Jay Kline

9.2

First pour of this and I was like, “uh-oh”. It was clearly full of flaws (Brettanomyces, VA and maaaaybe some slight TCA) but would they be too much to appreciate the wine? Only time would tell so into the decanter it went. After a lot of air, it became clear this was Brett and VA. The wine pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing (still) with notes of blackberries, umeboshi, animale, purple flowers, black pepper, red Flintstone vitamin, horse blanket, wood varnish, and sous bois. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. An elegant, complicated bottle. This is my second time with the 1997 vintage and due to the flaws, a different adventure than previous. That being said, this decidedly grumpy, Burgundian expression of Clape’s Cornas paired really well with the dry-aged steaks. Drink now, with a lot of patience, through 2037? — 2 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

Lovely, sweet mature fruit (dried redfruits), there might be a touch of Brett (but less than the 1995 Beaucastel I posted last week), suave and complex on the palate, lingering finish, excellent Chateauneuf-du-Pape at its peak!! — 8 months ago

with Jim

Aaron Rankin

9.4

These have begun showing Brett/funk, but this bottle is clean. My first without the horseshit kiss. PnP. Forest floor, wet sticks, and a bramble pie cooling by a distant window. This is Autumn Pinot at its most perfect. Plush mouthfeel with viscosity like a mild reduction (not reductive). While the tannin has faded, the concentration provides more than expected structure. — 4 years ago

David J Rodriguez

8.9

Shame the Brett barnyard doesn’t integrate better with the lovely berry-cherry undertones swirling about...three days in, funkadelic subsided into pleasant, easy drinking juice. — 5 years ago

Liz Howng

9.0

Brett and delicious — makes you want more with each sip — 7 years ago

Matt

9.1

Always been a go-to producer for me in terms of price, drinkability, and sense of place. This had all the MSD character I look for in village wines with generous fruit and weight to make it a no fuss experience. Some reduction and brett dominated but blew off quickly letting its leathery and brambly, sous bois fruity character shine through. One foot in rustic, one foot in conventional, this had a well rounded mix of what I like when I reach for this village. — 7 years ago

Ansis Purins

9.0

Brett in your face! Very good. — 8 years ago

romo

9.4

Just enough brett to make it interesting. Captivating nose, sensual texture. — 2 months ago

Cameron Parry

9.2

Took about 2 hours to open. Dark & dried cherries. Acid still nice and firm. Tannins still going strong but clearly softer and more fine grained. Feels somewhat unbalanced - good acid, good tannin, not enough fruit. May have missed the optimal window. Still very enjoyable. Only a touch of Brett. — 6 months ago

Doug Powers

9.4

[En Magnum] This is absolutely a beautiful, 30-year-old, Beaucastel Rouge in large format, mostly clean (just a trace of Brett), red fruits, still some structure, but not tannic, balanced, complex layers of flavors, long finish, really a top-notch Beaucastel with old school ABV (13.5%)!, lovely!!! — 8 months ago

with Jim

Ben Lehman

9.0

For one of my all time favorite wines, this was a bit disappointing. What has previously smelled like garrigue and lavender, this time around smelled a bit too much of brett for my taste — 4 years ago

Matt

9.4

Caught this in a great spot. Intact and developed fruit, complex and harmonious aged Bandol notes. The brett is quite integrated and noticeable in the slight tight and metallic finish. Soaked black cherries, stewed black plums, leather, animal hide, dried herbs, woodsmoke, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, — 6 years ago

Bradley Brown

Owner/Winemaker Big Basin Vineyards

9.7

Gorgeous. No Brett, lively and silky — 7 years ago

Zach Demers

9.2

Drinking really well at this age. Tannins still pretty upfront and powerful on day 1 along with lots of tart cherry, some brett funk, and earthiness. Great acidic backbone. Was better on day 2! Seemed a touch softer and more integrated with an amazing mouthfeel. Nose was all cherry cola with some root beer, menthol and medicinal notes. So good. Next time I’d just open the bottle and not drink it until the next day — 7 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

Lot of funk initially but on day two this really turned into a stunning wine. Give it some air and be open minded if there’s Brett at first because this is special stuff — 3 months ago

romo

9.4

Called Grenache blend. Obvs Pegau. Brett suburbs crazy balance. — 4 months ago

Shay A

9.4

This was served during my annual WWC hosting. Typical format of sparkler, three whites, four reds, one dessert, all served blind.

Poured alongside the 2003 Mondavi VHR as a comparison. 60 cab/40 merlot.

Decanted an hour. The similarities between this and the ‘03 Mondavi VHR the first hour was shocking…even as the host, I wondered if I switched the wines. Slight hint of brett but certainly not overpowering. Leather, herbs de Provence, sweet vanilla pipe tobacco, graphite up front aromatically. Dark roast mocha, red and black berry fruit, cassis, really nice vein of acidity and tannin. This remained unchanged during the lunch. Seems like it’s in a peak window (maybe close to the top?) where I imagine it will hold another 5-7yrs easily before turning more tertiary. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

This bottle was a lovely gift from our friend Tim who visited Omaha this past Spring. Our only instructions were to enjoy it together with food; challenge accepted! While I have experienced many wines produced by Foillard, this was my first with his “Cote du Py”. The wine pours a deep ruby color; slightly hazy in the glass. On the nose, at least initially, there are signs of some Brett giving a barnyard characteristic but that sort of blows off (or at least becomes less obvious) with cherries, earth, blackened poblano, underripe plum, and purple Sweet Tarts taking a more central role. On the palate, it’s mostly dark cherry and blackberries showing very little in the way of evolution. Medium+ acid, medium- tannin. The finish was super long. I was really impressed how young this wine was coming across; hardly an indication of anything that would indicate ten years of age. Yet more proof that Beaujolais can cellar quite gracefully. We loved how this paired with grilled rack of lamb and a light salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, mozzarella and prosciutto. Grazie Tim! — 5 years ago

Keith Crump

9.2

A 2002 drinking well always a little Brett with this chateau but it gives the wine muscle — 7 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

So silky, whiff of Brett blows off quickly to reveal pure and bright black cherry fruit. Brilliant — 8 years ago