2009 Beaujolais

Beaujolais is one of my favorite “under the radar” wines. By that I mean not many people take it seriously. Most people think of it as a light, simple, fruity wine. This is usually based on their experience with Beaujolais Noveau. Beaujolais Noveau is the first French wine to be released each year. The grapes are harvested in August-September, the wine is fermented for a short time and released to the public on the third Thursday of November which is designated “Beaujolais Noveau Day”. This day is heralded around the world and the Beaujolais is widely available. The reason is simple. Beaujolais Noveau is made in a large quantity accounting for about 1/3 of total Beaujolais production. And, while most are simple and of little interest, there are some that can be very fruity, zesty, and balanced and make a lovely wine for early consumption to accompany a wide variety of foods.

A Burgundy Story

One of the challenges of Burgundy is to simplify it. Many owners of parcels within the same vineyards makes generalization difficult. For with Burgundy, you need to know the vineyards and the producers.

Here is a story of the creation of four great Domaines in Chassagne Montrachet and the creation of a great Montrachet and its history.

Retrospective Review Volume I, Number 3 (December-January 1979-1980)

In this our third issue, Edward Lazarus kicked off with “Woes of a Burgundy Drinker” speaking to the fact that back then a lot of wine was spoiled by excessive heat either in transit or after arrival when many wines were stored in unrefrigerated warehouses. In Southern California, there are many weeks each year when temperatures range between 80-100 degrees. Northern California is generally cooler, but even so, temperatures can reach the same highs. This is disaster for wine storage – particularly Burgundy. Burgundies, both red and white, are among the wines most sensitive to excessive heat.

And, 30-40 years ago, many, if not most, wine storage facilities used by wholesalers and distributors were not refrigerated. So true to our mission we were straightforward with our call “must consumers deal with spoiled wines as well?” Today things have changed as now wines are transported in a temperature-controlled environment to their destination , which is temperature-controlled as well. We’ve made progress and today, thankfully, spoiled wines are a rarity.

Ah, Spring, The Vintage of the Century Is In the Air!

Ah, Spring, The Vintage of the Century Is In the Air!

Last November when we were in Burgundy, we were impressed with the 2008 red wines. They showed better balance and richness than the 2007s tasted from barrel (our review will follow shortly – stay tuned). But nearly everywhere we went, when tasting any 2008s and expressing a positive opinion, the reaction was “just wait for the 2009s.” Later, this year we will go back to Burgundy and taste some of the 2009s. But even without tasting the wines, it seems obvious that given the quality of the harvest, that there will be many lush and concentrated Burgundies of great appeal. And, more recently, at the opening tastings of the 2009 Bordeaux, the cry is echoed. Here are just a few of the early proclamations: “2005 a great vintage or better,” “the best young vintage I have ever tasted,” “Best wines ever.” So it looks like we are in for another “Vintage of the Century.” Again? OK. In my 40 years of tasting wines, I have only heard this about 10 times. Wow! I am not that old!!

DEAR SANTA, WE’VE GOT A LITTLE LIST

In Volume V, #5 of The Underground Wineletter from 1983, we wrote a letter to Santa with our wine wish list, which is reproduced below: One Winedrinker’s Opinion Dear Santa, We’ve Got a Little List . . . Dear Santa, Get ready ol’ boy, the time is at hand.  Everyone has a list.  We’ve got […]

THE UNDERGROUND IS BACK!

Some 40 years ago, I started my pursuit of learning about wine.  It had never been a part of my life until after Laurie and I were married in 1967.  At that time, I said to her that there has to be something better than “Red Mountain,” a jug wine that sold for a few […]