Extreme Beaujolais

Wine drinkers in the US seem bored these days with Beaujolais. Personally, I think this a snobbish oversight. George DuBoeuf's everyday Beaujolais and a smoked chicken from Bloomington's Butcher Block are an easy way to have a great meal. But setting that issue aside, there is a lot of excitement from a few producers who resist the easy charms of simple Beaujolais for something special. These wines are obviously a favorite at Tallent -- currently there is a Foilard Morgon which is a lovely wine. It reminds me of a story told by Pierre Rovani, who reviews Burgundies for Robert Parker's newsletter, The Wine Advocate. He invited a friend for lunch, ordered roast chicken and a Morgon from LaPierre, whereupon the friend reached for the winelist to pick something better. My first thought was what kind of idiot would try to override Rovani's choices? Pierre can order my wine anytime he wants. But then I suppose there are people who turn down investment advice from Warren Buffett and I remember all the first-year law students who come up after class to explain to me what really goes on in the Supreme Court. (The same Lapierre Morgon, by the way, was on Tallent's wine list before the current Foilard.) These wines, anyway, are food friendly, interesting and usually a great quality to price ratio. Right now, Big Red has three wines which go a step beyond. These wines are made in Brouilly, by Jean-Claude Lapalu, who apparently lacked the heart to tell his vines they were only good Beaujolais. So he raised them like Burgundy from the Cote d'Or, stressing the vines, with low yields, long maceration and new oak. Wow! My daughter and I had the Brouilly tonight (Cuvee des Fous, 2003, $33). This is a wine with the deep purple and blue rim of young vintage port, with a rich nose of black cherries, plums and almonds. In the mouth the wine has a rich creamy texture. The finish is maybe a little short but I suspect a year in the cellar might take care of that. The tannins are smooth and elegant. Serve it to friends, don't tell them what it is, and drive them crazy.