WTN: Dom du Vissoux/Chermette Cuvée traditionelle Beaujolais VV

[Bill Buitenhuys]

2004 Domaine du Vissoux (Pierre-Marie Chermette) Cuvée traditionelle Beaujolais vieilles vignes
$13. Imp: Weygant-Metzler, Unionville, PA. 12% abv.
Before popping this wine in the fridge for a quick cool down, I opened it up and poured a small amount for Lill and I as I usually do. The nose was completely mute, it was thin, and the taste was all “I’ll take The Big Shrill for $400, Alex”. After 30+mins of air time, the wine in the glass (at roughly 72oF) was still muted and highly acidic but that didn’t stop me from pouring some from the chilled bottle (now at 60oF). What a transformation. The chilled wine bursts with wonderfully ripe cherry, strawberry, stone, and tobacco leaf aromas. The flavors are subtle, elegant fruit with light earth, the balance is exquisite, and it wraps up with a lengthy, lip-smackingly tart finish. This went from a potential sink dump to a fairly serious (and very yummy) Beaujolais.

[Jenise]

So all that stuff about chilling Bojo is not about the fact that you can but that you should? Interesting, and something I'd not realized. I've got five bottles of gamay to try this month--better go put them all in the chiller.

[Otto]

So all that stuff about chilling Bojo is not about the fact that you can but that you should? Interesting, and something I'd not realized. I've got five bottles of gamay to try this month--better go put them all in the chiller.

Very odd experience there, Bill! I've usually found that Bojos can be more focused if a bit cool (at about cellar temp I would say, not chilled), but I've never noticed that it would be temperature which causes the scents to appear. Jenise, if you would be so kind, experiment with all these variables and report back - I'll certainly try to do so.

[Jenise]

Otto, I'll definitely do that. And yeah, cellar cool is a no-brainer, but even cooler, I wouldn't have instinctively gone there. I like chilled red wines and in fact deliberately chill some to retard the raging fruit in a too-fruity wine. To chill a wine to do the opposite is, therefore, counterintuitive to my experience.

[Bill Buitenhuys]

Jenise, I was quite surprised and it's an experiment I'm going to continue through this month as well. I don't know if this was a fluke or not but the aromatic difference was striking. I had Lill test the two glasses (without telling her what I had experienced) and she had the same response as I did.

Otto, yes, you are right. I just took the wine down from "counter temperature" to cellar temp (~60degF). I havent tried cooler than cellar temp but that would be worth a little side study as well.

[Bob Parsons Alberta]

Took the liberty, Bill, of looking up their website as the name rang a bell.

http://www.chermette.fr

I see there is one cuvee aged in oak!

[Bill Buitenhuys]

Thanks, Bob. I'd been poking around that site yesterday. That link is tied to the "Vins du Beaujolais" site (beaujolais-wines.com) and has lots of good info on many producers, the region in general, and the various appellations...including a nice map and nice vineyard pix.

Apropo to our discussions above, this site recommends drinking beaujolais at either chilled (11-12C/48-50F) up to "cellar temperature" (13C/52F) depending on the appellation.