I was reminded of this while reading Wine Berserkers today, which included some discussion of the 2007 Lapierre Morgon. I have a bottle of that in the cellar, but it was upside down, full of sediment and not ready for drinking.
So on to another upside bottle, this one mysteriously without any sediment. It's the 2005 Domaine Laurent Gauthier Chiroubles Chatenay Vieilles Vignes. Should be perfect with chicken roasting in the oven.
And it is. Dark, fresh ruby color, with a sweet cherry and light soil aroma. It's quite ripe but nicely so, with a fine balance of savory and sweet. The flavors are tangy, with fine tannin and a clean, somewhat long finish. Nothing complex, but oh so delicious with the chicken dinner with a vegetable gratin and garden salad. This is terrific cru Beaujolais, one of the few Chiroubles I've ever tried.
Searching for information on the wine, I see that I've unknowingly tried it before. Here's my note from a blind tasting of 2005 Beaujolais, posted on this blog more than two years ago:
Then another dark, cleanly earth smelling wine with deep rich black fruit. In the mouth, this one has softer acid, fine tannins like the others, some gummy fruit like the first wine, in the words of our host, “big and lucious.” This was the [2005] Laurent Gauthier “Chatenay” Chiroubles V.V.I remember it now, so fruity and plush I thought it had a little shiraz blended in. A couple of years have lightened the wine so it's classic (to my taste) Beaujolais, substantial but not top heavy or overdone. I liked it fine back then, but I see in this bottle that some age can allow a wine to stretch out without losing freshness, growing into itself after seeming a bit too babyfat on release.
Must...drink...more...Beaujolais.
No comments:
Post a Comment