Wine & Spirits - October 2020 - 68

FOCUS: BEAUJOLAIS
Our blind panels tasted 49 wines from Beaujolais ^sfromPvenc for this issue. Joshua Greene, our
critic for Beaujolais, rated 15 as exceptional (90+) and 8 as Best Buys. Subscribers can
find a complete list of wines tasted, and all reviews, at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

CRU BE A U LOJA IS
278087

93 | Maison Passot

$25

2019 Fleurie Les Rampaux (Best Buy) ^ This
27-acre domaine includes a small holding in
Fleurie, where the Passot family's 50-year-old
vines grow on east-facing hillsides. It may be
the cool morning sun that encourages this
wine's fragrant fruit and gentle, persistent
tannins. Nacho Monclús of Brooklyn's Camperdown Elm found it complex and elegant:
"The licorice and red fruit remind me of
grenache from Rayas." § Valkyrie Selections,
Healdsburg, CA
278047

91 | Franck Besson

$27

91 | Château de la Pierre

$18

2017 Juliénas Le Griottier ^ This wine's
savory fruit feels vibrant, its dark cherry flavor pointed up by some volatility, though
the overall impression is clean. The tannins
open up into a mineral bath, with stone and
rose scents adding tension to the juicy finish.
Structured to age for several years, this will
take on an herb-rubbed pork rib roast. § Bonhomie Wine Imports, South Orange, NJ
278045
2018 Régnié Sans Soufre (Best Buy) ^ The
Barbet family makes this from a parcel of
vines planted between 60 and 70 years ago,
certified organic since 2013. Made without
added sulfur, the wine showed some bottle
variation, one bottle showing its natural-wine
credentials more than the purple granite soils
in which it grew. The second bottle was fresh
and lovely, with black-raspberry brightness
and a kick of acidity-a clean, juicy Régnié
with stamina. § David Bowler Wines, NY
278011

90 | Domaine Blain
Soeur & Frère

$27

2018 Brouilly ^ Brisk with the scent of wild
Mediterranean herbs, this gamay looks
toward the south in its warm and juicy red
fruit. The flavors are bold and lasting, bound
by mineral tension and smoky tannins. § Craft
+ Estate/Winebow Imports, NY
278019

90 | Jean Sambardier

$23

2018 Juliénas Les Fouillouses Vieilles
Vignes ^ Fred and Damien Sambardier farm
parcels in schist soils and others in clay for
68

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2020

their Fouillouses bottling. Made without
added sulfur, the 2018 is a tight, rosy red
with persistent, cherry-scented fruit tannins.
Notes of bay laurel, purple flowers and black
pepper give it a bite in the end; for charcuterie. § Elixir Wine Group, Bend, OR

MORGON
278057

92 | Dom. Gérard Brisson

$34

2018 Morgon Les Charmes Vieilles Vignes ^
Brisson farms 50- to 60-year-old vines in
granite soils to produce this powerful young
Morgon. It's an immediate blast of mineral
flavor, the dark fruit beefy with five-spice
notes behind the tense black tannins. It
doesn't take long for the wine to grow supple, the fleshy fruit still surrounded by mineral tension but gracious in its intensity. You
could cellar this, or decant it now for a meaty
braise. § Banville Wine Merchants, NY

278037

91 | Maison L'Envoyé

$20

90 | Domaine de la Bêche

$21

2018 Morgon Côte du Py (Best Buy) ^ A
rustic Burgundy pleasure, this wine rests its
meaty black-raspberry flavors on a cushion
of mineral tannins. Those tannins add briskness to the wine's generous depths of fruit.
Pour it with spicy saucisson. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA
278032
2018 Morgon Cuvée Vieilles Vignes (Best
Buy) ^ Olivier Depardon's family domaine
includes a range of parcels in Morgon, 27
acres in all, the vines more than 70 years
old. He destems the grapes and ferments
them spontaneously as whole berries, producing a powerful, mineral-driven Morgon
with enough sweet fruit richness to gentle
the tannins. It's salty and figgy, peppery and
bright. § Vintage '59 Imports, Washington, DC
278564

90 | Georges Duboeuf

$25

90 | Maison Passot

$25

2018 Morgon Côte du Py ^ A rich and supple Morgon, this wine has persistent tannins
that bring mineral tension and black-mushroom depths, completely gentled by the floral black-raspberry fruit. It's an easy gamay
with structure, ready to enjoy with prime rib. §
Quintessential, Napa, CA
278030
2018 Morgon Les Rampaux ^ The Passot
family farms vines averaging 48 years old
to produce this Morgon, its floral scents
and density touching on superripe notes of
dried cranberries over rich, supple black-currant flavor. Some green spice brightens the
tannins, focusing the finish for a duck-liver
terrine with pistachios. § Valkyrie Selections,
Healdsburg, CA

MOULIN-A-VENT
278084

93 | Château du
Moulin-à-Vent

$63

92 | Château du
Moulin-à-Vent

$30

91 | Cave du
Château de Chénas

$30

2017 Moulin-à-Vent Champ de Cour ^ This
grows at an eight-acre parcel at the base of
the hill in Thorins, where the soil is deeper
and holds more water than in the vineyards
on the slope. While hail severely cut back the
2017 crop, the fruit that remained created
a formidable wine. It cascades with fruit up
front, before the tannins tighten around all
that floral intensity. Then, with air, it opens
further, yielding scents of figs, plums and
strawberries, still tight, but the racy fruit
flavors last. Decant the bottle if you open
it now, to serve with roast squab and wild
mushrooms. § Wilson Daniels, St. Helena, CA
278073
2018 Moulin-à-Vent Couvent des Thorins ^
A selection from 40-year-old vines growing in granite soils with manganese, this
wine fermented with some whole clusters
(20 percent) and then aged for 16 months
in stainless steel. That élevage preserved the
generous depths of fruit in the wine, floral up
front, edged with bright tannins and greenpeppercorn spice in the end. A bold and zesty
2018, this will benefit from a year of bottle
age. § Wilson Daniels, St. Helena, CA
278052
2019 Moulin-à-Vent Selection de la Hante ^
Both luscious and elegant, this floral gamay
holds generous plum-rich fruit in a brisk grip
of salty-mineral tannins. It feels cool and
zesty, ready to enjoy in its youth with crisp
suckling pig. § W.Direct, Lawrence, KS
278022

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Wine & Spirits - October 2020

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