by Bob Hower » Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:12 pm
We invited a couple of good friends over for home-made pizza a few days before they were to leave for Paris. Standing at the kitchen counter enjoying a few hors-d'oeuvres, I poured a couple of glasses of this Fleuri while Keith and I were chatting. We had not even touched our glasses when all of a sudden we both stopped our conversation in mid-sentence, arrested by the beautiful bouquet coming from this wine. I've never had that happen before. I don't consider myself to have a very exceptional nose, but you'd have to have a nose of wood not to enjoy this one. "It lives up to its name" Keith said. Indeed it does. I did not take notes at the time, but I remember, besides the wonderful flowery smells, a nice tingling sense of carbonation, rich and bright strawberry flavors, mouth watering acidity, balanced tannins, and a feeling of aliveness. About $20, 12.5% ABV, all the life and easy pleasure you want from a top Beaujolais. A Kermit Lynch import, and my understanding is that he insists that this wine remain unfiltered for import to the US, even though the French bottlings are filtered. My guess is that this one could be cellared for a number of years.
