WTNs: 2 Macon Thevenets & 3 Morgon reds (inc. Thevenet)

Macon is next to Beaujolais and there are Thevenets to be found in both (unrelated, I think), so that’s the thread running through this tasting.

2004 Domaine de Roally (Gautier Thévenet) Viré Clessè Quintaine 13.0%
Attractive aromas of caramel, pain grille and hazelnuts, with a subtle citric undercurrent. Slightly more sweet than acid, but with a pleasantly bitter finish. Made in warmer climes than the usual Burgundian chardonnay, and it shows. Perhaps they should lay off the super-mature, botrytized grapes.

2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Cote Du Py 13.0%
Dark cherry, kirsch, violets, pine resin and nail varnish pave the way for good acid/sweet balance and a lightly and pleasantly bitter finish. Very nice, but a wee bit too serious for my tastes. What's Bojo without the fun? Perhaps I should lay off Foillard and Lapierre and stick to Breton and Thevenet.

2006 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes 13.0%
Lovely aromas of cherry, leather and bacon. Good acid/sweet balance, more hedonistic than the Foillard, but still somewhat serious. Perhaps I should lay off the Vieilles Vignes and go for the Petit Max.

2006 Jean-Paul Thévenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes 13.0%
Even more lovely aromas of cherry, leather, smoked meat, cloves and some unexpected citrus. Vibrant, very satisfying acid/sweet balance, juicy and peppery. Best of the three Morgons. Man, that Thevenet dude’s really got something!

1995 Domaine de la Bongran (Jean Thévenet) Cuvée Botrytis du 14 Octobre Mâcon Clessè Quintaine 14.0%
One of my favorite dessert wines, made all the more exotic by virtue of oddity and rarity, since practically no dessert wines are made in Burgundy. Rich aromas of peach, apricots, white flowers, fine insecticide (not repellent), honey and dried figs (all suffused, of course, with botrytis). Perfect acid/sweet balance and lovely bitter finish. It always amazes me when something so sweet can be so perfectly and simultaneously acid. If they can do it without acidifying, why can’t the new world gang? Must be the weather.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the notes. My local shop has stopped bringing in new vintages of Beaujolais for the most part as even the 2005s didn't sell all that well (except to me). I won't see too many of these wines unless I get them shipped, and I hate to pay shipping on $20 wines.

2007 Jean Foillard Morgon Cote Du Py 13.0%
Very nice, but a wee bit too serious for my tastes. What's Bojo without the fun?

I haven't had the 07, but too serious? Wow, you must be a very casual guy!

I usually think of Foillard as bottled joy. Although obviously our definitions of joy must be different..

My local shop has stopped bringing in new vintages of Beaujolais for the most part as even the 2005s didn't sell all that well (except to me)..

That's a disturbing trend. I hope it doesn't catch on!

Even in this year I've been in DC, it seemed like Macarthurs was reducing their Beaujolais stocks and carrying fewer wines.

Although obviously our definitions of joy must be different..

It's a brand of detergent, right?

I think that Jean and Gautier Thévenet are exceptional in producing botrytized wine in the Mâconnais; indeed I believe their wines were frequently refused "agrément" on grounds of atypicity. It sounds as if the Roally needed more acidity for balance; shouldn't have been a problem in 2004.

My local shop has stopped bringing in new vintages of Beaujolais for the most part as even the 2005s didn't sell all that well (except to me)..

That's a disturbing trend. I hope it doesn't catch on!

Even in this year I've been in DC, it seemed like Macarthurs was reducing their Beaujolais stocks and carrying fewer wines.

Ditto here in Louisville, a town with an incredible number of wine shops for its size (or so it seems to me). What is it about Beaujolais, one of the most fun and likable wines there is, that makes it so hard to sell? I don't get it. Whole Foods does the best job here of stocking unusual BoJo's, but even they do relatively little.

What is it about Beaujolais, one of the most fun and likable wines there is, that makes it so hard to sell? I don't get it.

Could it be that the reputation of all Beaujolais has been blighted by the public's lassitude with Beaujolais Nouveau? Something similar happened a generation ago (at least in the UK) when German wine's reputation was blighted by Liebfraumilch.

Could it be that the reputation of all Beaujolais has been blighted by the public's lassitude with Beaujolais Nouveau?

While that is true, I don't think it accounts for stores that used to sell more Beaujolais cutting back on their offerings.

I was thinking that while the wines still represent good fun value (in comparison to more expensive age-worthy wines from Burgundy, Northern Rhone, Bordeaux, etc), they are creeping into the $20s and might have a lot more competition for the casual wine drinker from other New World regions.

[David M. Bueker]

I think Rahsaan has it right.

I think Rahsaan has it right.

I'm somewhat loyal/stuck in my ways, so I have been willing to bear the slight cost increases for Foillard et al. (although if they pass $30 too soon that's a different story) because I'm not yet interested in following Chilean pinot noir, or whatever. But my casual wine-drinking friends who used to enjoy the fresh fruity Beaujolais have no reason to maintain that loyalty and not switch to whatever else the marketplace may offer if Beaujolais starts going up in price.

And many of the US stores are much more likely than many regionally-specialized European stores to switch their offerings to respond to these price dynamics. I think. It's not like I actually work in wine retail or anything

I think Rahsaan has it right.

I'm somewhat loyal/stuck in my ways, so I have been willing to bear the slight cost increases for Foillard et al. (although if they pass $30 too soon that's a different story) because I'm not yet interested in following Chilean pinot noir, or whatever. But my casual wine-drinking friends who used to enjoy the fresh fruity Beaujolais have no reason to maintain that loyalty and not switch to whatever else the marketplace may offer if Beaujolais starts going up in price.

Oh, come one, Rahsaan. Cru beaujolais from the top producers is serious wine masquerading as "fun" wine. Morgon Côte du Py is a great food wine, capable of aging and gaining complexity. All that for $20? Still a bargain from where I sit.

Mark Lipton

All that for $20? Still a bargain from where I sit.

Mark Lipton

I agree. But Foillard is now priced from the mid-20s to the low-30s and Lapierre may be a bit cheaper but it depends where you shop.

Sure there are other cheaper producers but the number of people who want to buy Beaujolais in order to age it and watch it gain complexity is probably not very large. And certainly not large enough to sustain retail purchases at the larger stores that are tempted to stock $13 Chilean pinot noir instead.