Comments on: Too Beaujolais, or not too Beaujolais

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:58:48 +0000

Wojciech,

Thanks for clarifying the SO2 situation. i thought I was losing my mind; and at such a young age 😉

A Burgundy glass? Now why didn’t I think of that. I need to retaste the wine in a Burgundy glass then. i will search out another bottle and give it another try. i only know that I love to taste taste taste!

Cheers

By: Wojciech Bońkowski

Wojciech Bońkowski — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:50:37 +0000

Sorry for the confusion Joseph. I just checked on a bottle I have at home and you’re right it says “Sans sulfite ajoute ni filtration”. What confused me is that this cuvee has usually been lightly filtered with the no SO2 regime reserved for the upper Cuvee Marcel (Roman numerals). Maybe the latter was not produced in 2010?
I agree a wine cannot age with no fruit. However in this case I think the fruit is there. It might just not be superripe, and it’s certainly subtle, but I get lots of fruity and flowery impression here, especially from a Burgundy glass with proper airing, though admittedly with a bracing acidic backbone as well.

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:07:28 +0000

Wojciech,

I have added a *(please see “comments” below) phrase in my post after writing that this wine was made without sulfur so that the readers of my blog will get the entire picture

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:02:08 +0000

Wojciech,

Thanks again for commenting. You may very well be correct regarding the SO2 in this wine. I usually take a photo of the back label, but for some reason I didn’t this time. i don’t know why… I am hoping somebody else will also comment on this. But for now, i will take your word since my memory is not 100%. Oh, i should mention that this bottle came from Warsaw, so maybe that will help us figure out if it was with added sulfur. Did the Cuvée Marcel Lapierre come into Poland?

Unfortunately, Google translate doesn’t like to translate from Polish, so I have difficulties following Polish writings, but I will get a personal translator to translate your post.
My reaction to high acid, “slightly” under ripe wines is most likely due to the fact that after 8 years in Norway, where the higher the acidity the better, I got tired of some of these German Rieslings that earned high scores because their acidity was high. The higher the better. Admittedly, I used to devour those wines at first, but I grew quickly tired of them.
My ideal wine, of course, would be one made with perfectly ripe grapes and ripe, juicy acidity 🙂
It’s curious this mention of ageing potential in the higher acid wines. I do agree that the acid component can be a “natural preservative”, helping the wine age longer, but when the fruit is not there to begin with, age won’t help that. I couldn’t find the fruit on this Morgan. Perhaps I was looking for a different “type” of fruit.

Differing opinions are what make the wine world so interesting. And of course, you cannot argue with taste.

I guess I will have to come up to Warsaw and have you introduce me to some older vintages of Lapierre so I can repost 🙂

By: Wojciech Bońkowski

Wojciech Bońkowski — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:32:37 +0000

That’s surprising, because I assumed it’s only the Cuvee Marcel Lapierre (with the Roman numerals) that has a no SO2 added version.
Actually I’ve just posted on this wine a few days ago:
http://bonkowski.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/marcel-lapierre-morgon-2010/
Clearly our opinions differ. But some of our tasting notes do overlap. I too remarked on the above-average acidity, and on the element of underripeness (for me a characteristic of 2010). And I could agree that the wine has no particular depth. But what distinguished it in my book is the great purity of fruit, the vibrancy and ethereal intensity.
May I just remark that it’s another wine – after the Occhipinti Frappato 2009 – when I see you reacting negatively to a wine that’s acid-driven and a little underripe. This is interesting because that very characteristic is what makes me rate these wines higher. I prefer a wine to be a little underripe than a little overripe. I perceive more energy and more ageing potential in a bit of greenness than in a bit too much sweet, oily phenolic fruitiness. But of course this is very personal.
Lapierre tends to be less acidic, silkier and fleshier in riper vintages like 2009 or 2005, when he comes closer to Jean Foillard in style. Of course when you come to Warsaw some older vintages will be made available to you 🙂

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:53:51 +0000

Hello Wojciech!

I no longer have the empty bottle, but I remember reading “sans soufre ajoute” on the back label somewhere, both when I received the bottle and when i opened it. To be honest, I hope I remember incorrectly and that you are right.. However, even if this was a bottle where some sulfur was used, how much exactly? From this producer I would still expect a low dosage, but it certainly didn’t seem that way. It just seemed a bit obvious and I didn’t expect that.

The wine didn’t sit in a decanter for 3 hours, but it remained opened (with cork) overnight, then drank up slowly the next day. My bottle didn’t improve much.

Thank you for your comments. I would love to read your tasting notes on this wine.

By: Wojciech Bońkowski

Wojciech Bońkowski — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:41:00 +0000

Joseph, are you sure this Morgon is unsulphured? The label you have on the photograph is the regular cuvee from Lapierre, and was never said to be unsulphured. The no-SO2 cuvee has Roman numerals for the vintage on the front label, and mentions “non sulphitee” on the back label (also because the Morgon MMX also has a lightly sulphured batch that has exactly the same front label but “legerement sulphitee” on the back label).
Please double check if you can.
I agree that the acidity in this wine is very high… but I enjoy it nonetheless. IME it benefits from a good 3-4 hours airing.