2005 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvee 3.14

2005 Jean Foillard Morgon Cuvee 3.14

I met Jean Foillard at a tasting in Beaune…..Le Comedie du Vins ……earlier in the year during the Les Grand Jours de Bourgogne festivities….lovely bloke, left his wife Angnes manning the tasting table and spent most of his time out the front of the venue laughing and smoking darts with his mates.

Jean is a bit of a gun in Beaujolais……a disciple of the late Jules Chauvet, he produces naturally made wines that have quickly developed a bit of a cult following. In the past, down this neck of the woods, we have had limited access to decent Beaujolais but thankfully nowadays many of the top producers are imported into Australia and with the 2009 vintage being so juicy and approachable, more and more wine drinkers are getting on the Booj-train.

Makes sense to me…..suits our climate and dining style perfectly….nothing better than a slightly chilled bottle of Beaujolais with good food & friends….which is exactly what I did with this bottle….dragging it over to New Zealand and eagerly consuming it over lunch at Mike Weersing’s house after trying his wines and wandering about the vineyards.

The Foilllard Cuvee 3.14 is from a plot of old vine Gamay, 90+ years, on the Cote du Py hill in Morgon.

Deep red/purple hue with a fairly muted nose at first that blooms with some time in the glass. Spiced wild cherry & blackberry fruit….that characteristic Morgon calvados flourish is present also with hints of freshly turned sod, minerals and grilled meats.

I’ve always found the 2005′s to be quite expressive wines, this took a little while to hit its straps though…..a comes across more Pinot Noir-like than Gamay….certainly more concentrated than the standard Cote de Py offering….a little more moody and sullen first up with dense cherry and black fruits, plenty of spice and earth, an oloroso-like element and some gamey nuances. Quite a feminine wine….generous yet with plenty of stuffing. There is some subdued oak wafting by in the background, the tannins a fine-grained, ripe and slippery and a bright seam of acidity shines throughout.

Price: $90-ish

Closure: Cork

Alcohol: 13%

I like pie