To me, wine is at its most interesting when you can explore the unknown. Prior to last night, I had never had an old Beaujolais. Thus, having the opportunity to taste two side-by-side was a much welcomed adventure. I’ve heard people claim that top tier Beaujolais bears a striking resemblance to Burgundy once it has spent a considerable amount of time in bottle. After having tasted these wines last night, I’d consider that a fair assessment.
1987 Louis Latour Beaujolais-Villages Chameroy: There’s something very funky going on here. This bottle appears to be suffering from mild cork taint. The color is clear and beautifully for its age, but there’s an off-putting dirtiness at play. The nose has some tart cherry/cranberry action, with maybe a touch of cheese. The palate is wet-cardboard, muted red fruits, and a touch of steel. Oddly enough, there’s a volatile acidity here that throws the whole wine off balance. 75 pts.
1990 Chateau de La Chaize, Brouilly: This more than made up for the Latour. The nose is an elevating mixture of tart cranberry, spiced cherries, and red licorice. The palate reaffirms the nose while adding a touch of wood spice, smoke, and bacon fat. There’s a shocking amount of weight and depth here; an impressive bottle of unassuming Gamay. 91 pts.
I don’t think either of those was ever intended to go the distance, which makes the showing of the La Chaize pretty remarkable. I guess this gives me more motivation to be very, very patient with most of the '09s and '11s (and soon to be '13s) that I have in the “cellar”.
The La Chaize came from an unopened 12 bottle case that was stored in a very cool passive cellar about 12 feet below grade. The bottles were cold to the touch when I found them. I’m guessing they were stored there since release.
Bought three bottles of 60s Beaujolais a few years back. From a store in Torino, I think, to round out a case. Maybe 40-50€ a pop, plus transatlantic shipping. Pretty sure it was a 1961 Château des Jacques, bottled by Thorin, and two 1964s of the same. (I think Jadot has the vineyard now, and that they bottle it as “Clos des Thorins.”)
Arrestingly obnoxious black neck labels with “THORIN” in huge, blinding, white letters; vintage listed in much smaller print below. Very proud of their brand and, from my experience with 50s and 60s Thorin in general, for a good reason.
One of the 1964s was drinkable, the 1961 was totally shot, and the other 1964 was superlative—consensus “wine of the lunch” from a field of comparably aged Burgundy, Rioja, and Bordeaux. Would I buy the same set of bottles again at the same price? At least once or twice more, for sure.
Wow, cool story, Travis. Those ancient Beaujolais wines sound fascinating. The '90 La Chaize certainly opened my eyes to the ageability of Cru Beaujolais.
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