100% Gamay from Brouilly, Beaujolais, France.
SRP of $15 and available for as low as $12. Sample submitted for review.
From the bottle:
"A wine to be enjoyed when young, Brouilly is fresh and supple with aromas of plum and blackberry.
13.0% Alcohol"
As we mentioned in the Beaujolais-Villages review, there are three designations of Beaujolais:
- Beaujolais Nouveau is the first tier -- these wines are harvested, fermented and released within just a few weeks time and are intended to be consumed very young. (The 2012 vintage releases today in fact.)
- Beaujolais-Villages is in the middle, with a 15% lower maximum yield of grapes per acre. For an example check out our review of the 2011 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages - A Strawberry-Banana Jam-a-rama!
- The ten Beaujolais Crus which sit at the high end of the hierarchy. These wines are considered the best in the region and have the lowest allowable yield of grapes per acre. These wines also tend to offer the most complexity and ability to age.
Today's wine is a Cru Beaujolais from Brouilly, which is the southernmost of the 10 Cru. This is the largest Cru in terms volume and area, with its vineyards forming a circle around Mount Brouilly. While many of the 10 Cru produce wines that are their best after a number of years of aging, wines from Brouilly are generally intended to be consumed young. We'll get to an example of one of the more age-worthy variety from Moulin-a-Vent in a future post but for now let's see how the Brouilly measures up!
The 2011 Georges DuBoeuf Brouilly begins with lots of strawberry and raspberry jam plus a good dose of plum and some violet floral notes. Tasting the wine reveals more jammy fruit (cherry, plum and cranberry) but also some nice peppery notes. This light-bodied Beaujolais is simple but quite good and would pair nicely with all kinds of everyday fare. It ends with a dry, fruity finish.
See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.
Overall Rating: 7.0
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