favorite vintages. I’ve also never been that impressed by Aviron compared with many of the other producers suggested in this thread.
Fair enough. I thought the Savoye was awesome. Went back and bought more. Judging by how quickly the 4 cases disappeared, someone else must have liked them as well.
Thank you everyone for the recommendations. This provides a dearth of options to begin exploring. We will be near a Total Wine today (I have my local wine shop also), would they have any of these mentioned?
If not, my local store can order most things in.
Thanks again.
David, I just pulled up the Palm Springs TW site, and it doesn’t look like they carry the producers mentioned in this thread, except Jadot - but only the villages is mentioned. They do have Quatre Vents Fleurie, which I think I’ve heard okay things about. In FL, though, you have some better stores (e.g., B-21) that may be within driving distance or offer good in-state shipping deals.
I’d repeat that many cru Beaujolais from good makes deserve a few years in the bottle. Vissoux’s Traditionelle and Brun’s l’Ancien are above-average village batters that you can enjoy pretty young.
According to John Gilman, 2013 is a very solid vintage with classically styled wines. The few I have tasted are consistent with that assertion.
There is way too much excellent Beaujolais out there to bother with anything from the industrial giant, Duboeuf.