Gamay Shelter!
Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:05 pmIt's the prettiness of the best cru Beaujolais that keeps me coming back, especially in Spring and Summer, (indeed it's the same thing that propelled me into the nearly unfathomable notion that I could actually produce wine like that in California--and sell it!) so, over the last couple of days I've opened two of my most favorite of the genre.
Unfortunately the bottle I opened Tuesday, 2004 Fleurie, Clos de la Roilette seemed to have gone into a funk; the nose was uncharacteristically dirty (not stinky, just missing all the freshness, the florality, the bright and lively fruit. The flavors carried over the dirt, making the wine's naturally high acidity unpleasantly sharp. I've had wines from the Rhone (both North and South) that have done this, and it's most disappointing. I'm hoping this is just an anomalous bottle.
Last night I opened the 2004 Chateau Thivin, Cote de Brouilly hoping to satisfy the craving that had provoked opening the Fleurie the night before. Thivin is, at it's best, the wine that captures everything I love about this kind of wine. But I was out of luck again. The nose wasn't as cut off as the Roilette, but the character was compromised; instead of strawberries and pepper, there was a smell like slightly bad charcuterie, and some non-descript red fruit. You could drink it, but knowing the way it had tasted in previous examples, it was a mighty letdown. What the hell's going on here?
These bones were NOT jolly
Unfortunately the bottle I opened Tuesday, 2004 Fleurie, Clos de la Roilette seemed to have gone into a funk; the nose was uncharacteristically dirty (not stinky, just missing all the freshness, the florality, the bright and lively fruit. The flavors carried over the dirt, making the wine's naturally high acidity unpleasantly sharp. I've had wines from the Rhone (both North and South) that have done this, and it's most disappointing. I'm hoping this is just an anomalous bottle.
Last night I opened the 2004 Chateau Thivin, Cote de Brouilly hoping to satisfy the craving that had provoked opening the Fleurie the night before. Thivin is, at it's best, the wine that captures everything I love about this kind of wine. But I was out of luck again. The nose wasn't as cut off as the Roilette, but the character was compromised; instead of strawberries and pepper, there was a smell like slightly bad charcuterie, and some non-descript red fruit. You could drink it, but knowing the way it had tasted in previous examples, it was a mighty letdown. What the hell's going on here?
These bones were NOT jolly