Google Translate doesn’t really do justice to the French promotional pitch for this wine. But, then, one wonders if words can do the wine justice.
Sadly, I find no U.S. sources for it on Wine Searcher.
I think the words say it all.
The Fly on the label is a nice touch!
Clos des Mouches?
The proprietors must have been very disappointed when they found out that name was taken.
It sounds like this wine should be a real hit with brett lovers.
Thought sure this was about Pegau
I assumed it was about our old friend, Francois, and that stupi lawsuit:
“The magazine cited François Mauss, head of the Grand Jury of European Tasters, who said that much of Beaujolais wine was ‘not proper wine’ and that its producers were ‘conscious of commercialising a vin de merde’ (a crappy wine).”
[u]‘Vin de merde’ case closes in favour of freedom of speech - Decanter
Update: By special arrangement with sometime WB’ers Claude Kolm (purchaser) and Gray Newman (wine mule), I procured a bottle of this from Paris and served it to Gray’s and my brown-bag group, which Gray hosted tonight. Gray transported it back to the U.S. without peaking.
It was not bad! A syrah and grenache blend from the Languedoc, someone reported after a web search during the tasting. A trace of cab franc-like vege/green bell pepper at first (calling Mr. Alfert!), a trace of camphor, maybe. Grape seed was also a good description of one note on the nose. But these are all fairly faint.
In the mouth this reminded me of a Loire in a quite warm year. It was much fresher than your average cheap Languedoc – more nervosity. Fairly concentrated, well balanced, with ample soft tannins and enough acid to keep it alive.
The knock on this is that the fruit is kind of indistinct; there isn’t much personality. Overall it’s a bit flat and bland. But there’s nothing funky or off at all.
Comments from others before the identity was unveiled: “I’ve had this before.” “It’s a nice wine.”
No one dissed it, which our group is certainly capable of doing.
I was pleasantly surprised. No thrill from this wine but it punched above its weight, to use a Briticism.
Didn’t Francois Mauss get sued for calling Beaujolais that?
In defense of the group, I should say that tonight’s brown-bag line-up also included:
-2014 Wind Gap Trousseau Gris (faintly salmon hue; too tart for my tastes; no clear fruit or varietal signature; wish they’d left this fruit on the vine longer; 11%)
-1990 Trimbach Cuvee Emile Riesiling (stunning and fresh, like a wine 15 years younger; so lively and light on its feet for an Alsatian in a warm year; 92+ for me, vies for wine of the night)
-2007 Clos des Papes Blanc (weird and disjointed at first; too big, though it comes together a bit with air)
-2003 Leoville Barton (I couldn’t decide whether it was a Right Bank wine or a California merlot; this is all about the vintage, not the wine; but very chuggable)
-2004 Roumier Chambolle-Les Cras (absolutely delicious, feminine, Cote de Beaunish on the nose; drinkable but very fresh; no trace of green meanies; not a bad word for this wine; this was a big hit)
-2007 Terra Romana - Cuvee Charlotte (Romanian cab, merlot, indigenous wine blend) (not bad at all, though not exciting)
-2006 Montes Alpha Syrah (Chile) (bleccchh! chemical smells, over-alcoholic, internationalized plonk)
-2002 JJ Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Spatlese (maturing Spat with good acidity; Saar-Ruwer like; needs more time to evolve)
-2002 Gunderloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Spatlese (riper than the Christoffel, naturally; more honey, some apricot; very good acidity; both of these wine seem to be in just late adolescence)
-1990 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese (fairly golden color, diesel, fairly mature scents; some quite mature tastes but nonetheless very fresh; flavors a bit indistinct; I guessed a 1990 Rhine Auslese; this bottle was purchased on the secondary market and I suspect was not very well stored)
The Vin de Merde was a little less interesting than the Romanian wine but far, far more potable than that expensive Chilean dreck, which I dumped.
See Drew’s post above.
I bought Vin de Merde when it first came out 5-6 years ago. It was shit but it only cost 4€.
Since then, each year the supermarkets have put it on at a different price. Now it’s 9,99€.
I guess the marketing plan is this “People will only buy this wine once but we need everyone to buy it once, so lets appeal to every pocket.”
Nah, it would be Joguet