I decided I would challenge a wine prejudice I have built up over the years recently. Beaujolais. Not only did I allow the challenge but I also give the wine a fighting chance by giving a healthy budget for it of around €18. So armed with my typical good will, an open mind I set out to taste none other than a Brouilly that I had heard only good things about. Was this about to shatter my little wine world?
Appearance:
So, was this doll soft on the eyes? A big juicy purple broad greets the eye. Medium intensity, so that at least was on it's side. It's clean, thankfully they'd gone to the trouble to fish the leaves out of this one (My mind is as open about Beaujolais as it can be).
Nose:
On the nose, pleasant. Clean, light a little closed. Strawberries emerged from the mush of fruit which holds the body of the wines nose. A slight stalky note from the carbonic marceration premeated the nose, yet it was a lot more controlled and directed. On other Beaujolais this smell of stalk on other Beaujolais it messy and vegetal rather like olive oil, now while it's considered character, it could be argued that it's just bad wine-making. By actually sorting the grapes from the leaves etc. we get the clean and pleasant nose. This number get into my good books on that note.
On the nose, pleasant. Clean, light a little closed. Strawberries emerged from the mush of fruit which holds the body of the wines nose. A slight stalky note from the carbonic marceration premeated the nose, yet it was a lot more controlled and directed. On other Beaujolais this smell of stalk on other Beaujolais it messy and vegetal rather like olive oil, now while it's considered character, it could be argued that it's just bad wine-making. By actually sorting the grapes from the leaves etc. we get the clean and pleasant nose. This number get into my good books on that note.
Palate:Dry, typically vacuous of tannin, but that's what we are trying to achieve, so thumbs up there. Light body, with a slight vegetal note, but again better restrained that others I have had forced on me. Strawberry is very present along with some other red fruits but none extremely well defined. Hints of blackberry open up, and had some much needed dimensions to this wine, but the wine itself still remains very 2D. Bitterness becomes a factor on the palate too. What happened though was the grapes character turned its head to say hello. The finish opened the said door. Mushy peas, which was seconded by a room of wine novices. This was very very unattractive for me. the nose began to reveal potato at this point. Now in a turn of events I'll offer a defence here, drank at a low temp, slightly chilled this won't happen, so Gamay heads, chill your bloody Beaujolais. Thankfully the finish was only medium and so the wine ended.
Comments:
There are two sides to my comments. One, this is the best example of Beaujolais I have tried, and I can understand the praise this model has gathered. This wine is by far the smartest offering a wine shop has in terms of Gamay, so to all stocking this, good call. This is a case of a good wine-maker with terrible resources showing us a pure example of Gamay. For that I commend him. The flip side? The wine is nearly €20, does it compete? No. At all? No. It is a relic of the tasteless yuppies of the Celtic Tiger. This may sound harsh, but flick through our reviews and you'll see the competition at €20. The wine itself is simple easy drinking and good for wine drinkers starting into red, but still very expensive. Now to finish on a good note, drankk. Chilled, in summer, with sun, this would be very nice. However, It is cold, I have no heating, am listening to the Blues and my grapevine thinks its autumn, this is as seasonal as Mulled wine and honestly as gimmicky. So was it the wine to break my thoughts? No. But it put up an okay showing, and I did manage two small glasses before donating it to others.
There are two sides to my comments. One, this is the best example of Beaujolais I have tried, and I can understand the praise this model has gathered. This wine is by far the smartest offering a wine shop has in terms of Gamay, so to all stocking this, good call. This is a case of a good wine-maker with terrible resources showing us a pure example of Gamay. For that I commend him. The flip side? The wine is nearly €20, does it compete? No. At all? No. It is a relic of the tasteless yuppies of the Celtic Tiger. This may sound harsh, but flick through our reviews and you'll see the competition at €20. The wine itself is simple easy drinking and good for wine drinkers starting into red, but still very expensive. Now to finish on a good note, drankk. Chilled, in summer, with sun, this would be very nice. However, It is cold, I have no heating, am listening to the Blues and my grapevine thinks its autumn, this is as seasonal as Mulled wine and honestly as gimmicky. So was it the wine to break my thoughts? No. But it put up an okay showing, and I did manage two small glasses before donating it to others.
Score:
62
Price:
€18.95 (Mill Wine Cellar), €18.95 (The Corkscrew Wine Merchants)
Value (Out of 5):
2
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