Faintly gamey and reductive on the nose, the Duboeuf 2010 Fleurie La Madone displays abundant tart blackberry and cassis tinged with brown spices and pungent herbs on a juicy, if slightly chewy, palate. Here is another of Duboeuf’s 2010 Fleuries that reveals considerable structure; promise of at least 3-4 years’ interest; and excellent value, rendering it understandable that no wines of this appellation had yet been bottled as of mid-June. George Duboeuf and his estate-collaborators – for further general comments on whom consult my issue 190 report – harvested from mid-September into the first week of October and pronounced themselves reasonably satisfied with the size of their crop as well as its quality. Most of the fruit came in at between 12-12.5% alcohol, with only a small share being chaptalized. And while the manner of extraction typically practiced chez Duboeuf strikes me as serving for rather uniformly deep colors, Duboeuf remarked that the 2010s colored with particular, and surprising, ease. The percentage of wines bottled at the time of my June visit was, predictably, considerably higher than had been the case for the 2009s at the same point on the calendar. Observing conventions established in the aforementioned previous report, I have made reference to aging potential only for any wines that I expect might be worth following for longer than a couple of years, and where I have identified a wine solely by appellation, it represents a so-called “Selections Georges Duboeuf” cuvee, adorned with his company’s signature flower labels. I also tasted on this occasion several late-released, wooded “prestige” bottlings – rendered in 1,000-2,500 volumes – which however were not destined to appear in U.S. markets.Importer: William Deutsch & Son Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463

The Duboeuf 2009 Fleurie La Madone – from numerous growers (last year’s rendition originated with only 3) in that highly-reputed, high-elevation sector – boasts rich, juicy peach and dark cherry with invigorating fruit skin tartness and salinity in a buoyant, lip-smacking finish. Hints of cherry pit and iodine add interest to this Fleurie of real verve and persistence that may well be worth following 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 Fleurie La Madone – a wine from that high-elevation sector assembled from three growers – is generous, if tart, in rhubarb and cherry; invigorating and satisfyingly juicy in the finish; and wants only for a bit more richness or perhaps a mineral or carnal dimension. 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

The Fleurie La Madone is a superb, dense, dark ruby/purple-colored wine with layers of jammy cassis and black-cherry fruit, a big, fragrant, in-your-face set of aromatics, and enough acidity for balance and clarity. It is a lusty, hedonistic Beaujolais for drinking over the next 3-4 years. Georges Duboeuf's wines are represented on the East Coast by W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd., Armonk, NY; tel. (914) 273-1221, fax (914) 273-1291, and on the West Coast by Winesellers Ltd., Skokie, IL,; tel (708) 679-0121, fax (708) 679-2017.