Lightly chewy, with smoke and mineral notes underscoring the sun-dried cherry and red currant fruit, accented by star anise and leather hints. Drink now through 2017. 56 cases imported.??–AN??Region: France / Beaujolais / Morgon Select to Add

An expressive red, brimming with raspberry and white cherry fruit, as well as violet, herbes de Provence and loamy earth notes. Elegant and well-knit, with a fresh finish. Drink now through 2020. 56 cases imported.??–AN??Region: France / Beaujolais / Morgon Select to Add

The 2009 Morgon Belles Grives – representing as usual a second Duboeuf blend (beyond their “selection” flower label) from across several of this appellation’s sub-regions, and tasted from tank – smells of strawberry and cherry preserves with hints of raw beef. Infectiously juicy and bright, it finishes invigoratingly and saliva-inducing with tart berry skin and salt, yet an undertone of meatiness also persists that is apt to become more prominent as the wine evolves, which it ought to do nicely for 3-4 years. The vast and on the whole stylistically consistent range of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais bottlings – a majority issuing from individual domaines – represents a reliable source of value, and this has seldom been more true (nor has the range – most, but not all of which, I tasted – been more vast) than from 2009, which it is clear Duboeuf considers as fine a vintage as he has witnessed – although he notes, “It was very difficult this year to choose the date of bottling,” and many wines were still in tank awaiting that decision when I tasted in April. I continue to find as a general rule that Duboeuf’s wines are best drunk within two years of bottling, so in my notes I have made reference to aging potential only for any wines that I expect might be exceptions to that rule of thumb. (Wines identified solely by their appellation are so-called “Selections Georges Duboeuf” cuvees, labeled with his company’s signature flower labels. There are Regnie and Chenas selection bottlings that I did not taste, the latter being the sole bottling of its appellation this vintage, due to the ravages of hail.)Importer: William Deutsch & Son Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463

The 2008 Morgon Belles Grives – representing another large lot – is brimming with bright red raspberry right down to the seeds, giving an invigoratingly tart, faintly bitter cask to its sappy, truly palate-staining fruit. A lovely, iris-like bitter sweet floral note wafts throughout. I’d never heard of this property, but I’d put money on bottles of this wine being worth following for three or more years, and I certainly hope some of them will end up in the U.S. Consistent in style and amazingly low in price, the myriad Beaujolais bottlings of George Duboeuf continue to represent outstanding values in the American marketplace. In April, I tasted nearly their entire range of 2008s, with few exceptions, already bottled. The overwhelming majority of these made my cut as value recommendations, including some – from among that wide range of domaines with which Duboeuf has long-standing commercial relationships – that might not show up in the U.S. market. The so-called “Selections Georges Duboeuf” cuvees continue to bear a variation on this negociant’s signature flower labels, but to save space in our print edition, please assume that any wine not otherwise designated refers to a member of that class. In general, I have preferred DuBoeuf’s Beaujolais bottlings in their youth, with a few of the domaine crus having exhibited with bottle age a complexity concomitant with the effort to cellar them, and where not otherwise noted, my recommendation is to enjoy the following wines over the next couple of years. The Duboeuf 2008 Beaujolais-Villages – at 30,000 cases, representing their largest single lot of wine, and twice the volume of their appellation Beaujolais – was a bit green and rustic by comparison, and multiple bottles of a Chateau des Vierres bottling were oddly inexpressive and drying on the occasion of my visit. Duboeuf’s flower label 2008 Fleurie is another of their wines of this vintage that is atypically austere, and in this instance a bit much so, and their 2008 Fleurie Domaine des Quatre Vents and Fleurie Chateau des Bachelards were a bit drying and rough under the influence both of its barrel component and its very recent bottling when I tasted it.Importer: William Deutsch & Son Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463