Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud Cote du Py 2010

Why is it that many wines taste sweet while some others are sour? Sun I say and how much time the grapes hang on the vines. It is a mix between the wine-maker and vines. This is why we have so much fruit and sweetness in Australia. Slowly people are changing what they plant so as to better fit the variety to the area. This wine is sour and bright with great flavour.

While this winery hasn't been around for that long, Jean-Marc only started in 1989, they are producing some spectacular wines already.

Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud Cote du Py 2010

The flavour profile is sour but it works so well. The 50 year old vines have worked their magic as the complexity of plums, strawberries, raspberries and spice are beautiful and perfumed. The tannins take it up a level as they are dry and bold yet oh so pretty. While I love this now I would let it sit for 3 to 5 years in the cellar before I open them up.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $35
Rated: 92
Drink: 2016 - 2025
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine Roland Pignard Beaujolias Villages 2010

The acid and tannin profile, on most Beaujolias, makes this region one of the best for high quality wines that can be enjoyed young with a large variety of foods. Generally speaking the oak control is pulled back which allows the flavours to sing without much airing. The wines of today are now light years away from the poo that was being produced in the 80s and early 90s. That pick and flick nouveau style that almost killed the regions reputations has started to shift back the other way. Rolan Pignard makes some of the better examples and they are styled in a more wild and earth manner.

Domaine Roland Pignard Beaujolias Villages 2010

Funky man, just grab a chair and sit back and feel the fro. This wine makes me want to put on some comfortable clothes and sit on the porch with a large glass of wine with some cheeses. The structure is easy going and I guess that is why I feel that way. The flavour of earth, mushrooms, cranberry juice and dark cherries are intense yet light in weight. The flavour are fine and transition over well. While the gyserol mouth feel addes texture and increases the length.

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $29
Rated: 89
Drink: Now
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine de Saint Odile Morgon 2011

The more I taste Beaujolais the more I think I need to buy more to drink at home. The tannin to flavour ratio is brilliant and I think that Morgon offers the ability to stash them away in the cellar for a few years.The 2011 vintage sits inbewteen the full on fruitiness of the 09s and the elegance of the 2010s.

Domaine de Saint Odile Morgon 2011

My god the dark cherries, wild herbs and layers of spice are mind blowing. The spice comes in the form of pepper, cumin, cinnamon and sumac whcih makes it savoury yet sweet at the same time. While the palate weight is on the lighter end of the spectrum the flavours pack a punch. Complexity? Hell yes and it is through the roof. Structure? Hell yes as well with prominant tannins and waves of acidity balancing everything out.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: ?
Rated: 90
Drink: Now - 2020

Jean-Marc Burgaud Les Vignes de Thulon Beaujolais Villages 2011

Over the years of working in the wine industry I have noticed a shift in the consumer patterns for red wine drinkers in Australia. The shift has been from larger more full bodied wines to a lighter medium bodied style that are more savoury and food friendly. If I was to serve 10 customers in one night 10 years ago, 8 out of 10 would have chosen a big bold Barossa Shiraz to go with their meal but now the pendulum has turned the other way as wine like this elegant Beaujolais are rocking peoples world. I guess it is easier to have a glass or two over lunch of these styles and still be able to drive or get back to work for a few hours rather than having to take the rest of the day off.

This wine is imported by Neville Yates of Eurocentric and this producer is fast becoming my favourite for Beaujolais as they seem to offer tremendous amount of savoury flavour in a light to medium frame that possesses structure and finesse.

Jean-Marc Burgaud Les Vignes de Thulon Beaujolais Villages 2011  

The wine starts off savoury and earthen with specks of plum and tart cranberries before the gravy train of cracked pepper kicks in. During the three days that I looked at this wine it stayed elegant and balanced the whole way through but it was the mild chalky tannins that built over that time. They were only a supporting act but the dryness inched up a notch over that time period. The initial flavours came across rather well and it was the mid-palate that plumped up a bit before a nice bitterness on the back-palate presented itself. All in all I could suck down buckets of this stuff without much problem. If I was to compare it with the 09 or 10 vinetage I would say it is more savoury and elegant than the 09 but more fruit than the 10.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $25

Rated: 87

Drink: Now – 2016

Importer: Eurocentric Wines

                                                      



Domaine Coudert Pere et Fils Clos de la Roilette 2010

The Fleurie is a district of Beaujolais and normally produces wines which are lighter in weight and in structure yet the wines possess a lovely floral aromatic which is uplifting. The Fleurie district boarders Moulin-a-vent and Chiroubles which are considered two highly acclaimed areas with total the vine acreage standing at around the 2,000 mark.

Domaine Coudert previously to the 1920s was considered a part of the Moulin-a-vent district but when the new Fleurie district was zoned the estate fell outside of the area to the dismay of the owner.  The estate eventually fell into disrepair and a new set of owners acquired the property in the late 1960s and set about resurrecting the label.

Domaine Coudert Pere et Fils Clos de la Roilette 2010

This wine tasted nothing like the normal Fleurie wines as the structure of the wine is fearsome yet the flavours of gravel riddled plums, tart cherries, dried earth and spice manage to fight their way through. The restrained and elegant nature of the wine is beautiful and is in contrast to the massive depth of flavours that came out in the wines from the 2009 vintage. At the moment the wine is pretty tight and unyielding but over the course of the 5 days that I tried it the true charm and great length of the wine came to the fore. Once again the wines from Beaujolias are just ridiculous for the quality that they provide and the price tag that they command.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $30

Rated: 92

Drink: 2014 – 2022

Importer: Eurocentric Wines

Chateau Thivin Brouilly 2009

The Brouilly sub-region is one of the largest within Beaujolias and the wines normally have bright flavours within the red end of the spectrum.  While the wines from this sub-region may not have the structure to support extended cellaring they do offer a lot of bang for your buck as a drink not style. This would be perfect to drink over the summer months as it would pair marvellously with the type of foods that are consumed at this time.

Chateau Thivin Brouilly 2009

The 09 vintage produced darker styles of wine in Beaujolias and this is case in point with this wine. Dark plum and tart cranberries meander from the glass with cherries and fresh herbs making an entrance.  The wine does take a little while to open out but when it does you get a little cooked lamb combined with dirty spice.  All the flavours scream enjoyment and I did enjoy it except that the structure is very subdued.  There are only small notes of tannin covering the middle of my tongue so I would recommend drinking this over the next 5 years.  Now here is the thing, whilst it does provide value for money when I compare it with other types of wine, when you compare it some other wines from Beaujolias the value drops.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $30
Rated: 87
Drink: Now - 2018
Importer: Heart & Soil

Jean-Marc Burgaud Cote du Py 2009

I will start this off by saying this has to be the bargain of the year! There is a huge amount of structure built into this wine and when compared to his other wines, the quality moves into a different arena. The Cote du Py sub region is the serious end of the spectrum for beaujolias.

Jean-Marc Burgaud Cote du Py 2009

Massive tannins burst out of the blocks like Carla Lewis on steroids. Whilst they are big the wine is silky smooth with flavours of crushed cranberries, dirty Dutch licorice, sour raspberries and white pepper.  The wine is more about texture as it grips your lips with love.  A brute force of love, if you could say such a thing. It definitely left a smile on my face after I finished the first glass.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $70 Magnum
Rated: 94
Drink: Drinks so well now but will keep for 20 years
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine Metrat et fils Chiroubles 2008

The vineyards for the Chiroubles are situated at the highest altitude in the whole of the Beaujolias area.  The wines are generally lighter in weight than the wines from Morgon. Compared to nouveau, Cru Beaujolias can be cellared for anything up to 15 years with the top versions having the ability to sit in bottle for longer. Metrat's wines see a little oak maturation in old barrels. 

Domaine Metrat et fils Chiroubles 2008

To start with the wine is a bit stinky but quickly aromas of cherry, violets and earth present themselves.   The wine never moves above light weight but has an inherent drink ability to it.  Tannins provide a textural aspect to the wine which adds to the fun.  I would crack this open now while I wait for the 09s to be released.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $40
Rated: 86
Drink: Now - 2018
Importer: Decant Wines