3 Morgons to Drink Right Now

Two years ago I tried the 2014 Foillard Morgon Côte du Py: the flavor was a bit dull. This year I found the 2015 and 2016 Foillard Morgon Eponym. The 2016 reminded me of the 2014, but the "ripe and powerful" 2015 had a little extra fruit that made all the difference for me. (I drink a wine over several nights, and it is in the later nights that the 2015 showed its quality.) I guess I don't yet appreciate "classically styled" gamay.

Over the last two nights I had the 2016 Lapierre and the Foillard Côte du Py. I found the Lapierre to have a lot of energy out of the bottle (a bit of a theme with these Morgons) The nose was rich and firm with a warm, earthy funk. First impressions: truckloads of sweet, tingly and dusty dark cherry, charming and delicious. Again, like other Morgon I’ve had, it became more balanced with some air and time, the Lapierre I would say even moved to the delicate range. We had it with baked ziti (NYTimes) and the richness of the meal overwhelmed this restrained phase of the wine so we put it aside and enjoyed the last glasses after the meal. The 2016 Foillard Côte du Py was the most appealing of the 5 Morgons I tried, it carried itself like a true “cru” wine with a more restrained approach, greater depth and a complex character similar to an older burgundy. It had softer tannins but good acidity that lasted the length of the bottle (unlike the others that seemed to burn bright at first but then faded) and was a willing companion to a ribeye with garlic potatoes and shitake mushrooms in a wine reduction. My wife, a math teacher, came across the Foillard Cuvee 3.14 a few years back and we had a bottle of the 2013 on her birthday. The 3.14 was an amazing experience, a rare Beaujolais but I don’t think the bottle of Côte du Py we had tonight is far behind.

We were looking forward to tasting the Jean Paul Brun Morgon because another one of his wines did so well in New York Times Tasting #2. But our vendor made a mistake and supplied the Moulin a Vent. So, the Brun Moulin a Vent was our first wine. We found it bright with black cherry on the nose and gentle tannins. It was ready to drink and surprisingly simple and forward and not as complex as some wines of that Cru. It was served with a flatbread topped with charcuterie, tomato sauce and arugula. The wine did not meld with the dish but was a very good cuvee on its own. The Foillard offered a gentle sweet bouquet of violets and graphite. It was a lot more rounded and layered that wine #1. We feel this wine will evolve well. It was served with lemon chicken over butternut squash and we found it paired better with the flat bread dish. We were glad we saved the Lapierre for last. We noticed dirt, mineral, and slate on the nose and palate. It reminded us of a Pinot Noir. It was served with sliced rib eye and coriander. Served with that was blanched broccoli with truffle oil. What a dish, and what a perfect pairing. This was also the favorite wine by a close vote. We liked all these wines and plan to add to our Beaujolais selections especially in the autumn. George Erdle - Harper's Fine Dining Charlotte, NC

This wine tastes like a volcano. I was absolutely blown away by the vivaciousness, the energy and the depth of the two wines I tried. In fact, when I looked them up, Morgon apparently has volcanic soils. I have always loved Morgon...in fact, I often buy it instead of Burgundy because it has that elegance and complexity without the extra dollars. I find that of all of the Beaujolais, Morgon has the most character, or personality. I tried the Lapierre and the Foillard side by side and all I could think was ENERGY. They were complex, alive (for the Foillard, I actually used the word "bramble" in my notes, something I will almost never write because growing up in the south I ate blackberries, not bramble berries). The Lapierre was a little rounder, fruitier, while the Foillard was a bit more angular and "purple" for lack of a better word, and the Lapierre reminded me a bit more of the uplifting elegance of Burgundy, but both had that rumbling, that contained energy that felt like it was about to explode. They seem a bit young, I'd be interested in seeing them in 5-10 years.

Had the Terres Dorées Saturday night, with Florence Fabricant’s Morgon-recommended salmon with smoked salmon butter tinyurl.com/hkvq799 . Enjoyed the wine more than the pairing. All of this month’s wines have been significantly less cranberry tart and less violet-y (which seem like points on the same spectrum) than I normally think of Beaujolais. The TD was the least so of all. It was also the driest. I enjoyed its dark, berry, and peppery taste. Made me think of the Saietti Lambrusco. Also nicely mouth-drying after a brief, sweet attack. But even though the food was, as Ms. Fabricant said, rich enough for a Morgon, its fishy, smoky, buttery flavors did not do well with the TD’s dark berry. Neither did my red wine go-to, limey roast broccoli. From the faint praise department, the TD and roast potatoes paired nicely indeed. Going out on a limb, and beyond any real understanding, I’d guess the TD is less acidic than the Foillard and the Lapierre, and less age-worthy. (Unless it’s the most tannic and most age-worthy? Eric, please explain how people who understand this stuff judge aging potential, anyway.)

Four couples sampled five different Morgons that showed substantial differences both in taste profile and personal preference. Most surprising was that none of the five were what would be considered fruit-forward wines. While one, the Domaine Robert 2016, was the slightest of the five with initial high acid and a sour aftertaste that never developed, the other four all had characteristics that made them wines of substance and worthy of consideration. The one that divided us the most was the Jean Marc Burgaud Grand Cras 2016. It initially had a bit more fruit and less acid than the Domaine Robert, but its body was very light. Over the course of an hour the wine changed dramatically, becoming deeper, more integrated and complex with the red fruit winding in and out on the palate. The one that garnered the most eye popping positive comments, and at least for most of us stood head and shoulders above the others, was the Jean Foillard Cote du Py 2016. An outstanding wine from the get go that only got better after decanting. The M&C Lapiere from 2017 was a bit ahead of the Domaine Lathuiliere Gravallon Vielles Vignes 2014 that actually faded during the course of the tasting. Overall, take homes were that sampling one wine from a region, can't be taken as a stand-in for all others and one taste on opening a bottle, doesn't tell you much about what might happen as the night, food and company influence the taste and pleasure of the wine.

We enjoyed the 2016 Jean Paul Brun with Alison Roman’s recipe for Butcher’s Steak With Leafy Greens Salsa Verde from the NYT article “Bringing the Bistro Home” (https://tinyurl.com/y9upf9jw https://instagram.com/p/BnhbQnyhHa8/ ). Both the dish and the wine were taking us completely by surprise. Being a firm believer in grilling steak on a super hot charcoal fire I would have never guessed that pan searing a steak in a cast iron skillet in grape seed oil on medium high would pack so much flavor. Instead of a hanger steak we got two large top sirloin steaks. The wine at first smelled yeasty, then opened up into a very fruity bouquet, there were tones of dark chocolate, a delicious, almost coffee-like bitterness corresponding with the steaks earthy flavors. There were all these dark tannic tones, dangerously seductive like Baudelaire’s Cat and like a spectrum of flavor blending into red, dark red, then red fruit flavors like dark cherry, currant, and even a hint of cranberry. On the other hand the wine developed a mineral-y mouthfeel and an almost peppery spiciness. This dinner: The wine together with the steak, and the steak juice soaked Salsa Verve was a stunning experience. Bringing the Bistro Home was a true and unexpected success. I should have gotten more to open in a couple of years.

Sunday night dinner with the Foillard Morgon Côte-de-Py was a Bojo-friendly, every-last-thing salad tinyurl.com/ybu5pv5w and chef Lauretta’s one-pan strip steak with mustard and vegetables tinyurl.com/y6uf8466 . I think I see why Eric recommends straightforward foods with this month’s wines. The wines don’t pair badly with “adventurous” multi-flavored dishes, but in doing so, they don’t seem much different from other Beaujolais. Like last week’s Lapierre though, and like no other Bojo I’ve yet tasted, the FMCdP had a lovely rich, faintly sweet, fruity depth swimming just below the surface of its more typical tart berry brightness. Unfortunately, I think our foods last night brought out more of the Bojo typicity, less of what strikes me as a distinctive Morgon side. Seems telling that I may have appreciated the FMCdP most with a rich forkful of mashed potatoes. Compared to the Lapierre, the FMCdP’s deep-rich and tart-bright sides seemed more blended, less contrasting, but that might be a function of the different pairings. Last week’s simple burger really let the Lapierre’s deep fruit sing. And another somewhat saddening comparison from last night: alongside the FMCdP we opened a less expensive 2014 Foillard Morgon. More muddled, more brown-spicy, it was fine at first, but no one would go near it after having tasted the FMCdP’s “extra-ness.” Two bottles of the FM remain in my cellar.

While waiting on an evening with friends to open the three suggestions this month, I can’t help jumping in on other Morgons right away (and a Betrand Fleurie-wow!) as they are so good, so filled with joy. Opened a 2017 Brun L’Ancien (part Morgon fruit and part fruit from just beyond the boundary) and a 2017 Foillard (not the Py) over the past several nights. Both were lively and vigorous, a bit chunky and sweet upon opening, such impressive depth and purity of dark red fruits in wines so young and an acidity that is lean but touts a richness. The Brun was lighter and a bit less sweet and a great pairing with bbq pizza with white truffle oil, garden fresh pesto and grappa tomato. We had the Foillard with a roti de porc crusted in herbs de Provence and kalamata olive paste and the sweet fruit and herb/salt combo worked great. It almost seemed to tighten up with air over the evening, more grip and less fruit but still wonderful. Still have several more bottles in the wings so I apologize in advance for too many posts.

How about some wines at a lower, more affordable, price point?

We were able to find the Foillard and the Lapierre 2016 at Joe Canal's in Lawrence, NJ. I thought these wines were very similar; they tasted of fruit, dark fruit with some mineral, too. If we had to pick, it would be the Foillard. It was like a rainbow with an extra color or a scale with an extra note, perfect plus. I suspect they will evolve over time but I don't have the storage space to find out. I was happy with them the way they are. You could feel them in your mouth. They felt rich. We had roast chicken for two nights and sautéed salmon the third.

A country dinner in the little-known region of Bordeauxjolais? Your hostess is chatty and quick-witted, a bouncy bundle of welcoming energy. The man of the house is a gentle, lumbering giant, still in his overalls, maybe, after tending to his fields, an easy-going smile across his face. That was dinner chez the Marcel Lapierre Morgon, a wine that seemed to combine the bright, and expected, vivacity of Beaujolais with the rich, warm, friendly depth (and maybe the clay soils, too?) that I recall from some of last February’s Haut Medocs. On the table: classic bistro bacon burgers (Bittman’s, tinyurl.com/y8fxxtut ) and adventurous fennel-orange-onion tinyurl.com/y8rh3u77 . The two foods each were better paired alone with the MLM than with each other. With the citrus vegetables the wine showed the lively cranberry tartness that makes Beaujolais the Thanksgiving go-to it is. With the charry burger, though, it had a rich, deep and wholly unexpected fruitiness, sweet on the attack, tart on the long finish, thick in mouthfeel if not in weight, and alternating in flavor between (mostly) strawberry, then blackberry, sour cherry, and whoa? what’s this? ripe, baked apple? It was way more fruit than I ever thought would go well with a burger, but it did. And way more richness than I ever thought would come from a Beaujolais, but it did that, too. All in all, a lovely host and hostess, that Bordeauxjolais MLM.

Cru Beaujolais is one of my favorites. I like all of these producers but Brun is a bit different and not usually representative of typical Beaujolais. I have not yet had any of the 2016's, I have been more focused on the hyped 2015 vintage, so I will use this as a prompt to explore that year.

One need not spend quite so much for a good Morgon, and the list should include some examples, such as Chateau de Pizay - delicious and available in my area for under $15.

Post is not about bojo, let alone Morgon, but all about aging. Concerns a falanghina, which is not unrelated to May’s fianos. And almost concerns Eric’s dear sherry. I’d love to get some Scholars’ feedback. Drank a 7-y-o Anthologia falanghina last night. I’ve heard that Campania whites can sometimes age “surprisingly” well—almost always with that word, “surprisingly.” Well, this one sure surprised. In the glass it was a deep, deep, pinkish orange gold. It looked turned (Barb wouldn’t touch it) but there was not a hint of wet cardboard on the nose. Instead, the palate was far sweeter than any falanghina I’ve heard of or tasted, but with a sliver of tartness on its long, long finish that kept it enjoyable. I kept thinking of nectarine, but maybe that was more the color than the taste? In the mouth it seemed like a lighter, low ABV version of sherry. It paired passably well with a “blond puttanesca” tinyurl.com/ybmwafb6 , a bit on the sweet side, but that certainly didn’t hurt it with the salty, spicy food. On its own, though, it was delicious and unlike any (unfortified) wine I’ve ever had. It was also delicious with a tomato salad in a lemon oil dressing and, after dinner, with almonds and with dates. Even took out an amontillado to compare. The almond and date pairings were remarkably similar. So, Scholars, was this wine oxidized? Just “nicely aged”? Was it caught just right, and in another 6 months would have turned awful? And, whatever I did, how do I do it again?

Good Evening: Only returned to wine a few years ago after twenty years of neglect, and cannot deny that current prices on Beaujolais caused a bit of shock. Putting thoughts of bargain Beaujolais during the 1980s out of mind, bought the Jean Foillard Cotes du Py 2016. Dinner: bone-in ribeye and roast potatoes with a red wine pan sauce, plus avocado and a salad of zucchini, tomato and tuna in a lemon vinaigrette. Music: "Waiting Room," amazing work from Mammal Hands, a woodwinds, drums and piano trio from Norwich, England. Color: dark ruby, almost black, a bit cloudy. Nose: blackberry, black cherry, cedar, perfume, hint of bitter chocolate. Flavor: tight, closed in at first, tingly mouth feel. Waited 15 minutes. Then a burst of berries, with oak, cedar, perfume, cinnamon and chocolate in the background. With time, raspberry, licorice, cumin and grenadine flavors came into play. Texture: tingly feeling dissipated in favor of a velvety mouth-filling texture with a long finish and hint of tannin. Will age 5-6 years, maybe 8-10. Most important quality: the Morgon made all of the food taste better, esp. the steak. The meat tasted juicier and more flavorful. Fortunately, had half of the second glass left after dinner, to take to the fire escape overlooking Haight Street. Glorious music in the background (seriously, look up Mammal Hands), the people of San Francisco promenading in the cool evening, and a very good red wine: *that* is a fine Saturday evening.

Was in the vicinity of my local shop yesterday and found a Louis Latour Les Corcelettes 16 as the only Morgon so I grabbed it while I wait for the delivery of this month's picks. We had it with herb and pepper crusted entrocôtes and it held up well to the food, light and fruity at first when a bit chilled with an expressive nose but more dense and unbalanced as it warmed. It was hot on the finish, as if the ABV was high but at 13% it was in range, and this was the downfall as the harshness erased any pleasure found. On another note, I was lucky to have done a vendange in Morgon back in 07 with a now defunct producer (Domaine du Cret de Ruyere) who, despite being insanely busy, put up with my ceaseless question to the point where she invited me to join the team doing the sorting and then into the chais to follow the process to the tanks (they used carbonic fermentation which I did not know about at the time) In the evening we enjoyed several older vintages that had aged very well which dispelled my notion that Beaujolais was only good young. I still have some bottles of 07 Les Charmes from that vendange and am tempted to open one up to compare to the 16's, should be interesting.

Glad to see Jean-Paul Brun in the line up, I have been a fan of his wines for many years now, especially the Moulin-a-Vent which would substitute well here I would think.

Not Dominique Piron? I quite like his Morgon.

The photo is a little confusing as it shows two Brun cuvees and the Foillard. That said, the Lapierre Morgon label is fairly iconic and instantly recognizable