I will start my tour of Beaujolais in a few days – so what about a little training in preparation?!

This was more a play-fight than a battle – both were wines that I would rebuy – but I was surprised how easily the Foillard won this particular match-up!

2019 Jean Foillard, Fleurie
A nice volume of aroma – and unlike the often ‘savoury’ nose chez Foillard that I was expecting, here is just cushioned pure fruit – and it’s lovely. There’s fine flavour here too – a little generosity to this silky texture and depth of fruit but all is balanced and absolutely delicious – particularly in the finish. That’s singing right now!
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Clos de la Riolette, Fleurie
A more direct nose, the fruit aromas are still welcoming though mixed with some herbed complexity today. In the mouth, I’m surprised how structural this wine has become – nothing worrying but it’s clearly a different beast to the comforting texture and fruit of the Foillard. It remains a delicious wine but one that’s certainly in a more structural phase – perhaps it will eventually become tighter too versus its youth. There’s no reason to think that it won’t re-emerge even better though.
Rebuy – Yes

2019 Boris Champy, Hautes Côtes de Beaune Altitude 421
A cushioned dark-red fruit cordial nose framed with some creamy oak – it really is a sumptuous invitation. With time in the glass – actually the second glass! – the oak us forgotten. In the mouth you have the same impression as the nose – cushioned, sumptuous fruit with a moderately overt accent of creamy oak. Super texture. What a far too delicious wine – clearly a great Bourgogne – and the bottle empties mysteriously quickly !!
Rebuy – Yes

An interesting couple – and certainly a delicious couple.

2022 Julien Brocard Chablis Boissonneuse
A staple in the Nanson household since the 2017 vintage when, as our house wine, we knocked off at least 3 7-packs (yes, 7-packs !!) over a single summer. This, now one of the first bottled 22s drunk at home – another 7-pack(!) purchase. This Julien Brocard wine is from his orange wax topped biodynamic range, DIAM sealed.
A forward, ripe fruit nose that’s clean in the width and shows plenty of depth. Full and ripe in the mouth too but this is delicious and has just enough tension to keep things moreish! A larger wine than the ‘zing’ of the 2021 but it will become more classic with age – I’m sure – I’m just not sure that any of these will live long enough to test that 🙂
Rebuy – Probably Yes

1999 Guy Castagnier, Clos de la Roche
From a six-pack bought way back – around 2002. After this bottle, just 2 more remain, plus a 1998 but possibly my 1996s and 1997s are all gone…
Ooh – now that’s a nose – this is not far away from being completely ready – of course with absolutely no rush for those who want to chance their arm for another 20 years! A complex nose, inviting with dried leaf complexity and still some fine purity of darker red fruit. It’s lovely on the palate – again dark-red fruit and lovely texture. The, once, direct flavours have now given way to more width over the palate but the lovely finishing flavours are so persistent – but not sufficiently persistent to slow down the drinking of this bottle 🙂 Five years ago (the last bottle that I opened) I thought there might have been a bit of brett but this wine was clean and it was polished off on the night. Lovely!
Rebuy – Yes