TWA William Kelley on several 2018 Beaujolais (Bouland, Metras, Foillard)

Robert.A.Jr · March 31, 2020, 2:39am

Oh that’s cool, the La Chappelle cuvee!!

William_Kelley · March 31, 2020, 6:51am

That is one of the real highlights of the range in 2018!

Robert.A.Jr · March 31, 2020, 11:32am

William -

What’s the story behind all these Thivin cuvees now? I’ve been buying Thivin for as long as I can remember, and these cuvees like La Chappelle, Zachariah, Griottes, Bertrand, et al, just seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Perhaps they were made before and my go-to retailers did not carry them. I have the 2017 Zachariah last year and it was flat out stunning. Also, is there a hierarchy among them, or just different vineyards?

Robert.A.Jr · March 31, 2020, 11:37am

Ok dummy me, google is my friend. An excellent website in English, describing quite nicely the range of wines and the details of all recent vintages:

William_Kelley · March 31, 2020, 11:54am

As you’ve seen, the website explains the particularities of the various lieu-dit cuvées. None of them are directly exported to the USA, however, so anything you are finding is not coming via Kermit.

David_K2 · April 22, 2020, 8:26pm

Great video, agree!

Anyone else tasted any 2018 Foillard? Starting to see some offers, but few notes.

Mattstolz · April 22, 2020, 9:01pm

I really have enjoyed this entire series of talks, thanks William!

Laurent_Gibet · November 10, 2020, 5:34pm

William Kelley on Instagram

Honestly, this is about the best thing I’ve seen a wine critic do in recent times. Perhaps partly it is due to William providing such depth of attention and context to a region that other critics do not, and most do not seem to understand, at least not very well. Partly it is due to William’s lexicon and ability to describe impressions and thoughts in such a very visually appealing way. And of course, with that smug, refined British accent and his Oxfordian mannerisms, you just know that this cat is smarter and more cultured than you. And yes, I don’t mind his little jab on the Bouland, “no overt sucrosity of fruit . . . .” “I have a few for my cellar . . . cases . . . .” LOL, love it.

Seriously, this is worth every second of the 8-minute watch. Would love to see more content delivered in this fashion. It would be worth the price tag, even for those of us that actually do not subscribe to anything. So cool if more critics and winemakers would do this now during our shelter-in-place time for CV19 (yes, Fu, I am doing some sheltering).

These are three of my annual Beaujolais buys, in addition to Roilette, Thivin, Lapierre and occasionally, Vissoux. Very cool to see these gems get in-depth coverage. World class wine at very nice pricing.

Métras Fleurie Printemps 2017 : 14/20 (july 2020)
Clean but quite weak.

Foillard once again to “nature” for me (like Chamonard) :
Foillard Morgon Côte du Py 2018 : 15,5/20 puis quasi ED – 20/10/2020
Plus joyeux/fruité que La Sagesse 2018 de Gramenon, heureusement. Défaut le lendemain (éthanal, pomme blette).

I recently discovered an interesting producer :
Arnaud Combier Chiroubles 2018 : 16/20 (very good ripe but fresh and thin wine)

Arnaud Combier Fleurie 2018 : 15,5/20 – 23/5/2020 (october 2020)
14,5°. Bien fait, très mûr mais sans lourdeur obsédante (opulent mais fin). Fait pinot noir (fleurs, cerise confite).

Arnaud Combier Beaujolais Villages premières gouttes 2018 : 15/20 (november 2020)
Belle invitation aromatique : fruit particulièrement mûr signant le millésime (cerise confite), épices, violette, réglisse.
Bouche nette, équilibrée (belle acidité pour le millésime – 12,5° d’alcool annoncés), lisse, gourmande. Longueur correcte.

J_D_Antonio · November 10, 2020, 8:47pm

The Godefroy 2018 is also delicious. Just a baby, though!