2009 Domaine Pignard Beaujolais, France

Color – Ruby red

Nose – Strawberry, cherry, floral notes, honey

Taste – This is another 10 dollar bottle of Beaujolais that Total Wine now carries. I didn’t see this a couple of months ago, but on a recent trip this was something new and I just had to see how it compares to the other Gamay wines I have sampled. It looks the same in the glass, somewhat thin, but upon swirling it isn’t watery and clings to the glass nicely. It smells of light red berries, cherries, flowers and what I can only describe as honey or sugar cane (that sweet scent that smells unprocessed and fresh). The attack is very similar to the Georges Duboeuf Flower Label Beaujolais-Villages that I have fallen in love with; layered tastes of strawberry, sour cherry, grass, salt and flowers. The mid-palate is all soft textures; tannins that effortlessly slip over the tongue, smooth astringency and alcohol that just barely bites. This is a light bodied wine with an even, medium length finish that carries more complexity in flavors; showing sour (but not puckering) cherry, cranberry, lavender and just a touch of black pepper. In my opinion this is a wine to drink chilled and with a light cheese or just by itself. It is perfect slightly chilled and will refresh you on a warm summer day.

Overall, this one is another winner as far as I’m concerned. It’s a good-to-great QPR with flavor and complexity that keep your palate happy. I paired it with a pork roast and it fared well, but mostly sipped glasses of it all by itself. This is a red wine for summer drinking for those of us that don’t like to switch to white wines. You can’t go wrong here, I’d say get this wine on your next visit to the wine store.

2007 Louis Verge Morgon “Les Pierres Fines”, France

Color – Light, nearly transparent red

Nose – Cherry, blueberry

Taste – I am pretty sure this Morgon is truly from the Gamay grape and an actual Beaujolais Cru though I could be wrong. The bottle does not identify the varietal, however, this wine is quite similar to other wines I have tasted featuring the Gamay grape. That being said this wine does not fare as well as any of those wines. I have read online that 2007 was not a particularly good year for Beaujolais winemakers and this wine definitely shows that. The wine itself needs a chance to breathe, at the very least decant this for 10 minutes, though 30 minutes would be better. If you don’t decant this you will find the wine acidic, bitter, and tannic; three things you don’t want to find in your Beaujolais. After breathing this wine mellows quite nicely and the flavors can actually be deciphered. The wine is light-to-medium in body. There are flavors of cherry, strawberry, and some floral notes as the wine first touches the tongue. These transition quickly into a mid-palate of sour cherry, smoke and grass. Finally the finish is short and features hints of dust and more smoke.

Overall, this wine surprised me. It surprised me where the actual flavor of the wine is concerned. It surprised me that it might actually be a Morgon Beaujolais Cru for under 10 dollars. And it surprised me that it has tannins and acid that actually show up when you drink it. Not all of surprises are good surprises. Sure it’s nice to drink Beaujolais and not have to fork over 15 bucks, but in all honesty I’d rather buy the 8 dollar Georges Debeouf Beaujolais-Villages than this bottle. This wine isn’t bad, I’d drink it again, but not when I want Beaujolais. But if I want a light red that I can pick up for under 8 bucks this is pretty good. It’s not going to win any awards and it’s definitely closer to the” Red Table Wine” on its label than actually being a Beaujolais.