I found a small cache of the '09 Rochegrès in my travels this AM for $19.99, so I bought one. The other Jacques/Jadots have been readily available to me more-or-less but I had yet to see this one.
Does anyone think the oak will integrate better with time on this one or is it fine as-is?
I think the oak will integrate better with time. I also think it is fine for current drinking.
Sounds like your crew liked the big oaky beaujolais, which frankly is the opposite of my own palate. I’m all for the cold carbonic guys myself. Were you drinking sulfured or non-sulfured (N or S marked) bottles of the Lapierre?
We had the S version of Lapierre (which is pretty much all that is available on the east coast). I have had the N and think that maybe it shows a little “fresher” – but I don’t think there is really that much difference between the N and S.
Gil, I thought the 2010 S was significantly different from the the 2010 N. My guess was that with Marcel no longer with us it got a huge dose of sulphur, at least that was what it tastes and smells like to me. The 2011 S does not appear to have that problem. I have yet to get my 2011 N. Indeed, the N, for me, is always fresher, fruitier and just simply more exciting on the palate, especially in the early years. The N just dances in the mouth.