TN: 2005 Jean Foillard Cote du Py

First, I hate trying to write tasting notes. But I sent Alfert a pic of this wine and he called me out and said he EXPECTS a note to be posted, so here goes.

I am a BoJo guy. I started liking it back around 2012-2013 I guess, because the first vintage I bought was 2009. I still have some of those 2009’s, but have not consumed one in years, I have been drinking lots of 2014’s and 2016’s lately. So, most of my BoJo experience is fresh bottles, a few years after the vintage, or maybe 5-6 years old. This bottle with 15 years of age promised to be a new experience.

This was PnP in a restaurant and consumed over two hours.

The color was much darker than my experience has taught me. Fresh Foillard (or any Gamay) is usually a bright red. And when held up to a light or candle, the translucent qualities come out and the various shades of red dance and move throughout the glass in a hypnotic way. This fell away from the red spectrum and took on purple qualities. The translucence faded towards opaque.

The nose and taste followed the appearance. Fresh BoJo is all about acidity, Rainier cherries, energy and having fun. This bottle had slowed down, but not in a bad way. It just mellowed. The acidity did not smack me in the face, it whispered in my ear. The Rainer cherry note turned to a dark cherry, with a hint of the skin of a plum. Instead of full energy sprinting through my mouth, it reminded me that we do not have to run all the time, a nice stroll is good for the soul also.

I do not have much experience with Burgundy, but what I do have, I would say this bottle was crossing over into that territory. Not all the way there, but with one foot over each border.

I have one bottle left. Maybe I will have to hold it until 2025 for the 20 year mark?

In any case, this wine was a very pleasant experience, and reminds me why I have more Foillard in my cellar than any other producer.

Thanks for the note. Any tertiary forest floor notes?

I think you need to write more tasting notes - great description!

Hear, hear.

Yes, more notes. You are good at it.

Thanks for the note. Any tertiary forest floor notes?
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Know that I was at dinner with my wife and two close friends who we have not been out to dinner with since last year. So, I probably did not pay as much attention to the nuances as I should have, or might have under different circumstances.

Also know that I am like Alfert in that the more funk the wine has, the better. A bottle of Leon Barrel that smells like it came directly from a cow pasture? Sign me up! And then sign me up again!

With that said, I would say the wine has picked up some forest floor notes. It’s that general dark note; forest floor, leather, mushroom, but fleeting, not strong. This wine was all about subtlety.

See Ian, I told you your notes are excellent! Don’t be so shy and humble, shoot, you hang around me. Consider me jelly that you have this stuff. Ian and I started cycling together like 20 years ago, and spending hours in groups together, we learned that each of us had a passion for wine. Ian built my first Colnago for me, and I still have it, prolly one of the sexiest bikes ever, it’s a classic carbon monocoque (one of the firsts, vintage 2004), and I paid Ian in wine!

Best picture I could find, and yes of course, near a cow field and barnyard, hence our collective love of funk.

A 1999 d’Armailhac and a Ridge Zin, cannot recall if it was Lytton Springs or Geyserville. The Ridge was good. But the d’Armailhac was a revelation.

Awesome photo, Robert. Judging from your facial expression, it appears that you are getting more than funk from the cows and barnyard.

Indeed, Ian, you should be posting more tasting notes.

I just had my first Jean Foillard Cote du Py (a 2018) on Friday and it was delicious with an excellent mouthfeel. I thought the color was a pale purple though, not a red/garnet. I would love to try one with some age on it.

I strongly suggest you start pounding your 2009s.
The vast majority are completely mature or slightly on the downward trend…

TTT

Thanks for the evocative note Ian. Just had a basic Morgon yesterday as well. Always tempted by old Bojos at auctions since I never had a properly aged one before.

• 2016 Jean Foillard Morgon - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon (29/9/2020)
  I always have felt that Beaujolais is the perfect bridge between people who like the bigger red wines vs the freshness that I prefer in pinots, as well as being a great introduction for anyone who’s getting into red wine. And there are few other regions that you can get (one of the) best producers for under $50.
  Dark garnet in colour. Fresh, juicy and crunchy red fruits at the same time without being too airy and light. Foillard never disappoints, read here that the 3.14 in the same vintage is an absolute knockout. Happy to be sitting on a couple!

I’m not sure which ones you’ve had, but in the last 6 months I’ve had 2009 Lapierre Cuvee Marcel, Foillard Cote du Py and Thevenet VV, and none of them were anywhere near headed downhill, and only the Thevenet seemed pretty close to its apex. It was also the lightest and prettiest, though.

Good call on checking in on those. We have dinner plans on Sunday, so now I kind of know what to take. I had to check CT and I drank a Py back in 2011. A 3.14 in 2015. And a Corcelette in 2011 and 2016. My private note of the Corcelette back in 2016 was favorable said it was a near perfect bottle for my taste. I still have some of each, so the hard part will be choosing which to sample.

Another quick note on 2009…had the Foillard Corcelette last night. Oh my! The best 2009 I’ve had this year, intense but not super ripe, with lots of bright fruit and excellent complexity. Still not at peak, but really delicious and my wife thinks it was the best red she’s had all year.

I find that Lapierre doesn’t age that well - N even worse than S - 2009s from them are ready to go. The only thing I have left is a 3L.

Agree with Marshall on Foillard - good, but has plenty of time left…Same for Metras. Some of the Metras bottlings are sur mature.

I still prefer the style of 2010.

-mark

Agree with Mark (and Marshall) on all accounts.

You just so rarely see a shut down bottle of Foillard. The 2000 was a lovely drink from release all the way through my last bottle a couple of years ago.