TN: 2010 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Moulin-à-Vent

As my better half is under the weather I wanted to open a red that would not make her feel like she is missing out on something (i.e. I just avoided all my Tuscan and Piemontese wines and Bandols). I’ve been into wine 10+ years by now and this is one of my oldest purchases, bought in 2012. Why I have held on to it for so long is because of the CT notes (and a score average of 87.2) that have painted a picture of a sturdy, structure-driven wine that is just not a lot of fun. As David Bueker had recently posted a positive note on the 2009 iteration I felt like the time was right for this one.

I think as far as the ”Burgundian style” of Beaujolais goes this is the most enjoyable one I’ve had so far. It has terrific fruit and structure and has developed into a very seamless, harmonious wine that still sports a nice grip but is in no way angular or closed. This is the kind of semi-mature Beaujolais that I would love to drink regularly. There are also some nice low numbers like 12% ABV and 13.50 Euros at play that make it all the more desirable, although it would be a fine value at twice the price. I think moving forward I need more Brun in my cellar.

  • 2010 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Moulin-à-Vent - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent (18.9.2021)
    Popped and poured. Pretty expressive and exciting on the nose: plenty of ripe, dark-toned fruits, bright and lively throughout. Just a very, very slight note of VA that really adds to the whole. A strong feel of soil without any dominant note of that ilk, mostly just stony and minerally nuances. On the palate it is just wonderful. Not large scaled but has terrific concentration and nice chewiness to it. Lots of lively dark fruit with excellent structure and a really firm mouthfeel. Savory and refreshing, markedly alive and vibrant. I would call it muscular but without any negative connotation whatsoever. By all means it has downright perfect proportions and just an impeccable balance. It is still on its way up but an absolute delight right now.

Posted from CellarTracker

Their old vines BoJo AOC is pretty solid too. The 2018 grew on me after a couple of days aeration, as it was a touch lean on opening.

Yeah, Brun can definitely surprise in the hot vintages. I haven’t had that wine in a loooong but remember it being tasty indeed. This MaV was on a totally different level, though.

Thanks Ilkka for the note. I’ve been buying JP Brun since 2014 but have never bothered to drink one past 3-4 years old. Sounds like I need to change that in the future.

Agreed. I’ve had a dozen or so different 2018s, with mixed results, but Brun did a great job. The 2018 VV is very nice and great value, but the Fleurie is excellent and just a few bucks more (and clocks in at just 12.5% alc).

Over the years I’ve seemed to mostly just buy the L’Ancien, while buying most of my Cru Beaujolais from others (Coudert, Foillard, Lapierre, Billards, etc). That might have been a mistake, Last night did a side by side of the 2005 JP Brun Terres Dorees Fleurie and the 2009 JP Brun Terres Dorees Morgon. The 05 Fleurie was a pointe, elegant and fragrant. The 09 is young, showing the ripeness of the vintage but beautifully balanced. I really enjoyed both.

Definitely a mistake! While L’Ancien is a lovely little drop, I’d argue Brun’s Crus are where the money is. Just as you said, the Fleurie is wonderfully elegant. It might be a bit on the tough side in its youth compared to the producers you mentioned, since Brun favors Burgundian methods over carbonic and semi-carbonic (IIRC all the producers you mentioned employ semi-carbonic), but the regular Fleurie ages wonderfully and I can imagine it is built to age longer than most of the semi-carbonic Bojos - even though the best of them can age ridiculously well, too. I haven’t had an aged bottle of Fleurie Grille-Midi bottling, so I can’t comment on how that ages, but since quality-wise it is comparable to a flagship cuvée, I doubt it’ll perform any worse than the regular Fleurie!

Thanks for the note Ilkka, I haven’t tried this producer before after reading that his wines can be variable, but I just opened a 2015 Morgon Côte du Py-Javernières that might be the best Bojo I’ve ever had. I wanted the Burgaud bottling but the seller sent me the Brun by mistake, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Sounds like I need to get in on the action too to seek out more!

The Brun Py Javernieres 2015 was superb without the blowsiness of many other Bojos in that vintage. Drank my last of 6 earlier this year. Just had the 2019 and trying to figurei it out. Quite another beast.

Agree with Otto here. The crus are undoubtedly worth the small premium. No reason to grab anything other than the MaV if you’re planning on aging them, IMO. But if you don’t want to wait so long, the other crus are worthwhile, too.

Well Burgaud is good too so I suppose it would have not been a bad outcome either way but if I compare this bottle to Burgaud’s regular 2010 Côte du Py which I had some time ago this one wins by some margin.

Good to know. I am very anti Bojo 2018 but given how the Javernieres is only 12.5% ABV even in that vintage is giving me some confidence.

I would say so, yes [cheers.gif]