Seriously, this will be one fantastic tasting!!!!! Many of you probably think of Beaujolais as a simple little throw away wine like Beaujolais Nouveau………which IS a simple little throw away wine. These Cru Beaujolais are the complete opposite of that kind of wine. Serious stuff indeed! The region of Beaujolais is geographically within the boundries of Burgundy but the grape variety is Gamay Noir instead of Pinot Noir. There are 10 Crus which are named after the villages that the vineyards surround. These are considered superior terroir to the usual Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages vineyards which are on the lower level on the quality scale of Beaujolais. The 10 cru villages are; St Armour, Julienas, Chenas, Moulin-A-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnie, Brouilly and Cote De Brouilly. For this tasting we were fortunate to find five different crus from some of the best small growers in the region. NO DEBOEUF HERE! However, that brings me to the vintage of 2009. On every bottle of Deboeuf 2009 Beaujolais there is a neck tag that states “2009, the vintage of a life-time”. Inside he says that in all of his years making Beaujolais (which is close to 50!) it’s the best vintage he’s ever seen. Many experts have claimed that it’s the finest since 1947! These proclomations often amuse me as EVERY vintage seems to be the “best vintage ever”. As they say, it’s always the newest child which is the fave. But I don’t think I’ve seen hype this extreme, ever. But I must admit, I’ve never tasted young Beaujolais even close in terms of quality to these 09’s.
If you’ve never experienced Cru Beaujolais this tasting will open your eyes to a region that you should be paying much more attention to. And if all you’ve had is the Nouveau………foggedaboudit. Many assume that these wines can’t improve in the bottle. I can tell you from personal experience that I’ve had a few Moulin-A-Vent’s at the age of 12-15 years that have blown my mind! They reminded me of a great, perfectly aged, Volnay or Vosne Romanee. Of course you need the cool cellar and from a good vintage and, as always, the grower is a HUGE part of the equation. And like Pinot, these wines go with a huge variety of foods and dishes. In my mind, this will be one very special wine tasting.
THE LINEUP
Domaine Cheysson, Chiroubles $20
Dominique Piron, Morgon “Cote de Py” $23
Thivin, Cote De Brouilly $24
Chateau des Jacques, Moulin-A-Vent $25
Michel Chignard, Fleurie “Les Moriers” $27
PREMIUM POUR ($3)
Jean Foillard, Morgon “Cote de Py” $37
Seeyouhere,
Sandy
Sandy Thompson, Proprietor
Mt. Tabor Fine Wines
4316 SE Hawthorne Bl
Portland, Or. 97215
(503)235-4444
