What I’ve Been Drinking Lately: The Ole Professor Waxes Philosophical

Some of you have asked why The Ole Professor only writes about wines he has bought for himself—and drunk (usually over several nights to see how the wines evolve) and not merely tasted.  Well, simple soul that he is, the Ole Professor has a simple answer.  He views himself as the surrogate for all his readers who don’t have access to samples-to-the-press and major trade tastings and who can’t afford to drink expensive bottles of wine every night there is—but who, like The Ole Professor, do want to have good, affordable wines to drink every night there is.  Now that’s the cause to which The Ole Professor has set himself, and on your behalf, Dear Reader!

He found it challenging, but also instructive and, ultimately, really quite satisfying.  And in that vein, in that spirit, he turned to this column to celebrate just how good a $25 wine could be.

Fortunately, he’s not alone.  These are the kinds of wines that many of you drink—or would like to drink—on a daily basis.

Just this past week, when Eric Asimov, the distinguished wine critic of The New York Times, devoted a full page in the Times "Food" section to the wines of the Beaujolais region, The Ole Professor took great pride is seeing many of his own selections—the ones you, Dear Reader, perhaps first read about here, in this column—honored for delivering great bang-for-the-buck.

And there they were:  Our old friends from this very column, this very Review, Madame Nicole Chanrion and her son Romain at the Domaine de la Voûte des Crozes and her cousins the Geoffrays of Château Thivin, and the estimable Jean-Paul Brun of Terres Dorées, all of them in Côte-de-Brouilly; Georges Descombes, he of the famous Morgon family, but here also in Brouilly, the flatter land surrounding the hill (the Côte) of Brouilly, hence the name of that somewhat more prestigious A.C; the Couderts at the “Clos de la Roilette” in Fleurie and now  with vineyards in Moulin-à-Vent as well; and the Têtes, Michel and his son Sylvain, at the Domaine du Clos du Fief in Juliénas.

You’ve seen all those names before—in this column.  Seven, in fact, out of ten wines heralded by Eric in his list of “10 Terrific 2022 Beaujolais to Drink Today.”  It’s a brilliant, well-chosen lot, and I salute Eric.  I would not, in fact, disagree with him on any of his choices.

But if I could add a few of my own, stopping well short of Eric’s most expensive choice, at $45 retail, I would add these outstanding grower Beaujolais—all of which I have bought and served with delight chez Anderson.

Just as a reminder to those readers whose image of Beaujolais comes from grapey Beaujolais Nouveau, much of the wine from than region just north of Lyon conveys an entirely different character.  There are the categories of straight Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages in addition to Nouveau, but the region’s wines really get interesting at what’s known as the Cru level—wines from individual villages that have the potential to produce wines of true character.  One of the fascinating aspects is how the wines from these 10 villages differ from one another.

The owners of the Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes in Côte de Brouilly are related to the owners of the neighboring Château Thivin and those of the Domaine des Voûtes des Crozes, and, like their cousins, they make excellent wines.  I would never hesitate to buy Côte de Brouilly from any of these three estates, especially in years like 2019, 2020, and 2022.

And speaking of relations, while Eric enthused for the George Descombes Brouilly 2022, I would single out the 2020 Morgon “Côte du Py” from Jean-Ernest Descombes.  With almost five years in bottle, it’s really drinking well now.  Smooth and gulpable, it’s a delight that’s also not too overripe.

The 1997 and 1999 Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon from the great Château des Jacques, arguably the most famous property of all in the Beaujolais, owned today by Maison Louis Jadot (both about $30 the bottle).  I absolutely love the ’97 Morgon, which is silky smooth and fragrantly spicy, but these are all without exception terrific wines.

Over the past 4-5 years, I’ve gotten great pleasure from both the 2017 and 2019 Fleurie “Les Moriers” from Domaine Chignard, which is located in Fleurie.  This is always one of Kermit Lynch’s best—and best value ($30-$35)—Beaujolais Crus, a totally convincing wine of impeccable balance and lovely fruit.

The 2022 Chiroubles “Bel-Air” from the Château de Raousset is just a marvelous example of this small Beaujolais cru, described by Serena Sutcliffe, M.W., as “the most ethereal of all the crus, light and fragrant, as airborne as the height of its vineyards.”  Well, the 2022 vintage gave just enough additional weight to the wine to make it extra-special this year.  A beautiful balance between acids and ripeness.  About $25 per bottle.  One of my favorite 2022s.

The minerally, rich and fine Morgon “Grands Cras” and “Côte du Py” in the 2019 vintage from Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud (both about $25).

The 2020 Domaine des Billards in Saint-Amour (about $20 a bottle), which is still fresh and delicious, slightly spicy on the nose.  The famous Barbet-Loron family are the owners.

Young Quentin Harel’s “mere” Beaujolais-Villages “Grandes Terres” (less than $20 a bottle in the 2018 vintage), from vines with an average age of 40 years (7-70 years is the range).

As you can see, I not only love writing about these wines, I love drinking them.  And I bet you will too.  

Santé!