Beaujolais

• Brouilly
• Chiroubles
• Morgon

Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with candied cherries, slight floral note and a hint of char.  Light tannins.  Velvety texture.  On the palate, cherries, some cherry candy with a bit of minerality.  Fennel on the finish.  This drinks easily on its own and should work with most dishes other than sea food.  A nice pasta wine.  Drink over the next ten years.  

A very unusual sparkling wine imported by Kermit Lynch.  These wines are made by Nicole Chanrion whose family holdings are in Cote-de-Brouilly.  The wine is made from Gamay Noir grapes grown on 50 year old vines and made in the Method Tradionnelle.  It is a vintage wine although the label does indicate vintage.  The color is light golden with a bit of copper color.  A nice mousse with smaller bubbles.  The nose has a light strawberry and red apple note along with a seltzer quality.  Medium bodied.  Some acidity.  On the palate, red apples, some minerality and a slightly bitter tone becoming

Purchased off the list at The Arbor in Pasadena California.  Kudos to them for this inspired and affordable choice.  $65 or so off the list.  Purple in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is deep with black raspberries, slight blueberries, hints of bubble gum and black licorice.  Medium bodied.  Nice texture.  On the palate, this is young but tasty.  Blueberries and black raspberries with a slight sour note.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now and should drink well for the next five to eight years.  It went very well with Pappardelle Pasta, Pesto and Burrata.  

Purchased on release and well cellared, this has help up great.  Deep garnet in color with some purple hues, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight earthiness, a hint of floral notes.  Uncharacteristically for this winery, this was clean with no animal or barnyard notes.  Medium to full bodied.  Lively.  No sign of age.  On the palate, vibrant cherry and black cherry fruit with a modicum of complexity.  Long finish.  Different bottles will vary at this stage, so it probably should be drunk sooner than later, but this bottle would have gone another ten.  Nice with food than

I honestly don't remember a Nouveau carrying a Villages designation, but this was certainly a step up, so there is that.  Purple in color.  The nose has cherries, slight banana and a hint of bubblegum.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the cherry fruit is nice.  Clean.  Not deep but tasty.  This should at least drink well through the end of the year.  A nice wine with Thanksgiving leftovers.  

Celebrating one of the ingenious pieces of wine marketing, I certainly enjoying a free glass of wine when these are released.  It does give a nice glimpse of what the vintage holds and adds a bit of whimsy.  This is purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has bubble gum, yeast and some grapey black cherries.  Nice texture.  On the palate, a bit bitter but some cherry soda flavors.  Good acidity. Ideally this should be consumed by the third Friday in November (it comes out the third Thursday).  It matches ok with lighter fowl dishes.  

One of the interesting things about tasting wine is that everyone is sensitive to different things (especially faults) in wines.  Personally, I am not very sensitive to a bit of oxidation and I really enjoy many wines made in an oxidative style such as Sherry, wines from the Jura, or some Champagnes.  Which brings me to this wine.  This was bought on release and well stored, but at a recent tasting, some found it too oxidized and not enjoyable.  For me, I had no issues with it and found it quite enjoyable.  Your mileage may vary.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose is tight at first but with som

This wine is outstanding.  The kinds of wine that makes people realize just how good wines from Beaujolais can be.  Ruby in color, slightly dark, clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, spice, slight soy sauce and some anise.  On the palate, this has firm tannins.  Black cherries, slightly candied with an underlying spice/minerality.  Well balance.  This needs about three to five more years until peak and then should be good for another five to ten after that.  It will work well with fowl or heavier see food dishes.  

Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has candied cherries and a bit of earthiness.  It is slightly sweaty.  On the palate, this drinks quite easily.  Cherry lozenges with slight anise.  Good acidity.  This begs for food though works fine on its own.  It should probably be consumed in the next year or so although it might make older bones.  

I love Beaujolais.  At least the Cru wines.  They are versatile, friendly and although not everyone agrees, the best ones age wonderfully. So, when at a friends house for dinner recently and he had prepared a Cauliflower dish with pesto that seemed a difficult food match, I suggested he open this.  A good choice.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, plums, spice and some barnyard.  On the palate, there are cherries with slight almonds and slightly dry tannins which all worked together in a good way.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.