Something to be said for simple pleasures
I tried the 2023 Coudert Fleurie Clos de Roilette about a month ago. It wasn’t as approachable as the 2022 was at this point, but I still thought it was very good. These were my notes:
PnP. Juicy raspberry, strawberry, and red berry, some green herbs under the fruit, some earthy notes. Medium body, medium acidity, dusty tannins in the finish. There’s some noticeable alcohol heat (14%) and there’s a touch of fleshiness to the fruit, but it’s still in balance. This clearly needs some time, but it’s worth opening one now for its youthful, juicy, exuberant fruit. But I’ll hold most of my bottles for a at least 2-3 years (but I bet I drink at least another 1-2 over the next year since I love this juicy character it has now).
I liked it a lot, and my only complaint was the alcohol level. I haven’t tried the 2023 Cuvee Tardive yet.
If you like the regular you will probably like the Tardive. Both are really delicious and seductive wines, in my opinion. Although I struggle with the alcohol and they are in a ripe rich mode that is not necessarily what I want from Beaujolais, so thus far I have held off from buying too much.
1 Like
Maybe it’s cheating a little (technically under $30) but I opened a 2016 Vallana Boca tonight which was a delight. Several of the other Vallana cuvées fall around $20 or less per bottle.
Pop n’ pour into a Grassl Cru. From the get-go, this has a complex and aromatic nose of dried blackberry, cedar, roasted chestnuts, cinnamon, dried violets, menthol, and a touch of cacao nib. For me, this wine straddles the line between rustic and polished and has a lot of character. The palate has gorgeous flavors of black cherry, licorice, dried herbs, and leather, which becomes more concentrated and powerful after a couple hours of the wine being open. Full-bodied, but suave with its fine-grained tannins that are already nicely incorporated and playing well with the fresh acidity and a lingering core of earthy minerals.
The wine feels like it has just come out of hibernation, developing some secondary and early tertiary character, but has plenty of runway for continued maturation. It was great with a roast chicken dinner, but also great for sipping on its own. My first Vallana, I’ll definitely be stashing away some of these for the cellar and exploring this producer’s other cuvées.
5 Likes
I’m not thrilled with 14% Beaujolais either, but this is a wine I try to buy every vintage (for better or worse). But I may not buy as heavily as I did in 2022.
Sounds good. I enjoyed them too. And I’m already having flashbacks to 2009 when naysayers were complaining about the wines being too ripe but then they turned out lovely with age. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them. We all have our own purchasing calculations and I tend to be pretty picky as my storage is limited.
I always picked up Nicole Chanrion’s Brouilly instead, because I was probably on the Kermit Lynch autopilot, which I see is another sub-$20 wine that’s now 25 bucks.
Worth every penny, too. Lovely stuff.
That’s a crazy good price. I tasted the 2023 this summer at the domaine and then again at home and it was in the ripe 2023 style but with some crisp structure underneath. Much easier to drink than the 2023 MaV, which may require more time. If you like Coudert and you want a ripe Brouilly, seems hard to go wrong.
2022 Domain Pascal Brunet Chinon:
Bought more of this today to round out a case of daily drinkers.
PnP. Consistent with previous note from 7/2024. Plum, cassis, blackberry. There’s some green herbs and leafiness that comes out with some air (and which is well integrated with the fruit), but it never falls into the green bell pepper zone. Some graphite and earthy notes under the fruit and herbs. Round, sweet character to the fruit, but it’s framed nicely by the tannins and medium acidity. Medium body. Drinks well now. This is the only wine I’ve had from Pascal Brunet, but based on the structure and where this is now, I’d say this should drink from now until 7+ years from the vintage. Solid value at $17 full retail.
Gonna write just a few names that I think can be found at a good price, but I’m more sure all are imported to the US.
Herve Villemade (Chambers St. Wines)
Armand Heitz (Not sure where)
Sylvie Moreau Racines for the cheapest best bubbles I’ve had all year (not sure where)
Domaine Chevalerie (Chambers st. wines)
Frantz Chagnoleau
Patrick Piuze
1 Like
I have had them with 10-15 years of age and to me they really don’t get better in any noticeable way. They are great throughout the aging curve.
2 Likes
You give me hope for my remaining two. Had one a year , between 2020 and 2022, and they were definitely in a funk, no fruit and nothing else interesting. And I loved them so much 10 years ago.
I posted this last summer
IMO too many of the wines recommended by the Uber-Geeks on this board are too obscure to attract the attention of younger / poorer people interested in wine.
Please add Louis Martini Sonoma Cabernet to the list.
2 Likes
What do you mean by that? That they’re not sourcable?
Yes, and I also mean that noobs may be more likely to try something they have heard of, such as Chardonnay or Cabernet, rather than Boca, Fleurie, Chinon or Vernaccia.
1 Like
Respectfully, I think this entirely misses the point. If newbies are not willing to seek out unique wines from unique sources, all of which are being recommended here, and all they want to do is stick with basic grapes from basic stores, then maybe this board is not of much help to them. My own sense is that is not what they are seeking, they are seeking to be exposed to new wines, new regions, and new experiences. Everything that I have recommended upstream is easily found, with maybe the exception of Domaine Guion.
PS. I should have also recommended your fave Domaine Pegau, the Côtes du Rhône! I just bought 2 cases at ABC in Orlando, ABC at one point had 300 cases of this wine throughout its Florida network. Very easily found, on every single ABC shelf. A top-notch wine for $18.
7 Likes
Another Bordeaux bargain: Chateau De Pitray Cotes De Castillon. The last one I drank was the 2019: black fruited with some spice notes on the nose; on the softer, fruit forward side with more blackberry, black cherry notes. Nice quaffer for around $15.
1 Like
The point of a hobbyist website is to encourage people to branch out from mass market consumer goods.
9 Likes
Part of my wine education was using WTSO and Last Bottle Wines to acquire cheap(er) wines and try them. I learned about many grapes I had not tried before. Some good surprises, some glad I tried, but never again. Don’t overlook the flash sites for buying less expensive options.
Another option is Winebid. They will only go as low as $15 on a wine, but with the premium, that puts the bottle at $17.55. It’s an opportunity to buy wines with some age on them and I regularly use them to supplement not having to store wines the entire time. I know some people don’t like them (some because of experiences years ago) but I have never had issues with my purchases. I buy 5-6 cases a year from them.
1 Like