Thanks for the note. I love the few basis wines i had from La Porte Saint Jean.
I love all of his reds. This one being the top, but it does need some age. Drank the 2017 recently and I agree it was fine with a short decant.
Great producer, great wines.
I think Beaugrands may be his top cuvée.
Has he made that cuvee since 2013?
I bought a few cases of the 2013 in December of 2020, I should follow up with my supplier and see if there has been a more recent release.
I had bought 3 bottles of the 2010 from Garagiste back in 2013. Quite delicious, just finished the last one a few months ago.
I am a big fan of these wines. I have not seen Beaugrands cuvee before. Assuming not much of it makes its way into the US, any tips to track it down? I have recently been able to find quite a few older vintages of whites and reds from 2013-2015 - I am looking forward to tasting and will report back!
Uh this reminds me that I have a 2015 Cormiers ready to go in my wine fridge 
I am not based in America but I got most of stash of this producer via Idealwines, believe they do worldwide shipping. Hope this helps!
Thanks for that. I’ll keep my eye out for that cuvée on Ideal! I have a strong source for most of the bottlings in the states, which I’m happy about : )
If anyone reading this needs any additional confidence, a serious collector recently told me that they stopped buying Rougeard after beginning to drink these. Partially this may have been driven by a decrease in quality for those wines in newer vintages; however was exciting for me to hear, as I stumbled upon them prior to hearing that! - I realize some might consider this overly enthusiastic
I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm here. I see quite a bit of wines by this producer, not knowledgeable enough to be specific on which bottling, in a couple of Paris mega-food stores that wife and I frequent and prices are friendly enough that I’ll make sure to purchase for hotel room drinking the next time I’m the there.
Regarding the original note, it sounds very weird to me if the funk blew off after an hour or two, because:
All in all, even if I love LPSJ wines, they are usually bottles I don’t recommend aeration. A little bit might help, but several hours can be risky.
I’ve had brett recede with air on multiple occasions with Loire and older Bordeaux but may be the second bullet point you mentioned. I don’t think this producer is particularly bad for brett, Baudry is the poster boy for me.
Having had many bottles of multiple cuvées by both of these producers, I’d say Baudry often shows quite a bit of brett, yet even then they are not at the level of LPSJ!
If I wanted to show brett to somebody who didn’t know what brett was, LPSJ would be my first choice. No competition.
Interesting, I’ve only had 3 or 4 bottles of LPSJ but have found them pretty clean. Won’t argue with you on the broader sweep as I would imagine you’ve had a lot more. All of mine from what I’m pretty sure was a single shipment to my local shop, so quite possible that there was some combination of cold weather or cold transport along the way → no brett bloom.
This is something that I always find perplexing, the place I’ve noticed it most is 2020 Baudry Grezeaux which twice has shown a good slug of horsey brett night one and then that has totally disappeared night two. It could be the fruit intensity thing you’re describing, though my perception of fruit intensity didn’t really change in either instance (and the main ‘new’ profile on night two, other than the absence of the brett, was a bunch of green olive and herbal character that hadn’t previously shown as much). The other thought that has crossed my mind is some reductive aromas might give similar impressions to brett but then blow off.
2013 was the last Beaugrands vintage - I’m not sure why. I had it last summer and enjoyed it, in spite of the fact that it was a 2013, but it wasn’t at the same level as his other wines in better vintages.
I’m a fan of La Porte Saint Jean. For me the wines are made in the same style as Roches Neuves or Antoine Sanzay, so crunchy and sappy, but with great purity and elegance. The only problem is the price - I’m happy to pay 30 to 40€, but I baulk at more, which I often see it at, purely because I don’t think the wines are better than Les Mémoires from RN or Les Poyeux from AS. So my purchases are only occasional and my collection is smaller than it otherwise would be.
This is one of those rare occasions when I have to disagree with you! I’ve probably tasted less LPSJ than you but I haven’t encountered excessive brett so far, only twice in fact, and each time, it blew off after a few hours in the decanter. The same has happened countless times with other Loire reds. Well, that’s been my perception anyway but perhaps it was just the fruit taking over, as you say.
Absolutely - and of course I agree about Baudry. Much as I enjoy most of their wines, the brett can be annoying. Actually Baudry is one producer whose brett doesn’t always fade with air.
I doubt that - while I’ve had probably a few dozen Baudrys, I’ve had only a handful of LPSJ cuvées, some a few vintages, over a decade or so.
It might be just selection bias, but LSPJ wines have been consistently and considerably bretty. Heavily in the barnyard territory. Conversely, some more recent Baudrys I’ve tasted haven’t shown any brett, and usually when they come across as bretty, I can’t remember if I’ve ever had a Baudry as barnyardy as LPSJ wines. And never has the funk gone anywhere, no matter how much air (but, like I said, a couple of wines have turned mousy!).
FWIW, Roches Neuves has typically been pretty pure in my books, a few wines having had a little bit of funk, and can’t remember if I’ve had a bretty Sanzay. Very different in terms of funk from any LPSJ wine I’ve had!
And I don’t know if my nose is too keenly tuned to detect brett, but I have never experienced brett going away with air. On the other hand, I’ve identified many wines as slightly bretty when very few other people pick anything outside of ordinary from the wine (for example a blind Ganevat Chardonnay we tasted yesterday was distinctly bretty to me, whereas several others said they didn’t pick up anything!
I think that sometimes I confuse brett with savoury smells and tastes - I mean I probably think a wine is savoury whereas in fact it’s affected by brett! I’m probably less anti-brett than most too. But the Beaugrands 2013 was something else entirely on opening - it stank of rotting cowpats, literally! One of the more revolting smells I’ve encountered in a wine - but it disappeared quite quickly
I agree about Sanzay and Roches Neuves - never had a single bretty bottle, and I’ve gone through…er…rather a lot of the latter! It’s not my fault - they have too many different wines and I like them all!!
Overall, I think the brett issue, like the green pepper one, is a bit of a cliché with Loire reds today. Yes, there are occasional brett issues, especially with 2017s for some reason, but it’s not widespread. And as for green pepper in a Loire red, I can’t remember having a single bottle in the last ten years. Climate change is probably why.
I find random Brett on LPSJ reds but only one that put me off. Let’s say, a couple dozen bottles starting with the 2014s. Love the wines generally.
But I’m honestly baffled by the notion people think Baudry presents Brett systematically - a “poster child”. I’ve probably tasted something like 200+ bottles of Baudry wines over the last 27 years, maybe more, and other than an occasional bottle, no issues. Although I’m not super-sensitive, I am somewhat sensitive and generally don’t like Brett in wines. The winemaking is reductive so it’s easy to mistake that for Brett. Calling @Nathan_V and @Jay_Miller, who I believe have weighed in on this before. Nathan has probably drunk more Baudry than any other non-Baudry on the planet.