Drinking a 2014 Thivin CdB right now. Hard to imagine many better wines at this price-point. Killer with a simple chicken dinner.
good eating and good wine drinking - sometimes it’s pretty simple
About 75% of the time, that’s all I want. Simple
Pleasures are quite gratifying. And I’m not suggesting Thivin is a simple wine, it’s really not. But you know that.
I think the one you had is the Alexandre Burgaud. I just bought and opened the ‘18, which was $10 at Costco and quite nice for $10…I may grab a few more, aa I can’t think of any other $10 wine with so much character or even that I am able to drink (although admittedly that’s pretty faint praise. I bet the ‘19 has better acidity, which would really put this as a huge buy, assuming the ‘19 is similarly inexpensive.
Hi John,
Yup thats him.
and the 19 is $20 NZ Pesos which is around $14 USD. And even at that price it is a cracker
Yes, I know that the l’Ultime is a really special wine. Hard to believe the prices they command these days. His Moulin-à-Vent has always been a favorite of mine though…so I’m really grateful that is at least still possible to track down.
I’ll seek it out, and may grab more of the $10 2018 at Costco in the meantime…
Drinking my 4th or 5th bottle of the 2017 Thivin CDB, still lush and not much bottle variation. Interested to see what the 2018s taste like.
Its just a little more of everything. I prefer the 17 (well, actually I much prefer the 16), but the 18 is quite enjoyable.
Just took delivery of 2019 Lapierre Morgon S, and it’s bloody delicious. Blue and red berry fruit, violets, a little spicy on the long finish. It’s going to be really hard to keep my hands off these. Better send some to my offsite very quickly.
It’s going to be great with pan-seared magret tonight.
I read that as pan-seared Margaret. (And yes, the Lapierre Morgon is pretty excellent.)
The Cote du Py. TCWC has some on sale, I just grabbed some.
Wondering if anyone has tried the 2019 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon VV?
Bryan, I did the same tonight. I continue to be very impressed by the 2017 Thivin CDB. I have a couple of the 2017s left, and I see the 2019s on offer now. Some decent early reviews on the 2019, but the 2017 is right over the plate for me. I will grab 2019 for a taste drive.
If you like Pinot Noir & you’re getting into BOJO then you should pick a few bottles to age for 20-25 years. Just to get the full experience.
Somewhat related: I recently drank a 2017 Domaine Diochon Morgon (Kermit Lynch) and it was spectacular. Very pinot-like with a hint of gamay. I’ve got 1 more bottle and am going to hide it.
Desvignes? But they’re almost in a class of their own - the Morgons require substantial aging to enjoy.
I’m with Robert on Thivin - a devotée, and happy about his note on the 2017 Zaccharie, a package of which I just took delivery.
Roilette 2009 is supposed to be just coming around now, need to try a bottle.
On aging, here’s a pastiche of comments I posted elsewhere last week, apropos Vissoux crus:
"My experience has been that these wines can be rich in fruit (plush) in youth (especially the Poncié, though not the Garants) but, like most very good cru Beaujolais (and other wines) they shut down, passing through a kind of garbagy-to-dumb phase, to emerge on the other side a very different wine: refined, even silky fruit and tannins, supported by palate-cleansing acidity.
The cru Beaujolais I’ve tasted in this mature stage are comparable in style and quality to some villages and premier cru Burgundies of my acquaintance, though different in flavors-aromas …
I can enjoy Beaujolais young and old; however, tasting a good cru that has undergone the transformation I’m describing is worthwhile for the experience alone - the change in character is really arresting, and the resulting wine can be of startlingly high quality."
Robert - I’ve been off the board for a while and have missed your posts (and taste in art).
Do all of Lapierre/Foillard/etc use carbonic maceration? (are there any of the big names that don’t)
This begs a lot of questions!
Strict carbonic maceration is when you put the grapes in the tank, without any crushing, and leave the bottom valve open so any juice that’s released drains out: fermentation is entirely enzymatic, with no skins-in-juice maceration.
I think Lapierre does this? Métras does. Foillard doesn’t (the valve is closed, and cuvaison lasts three weeks, so there is skins-in-juice maceration).
What is often in the Beaujolais referred to as “semi-carbonic maceration” would be more aptly described as traditional maceration. This involves whole bunches, partially crushed, fermented in tanks with some punchdowns and / or pumpovers. Producers such as Bouland, Thivin etc do this.
Then there is the so-called “Burgundian” approach (even if what folks call “semi-carbonic” is quite similar to what several Burgundians do), which involves destemmed fruit, punchdowns and pumpovers, without enzymatic fermentation being sought out. Producers that follow this approach would include the Château des Jacques and JP Brun.
I have written about this in more detail in TWA if you have any interest in going deeper.
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Wow, thank you!