I enjoy Lapierre quite a bit, and the 2019 is a real delight right now, but that domaine wouldn’t be my choice for aging. (Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t like to try one with 30 years on it.) A Warren notes, the wines can be variable, particularly from the period just after Marcel’s passing. I’ve tasted quite a few bottles with 5-12 years and they seem to lose their fresh fruit, but not pick up a lot new. We did a dinner a few years ago that paired Lapierre with Foilllard Py from the same vintage over five or six years, and the Foillards consistently showed better among the older wines. And I’m not even really sure about aging Foillard much beyond 10 years.
I agree about not cellaring Lapierre because of inconsistency. I’ve seen brett and terrible bacterial problems enough times to be wary. It’s too bad as I love the wines when they’re in really good condition.
I also do agree about cellaring Cru Beaujolais. I’ve had quite a few at 20 to 30+ years that have been very good to exceptional, and some of the very good ones were probably far from the best examples to begin with (including a Duboeuf Cru). Anything I have in quantity only goes back to 2009, and I’m not planning on opening those soon. I do really hope we see some more classic vintages at some point. I’m not confident about how the really ripe years will age, and that seems to be all we’ve gotten for a while. I am being optimistic and have bought a little 2019, probably with more to come.
Doug,
I found 2014 & 2017 to both be to my liking without feeling they were as fruit dominant as say 2009 or 2015. If you have not, I would suggest you try out the 2017 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Griffe du Marquis. It’s a really special bottle, I was even thinking of looking for a magnum.
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Thanks! I agree on 2014 and wish I had bought more. I will look for the ‘17 Griffe du Marquis.
+1 on the 2014 & 2017
I would add the 2011s to that list if you can find them. The 2009s I have had recently have been starting to fall apart.
Look for the Sans Soufre bottling as well. They are wonderful, so fresh.
My favorite recent vintage is '16.
I’ve had 5 or 6 bottles of the '16 and none have had any brett issues (knock on wood), so I’m going to age those out. I figure if the issues haven’t shown up by now, they probably will not down the line. I had more problems with '15. Didn’t care for the '17, too candied, but maybe that has calmed down with age.
Thanks. 2011 is my favorite vintage that I’ve tasted a lot of. I absolutely love the wines and wish I had bought more, even more so than with 2014.
Are there any specific 2009s that you don’t think are holding up well? There were some posts fairly recently about Brun wines still being young, and I think there are other producers whose wines will age longer in general.
We drank a 90 Lapierre about 6 years ago for a friends 40th. It was showing nicely then and glad to hear that it is still rolling.