Tales from the Wine Trail
Tasting Notes - Pascal Granger, Juliénas - July 2008
The Beaujolais region lies just south of the Maconnais and the drive from Charnay-les-Maçon to Juliénas take less than 20 minutes -- along a pictuesque route chosen this year my our British sounding GPS (nicknamed Geraldine).
We tasted 2007s from Pascal's three Crus and his 'Villages' Blanc. As always, tasting them was a joy -- it's a shame that it's so difficult to convince folks that wines from Beaujolais can and should be taken seriously. Too many years of mediocre wines on too many shelves have left many buyers so shy of the region that selling Beaujolais is often a struggle. (See David Lawrason's Granger tasting notes from fall 2006).
Beaujolais-Villages Blanc "La Jacode' 07 - lovely soft fruit on the nose, excellent fruit and structure on the palate, very good length. Lovely chardonnay!
Chénas 07 - lovely red fruits on nose, well extracted and rich on palate, excellent structure, very good length. An assemblage of 10 cuvées, selected by Beaujolais Ajourd'hui.
Juliénas 07 - soft sweet red fruit nose, excellent concentratin of fruit on palate, lovely structure, very good length **.
Moulin-à-Vent 07 - excellent nose of fruit and typical mineral, very good concentration and extraction, very good length ** (Gold Medal in Maçon)
Juliénas Cuvée Spéciale 07 - beautiful fruits (cherries in eau-de-vie) on nose big sweet rich fruits on palate, very good length. **
Juliénas Cuvée Spéciale Grand Réserve 05 - fabulous nose of kirsch and dark fruits, excellent concentration, fruit and sweet ripe tannins; perfect; sold out; dommage.