I’ve been fixated on cru Beaujolais the last several months.
Jim Cowan recently posted a note on a 10 year old Clos de la Roilette that made me want to ask: which Beaus make the best candidates for cellaring more than just a couple years?
Do things like the sulfur regime of the producer affect your decision to cellar or not? Does the type of fermentation (carbonic, semi-carbonic) or elevage (new oak) affect ageability?
I’ve put away some 05 and 06 Lapierre and Foillard Morgon (probably my favorites from this region) to taste over the next several years.
I’ve also put away several single bottles of other Beaus as experiments. They are so delightful when young that cellaring seems counter-intuitive.
Certainly fermentation makes a difference. I don’t think wines under carbonic maceration would last ten years in the cellar. Slso producer matters as does vintage. Lapierre and Morgon are good ones. Roilette and Vissoux/Chermette as well. It also depends on how you like you wines.
Personally I think 10 years is pushing the limits but 99 was a good year and that is a Roilette is a good producer. I also think Jim appreciates the tertiary elements in wine as much as, and more than many, people. His note was certainly enticing.
Loren,
Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it. You rate the 05 vintage below 99 and 02. The thought of a vintage better than 05 makes my mouth water.
In addition to the Lapierre and Foillard, from 05 and 06 I’ve got one or two each of Vissoux Traditionelle, Trenel Julienas, Thivin Cote de Brouilly, Chanrion Cote de Brouilly, Diochon Mav and Chignard Fleurie.
My plan/best guess is to consume these 5 to 7 years from vintage. I’ve got more of the Lapierre and Foillard and plan to hold at least a couple of those to taste at 10+ years old.
That '05 Lapierre tastes more like Pinot than Gamay… it’s kind of odd, but it’s really beautiful. I had my last '02 a few months ago and it was so good I wish I’d saved a few more.
The Beaujolais wines I have cellared longest have been Jadot’s Chateau des Jacques ‘Clos’ single vineyard Moulin-a-Vents - specifically Rochegres [recently drank the 2002] and Grand Carquelin although I have drunk 2 of the other 3 less frequently: la Roche [recently drank the 2000] and Champ de Coeur. However they are all normally consumed by 8 years from the vintage although some have been kept, usually by mistake, up to 12 and none have been shot. Even the basic Chateau de Jacques MaV keeps well and develops. I find these wines are the most likely to present rather like a Burgundy Pinot Noir.
The wines are vinified in the traditional Burgundian way and matured 50/50 in oak and steel.
I also like and cellar Marcel Lapierre’s Morgon [the 1/3rd that is unfiltered and sulphured only at bottling] and another ‘Gang of Five’ original Jean Foillard’s Morgan Cote du Py but think of these wines as a very different part of the taste spectrum of Beaujolais from the Jadot bottles. I also tend to drink them earlier than the Jadots although I have no reason to believe they wouldn’t keep longer although the winemaking is semi-carbonic and with minimal to no sulphur which would logically make them more vulnerable to transportation and storage temperatures.
MaVs and Morgons are the most likely to age well but I have also had excellent Fleuries such as the Poncie from the Chermette’s Domaine de Vissoux and the Coudert’s Clos de la Roilette. There are many other excellent cru Beaujolais available today but these are the ones that I buy to cellar although they usually get drunk from the start too.
Interesting thread. While I will admit to generally liking them young, this past weekend during a “cellar reclamation” project I came across single bottles of the '93 & '95 Jean Descombes Morgon. While I immediately assumed they had both long since turned to vinegar, I was surprised at how much they both had left - and the '93 was the better of the two bottles. Not that I’m necessarily recommending anyone to age them that long, but I think if your storage is good and you buy on release, you might be surprised how long wines last.
Nigel, I’ve only tasted the basic Chateau des Jacques (the 05) and I agree with you. It did seem like something that would probably age longer than most other beaus and it also struck me as a different type of beau compared to the gang of four wines. I didn’t trust the provenance of the source or I probably would have put some of those in cellar.
Melissa, the 05 Lapierre is beautiful. I tend to gulp Beaujolais, especially when paired with chicken. But this wine has stunned me into stillness on a couple occassions.
Gilman or Kolm or…? (sorry guys that I can’t attribute correctly) noted this was likely to achieve the pinotage quality that beaus sometimes achieve with age. Tasting this for myself is now part of my quest with these cellared beaus.
Bob, I hope in another 10 years or so I can have an experience similar to your 93. I agree that if I they are properly cared for throughout their life that many supposedly modest wines will last longer than expected. These beaus seem more delicate than other reds - but are cheap enough that even I can afford to experiment.
The Descombes is a Dressner import - I think. And those seemingly aren’t distributed in Ga. I plan to address this gap in my beau education once the weather will allow shipping.
I have some Potel/Aviron VV Julienas '05 laid down right now with the intention of consuming those with 3-4 years tops, and after tasting the '06s I will be putting some of those down for up to 5 years as well.
Mark, I tasted one of Potel-Aviron’s 05 Cote du Py a couple years ago. It was all structure and so difficult to read I got discouraged about buying more.
The burgundy negociants working in Beaujolais - Jadot, Potel, Drouhin - all make beaus in a style that reminds me more of burgundy than beaujolais. I don’t get the sense of carbonic/semi-carbonic from these wines. In each case I thought their signature burgundy styles were also present in their beaus - based on my limited experience with them.
I would guess they’ll all age quite differently than a lot of other beaus.
DCowell, visit viewfromthecellar.com for John Gilman’s newsletter. He offers a different style of wine writing and opinions compared to WS and WA. He offers excellent profiles of regions and producers that are somewhat neglected by those bigger pubs - lots of burgundy, loire, and alsatian coverage. It is pricey, but his pub is as close as you’ll find to a ‘Beauhound.’
Scott,
Is carbonic, partial or full, a f/t Beaujolais characteristic? I was under the impression that there are many cru Beaujolais that don’t do carbonic at all.
Your point about burgundian style projected into Beau is well taken, btw.
In June we had one from the '40s. I can’t recall the vintage or the wine at the moment but I was surprised how well it showed. It was from an extremely cold cellar.
When I last looked, the majority of the top producer were still using traditional Beaujolais carbonic maceration [generally what they describe as semi-carbonic] to vinify the majority of their wines although there were progressively more and more winemakers experimenting with and using the burgundy methodology.
AFAIK the carbonic technique was central to the Jules Chauvet approach to winemaking which incorporated a biodynamic low/no sulphur regime that inspired the ‘Gang of Five’: Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, Jean-Paul Thévenet, Jean Foillard, and Joseph Chamonard [his daughter took over on his death in 1990].
However there are some like Jadot and Potel[-Aviron] that appear to use the burgundy approach exclusively. There are others that I cannot recall without looking them up but IIRC the considerable majority still use the carbonic method. OTOH I may be out-of-date and would welcome the latest information.
I really like the Jadot wines particularly the single vineyard MaVs but have found the Potel-Aviron wines rather austere and angular although perhaps they just need more time. However what I look for in Beaujolais is the ability to drink early and keep on drinking it for at least 8-10 years as it develops in the bottle.
Jadot’s wines do that as do the wines of the Gang of 5 that I cellar and drink plus Chermette’s and Coudert’s and others like Jean-Marc Burgaud.
IMO the Jadot wines taste less obviously like Beaujolais than, say, Lapierre’s, Foillard’s or Thevenet’s although the last three are also quite different from each other – just more obviously Beaujolais but in a completely non-pejorative way. Domaine de Vissoux, Clos de la Roilette, Jean-Marc Burgaud et al provide their own distinctive but still Beaujolais imprint.
OTOH I would also say that the Jadot ‘Clos’ wines have increased enormously in price in recent years to the point where they have lost one of the key selling points of great cru Beaujolais – really good wine with a great QPR. Jadot’s Clos wines are now as expensive as good Villages Burgundy.
Thanks Nigel.
Mark, go with what Nigel said as a response to your question about carbonic - I’m out of my element on this subject.
Chambers St sent out a great beaujolais email after the NYTimes article at the beginning of August. The email was full of interesting observations, including some insight into variations on carbonic. It really runs the gamut, from long slow carbonic maceration using only naturally occuring yeasts to the more burgundian destemming, pressing, vinification.
It gave me the sense that very respected producers can be found along all parts of that spectrum.
Nigel, if there is a reference you can recommend on this subject I’d love to know about it.
I’ve had good success with Roilette, Foillard, Thevenet, Brun, and a couple of others I can’t think of right now. That’s all I’ve actually given a chance to – so everything I’ve tried to age has worked out just fine. I’m sure that there are others that wouldn’t; I’ve just never bought them. Even the '00 Brun L’Ancien (not a cru) is pretty good right now.
Bern’s has an extensive collection of really old ones (and current ones). Next time anyone visits just ask. They are all inexpensive on the list and worth a try. You will be surprised.
John,
I don’t go to Bern’s very often (when I’m in FL for the winter) but you may have just prompted me to do so. I had no idea they had a good collection of older ones. Thanks.
As for Scott’s original question; lots of good suggestions here and thoughts on what contributes to longevity. I think aging any wine is a crap-shoot, the longer, the riskier. But I have had very good luck with cru Beaujolais from good producers. And, FWIW, the 1991 Roilette is even better now then the '99.
Best, Jim