I’m wondering if there are any words of advice on drinking windows for Beaujolais. I recently picked up a mixed case (Chenas, Fleurie, Moulin a Vent) of Jules Desjourneys, vintages 2013 through 2020 and I’ve got minimal experience in this area. I’ve previously cellared Jadot Chateau des Jacques for 8 years and several vintages of Thivin for 5+ years with good results. I’ve got no problem cellaring longer but would not want to miss an ideal window. Thoughts?
My hot take is that you really need to know the bottle (and even then there’s bottle variation). I have some bottles of '21 Cuvee Corcelette that I find are drinking better than the '18s; but that’s just my opinion.
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Tough to generalize. It is producer and vintage dependent. There is no doubt that many producers make wines that can really, really age and become more complex over time. There are some that hit the sweet spot earlier than others. My suggestion is to buy from several well-regarded producers like Foillard, Lapierre, Thevenét and ladder your consumption over several years. If your mixed case was well-stored it would be a good chance to drink those older wines and compare them to the younger vintages. I really like the wines from the region, and have been drinking them for many, many years and have had some genuine revelations of how much pleasure can be had from an “old” Beaujolais. Enjoy the journey.
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In general, Fleurie and Moulin-A-Vent have better reputations for going longer, but I would put more stock in producer than anything else. Would also say that not every producer has a great reputation with cellaring their wines, so if you have trouble finding notes on 10+ year old bottlings that may be a sign that people don’t think they’re worth it. Not being familiar with Desjourneys I would check around for tasting notes for anyone drinking older vintages and go from their opinions.
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While my experience with Desjourneys isn’t significant, the bottle of 2015 Moulin a Vent Styx I opened a few months ago was still very much a baby, and from memory hadn’t developed much in the way of anything tertiary. With good storage I bet it will drink well for a really long time. Obviously it will be vintage by vintage and cuvee by cuvee, but as far as i can tell, Fabien Duperray is aiming to make wines that should age for a long time. More on the timescale of a good burgundy producer than your typical beaujolais
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I’ve only had a couple Desjourneys, but they are one of WK’s favorite producers in Beaujolais, earning so e pretty high marks every year. His suggested drinking windows for some of the ‘18s and ‘19s go from 2027-2055. That’s comparable to his drinking window for most classified (non first) growth Bordeaux.
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Just open a few.
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I give mine at least five years after release.
Mainly Foillard & Y. Metras in my cellar, and even these two represent very different styles. Age my Metras longer than my Foillard.
I agree with Tom — if you have a mix of vintages then open two side by side and see what works for you.
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I’ve had a couple of bottles of ‘09 Moulin a Vent, in 2020 and last year. I’m not good at writing notes but this is what I noted in 2020 (btw my exosure to top Beaujolais is limited)
“ Very good. Blackberry black currant framed w garrigue sage. Almost sweet. Soft but not weak. Atypical but nice.”
My note last year is not helpful, simply “Excellent” (it was part of a social event)
But safe to say this producer’s wines have potential to age. BUT see above about vintage and commune.
I have also had his (white) Macconais and they were good, tending to leanness and needing a little age (more than four or five years which is where I had tried them )
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You will find some quite big differences there beyond those of site and vintage, as Fabien moved away from new oak with the 2015 vintage!
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@Steve_Costigan I went a good while without being much of a fan of bojo. After some wise men called me an idiot for not liking the middling wines they liked, I decided to just give the wines a little time. I’ve found that almost universally really young bojo has a chewy fruity note that I don’t really like much. But 4-5 years and it evolves into something much more enjoyable to me. And while I absolutely agree that all wines are different and different producers and sub-regions and all that jazz make yield different prime drinking windows, I’ve found that those 4-5 years aging are pretty beneficial to my enjoyment across the board.
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An ‘08 a few years ago was just a pup…
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I have mainly experience with Desjourneys that have some age (2007-2012), but all of them have been surprisingly youthful for their age.
Some Bojos drink fine in their youth, but Desjourneys wines are stern and sturdy wines built to age. Atypical, but terrific.
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