Beaujolais tasting report...

[TiggerK]

Six of us gathered for a very interesting Cru Beaujolais tasting last night. Really enjoyable and I came away with a real sense of the class that can be found in Beaujolais, albeit with the right producers. Tristan & the crew at Fix St James looked after us well, food was delicious from start to finish.

We did all the Booj blind, three flights of four, not revealing any until the end of all 12. We then cracked a couple of Australian Gamay for comparison and discussion while also revisiting the favourites. Most or all of us were in agreement over the top 4 or 5 wines.

Brief notes...

Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly Cuvee La Chappele 2014 - Cherry, rocks and gravel on the nose, good fruit purity, slight sour rhubarb note, maybe a touch of heat on the finish. Nice. I actually guessed it blind as I was originally going to bring this!
Domaine De La Grand Cour Fleurie Chapelle Des Bois 2014 - I think all agreed this was WOTN. Noticeably cloudy, more savoury style, perfumed, good balance, strawberries, cherries and musk, very tasty wine, delicious.
Paul-Henri Thillardon Chenas Les Boccards 2013 - Never had a Chenas before IIRC. It suffered following the Fleurie I think, just a bit generic perhaps, not a lot of interest, although perfectly drinkable.
Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py 2015 - Much more grip and furry tannic heft. Bit of brett too, mmm. Dark fruited, big style, maybe a touch of alc heat, but real impact here, albeit lacking subtlety. In the top 5 for most.

Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly Clos Bertrand 2014 - Lovely perfume, great balance and mouthfeel. More classic Burgundy Pinot-esqe structure than the previous four wines. Generally the 2nd favourite wine of the night. Excellent.
Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes 2014 - I guessed it was the same producer. While it wasn't as complex or interesting as the Clos Bertrand, it's still a solid, quality wine.
Jean Marc Burgaud Cote Du Py Cuvee James 2012 - Corked
Paul-Henri Thillardon Chenas Les Carrieres 2013 - Bit medicinal with a menthol lift on the nose to start, did settle a bit. Serious wine here, big tannic grip, cumin and allspice on the nose, palate was quite long but the wine seemed to have faded a little by the final re-taste. In the Top 5 or 6.

Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes 2015 - Bit bigger, borderline new world feel with the oak influence here, but retaining a classic acid line.
Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly Clos Bertrand 2015 - Bright acid, really stylish Beaujolais with musk and cherry and a light and balanced feel. Probably prefer the 2014's over the 15's but very happy with this. Also in the top 5.
Jules Desjourneys Moulin a Vent 2009 - WTF happened here. Coconut oak dominating. Bin 707? Rioja?? No, just no.
Jules Desjourneys Moulin a Vent 2010 - I wrote 'Big, Powerful, Dark, Broody.'. No sign of coconut thankfully (noted after reveal). Seems like it will age well.

Mayer Gamay 2017 - Ah Timo loves his stalk doesn't he. Quite good actually, food friendly and well made. Far removed from Beaujolais though, and fair enough, it's not trying to be anything other than what it is.
Sorrenberg Gamay 2015 - even further removed from Booj, but quite interesting. Soft, somehow powdery with slight strawberry sweetness and pretty perfume. Very feminine style of wine (hope that's not a sexist term), will try the rest tonight.

Very informative and fun night, many thanks to Hesh for supplying almost all the wines, and thanks also to Maybs for dropping off the Foillard, such a pity he couldn't bring himself in the end, hope you recovered OK. Cheers to Andrew for the two aussie gamays as well, and to Krusty for his organisational skills.

If you're annoyed at not being able to afford much Red Burgundy any more, or you're a bit tired of New World Pinot, I encourage you to give Cru Beaujolais a go, if you haven't already!

Cheers
Tim

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[Mahmoud Ali]

Looks to have been a fascinating tasting Tim. Thanks for the notes and photographs. Was there any discussion of aging, and the bit about 10 year-old Beaujolais developing a Burgundian character?

Mahmoud.

[TiggerK]

No, not much discussion on aging Mahmoud, although aged Beaujolais is certainly something I'd like to try more of. The Thivin's in particular have the acid and balance to likely age very well. Does seem that the 16 and 17 vintages were very difficult in Beaujolais mainly due to hail wiping out a large % of many Cru regions. So I suspect availability over here will be very limited for a while. I got a few Thivin 14's but definitely not enough based on this tasting!

[Willard]

Great report, thanks Tim. Beaujolais is definitely something I need to try more of.

The Mayer is so stalky but so good.

Will