The Most Underpriced Cru Beaujolais in My Book - Half What it Should Be at Under $23

Before I begin I would like to share some sad news about Marie-Elodie-Zighera Confuron.The frost that gripped Beaujolais destroyed 100% of her Morgon in 2016. I'm still upset and I found out two weeks ago.

Having said that, she has wine to sell and we are thrilled to offer two of her wines today. These are probably the most extraordinary wines in the entire Beaujolas portfolio. For those of you who don't know she is married to the owner of the great Burgundy Estate Confuron-Coteidot, which is barely if ever imported here which is a shame as their Vosne-Romanee "Les Suchots" is maybe the best I've ever had. We did a 6 vintage vertical when I was there in March 2015.  Fass Selections old-timers will recall that I was introduced to Clos de Mez by Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac, who buys her wines for his cellar.

I bring up Vosne-Romanee and also Hermitage and Cote-Rotie for a reason as I introduce the first wine which is the 2013 Clos du Mez Fleurie "La Dot" for as little as $22.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a STUPID bargain. This is the longest aging wine in Beaujolais. I've heard and read other people say it and the night I was there last March a famous French wine critic agreed with me on that point. I just had a bottle of 2008 (not a great vintage) and it was rocking and improved for 4-5 days! On day 2-3 it was utterly compelling and was like a blend of aged Cote-Rotie aromas (Beaujolais is in the Valle de Rhone) and spicey Vosne-Romanee character but also had a cool, dark mashed flower element which is unusual as Fleurie, to me is more Violets and roses. This is just one of the ways Marie-Elodie's wines are captivating for their uniqueness. This 2013 Fleurie starts off with just compelling aromas. Mashed flowers, spice, menthol, dark berry fruit, stony minerality and just nuance after nuance. Air is this wine's bestie. It changes and changes. Eventually a perfume develops that is just incredible. But the palate is really the star of the show. Juicy, deep with enormously ripe tannins and just extreme levels of sweet fruit. Elegant and so deep, that this is like if they made Gamay in Hemitage. This is such a stupid deal I can't get over it. The finish is a symphony of deep fruit, spice, minerals and sweet tannins. Incredible and the best wine I've ever had from Marie-Elodie.

These are not pop and pour fizzy Cru Beaujolais - she uses the Burgundian elevage technique which makes for more serious wines with deep structure and significant tannin. Alas, they need time to really develop.  And they do.  I had a client who was down on the 2010 Clos du Mez Fleurie and he finally had his last bottle and it blew him away. And this is someone who is drinking, besides my wines, aged great Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barolo. he '13 Cru Beaujolais are revelations. As I sit back and gave tasted a number of 14's recently I had a '13 that reminded how terrific this vintage is. It's more of a vin de garde vintage than something that can be fully enjoyed young but what wines they are. '13 is as good as any great vintage I can remember. '10, '05, and '02 come to mind. It is a blockbuster for sure and will outlive almost any vintage 5 years ahead of it and 5 years behind it. Structured vin de garde 13's don't come around that often.

Today I also have the 2012 Morgon "Chateau Gailard" for as little as $22.99 a 4-pack. Before '13 came along, 2012 was peak Mez, as she absolutely kills off vintages. It really is uncanny. My favorite 2012 Beaujoais are from her.  Although 2012 is not seen as a great vintage for Beaujolais fans, I think that the 2012s are her best vintage so far (again, she uses a different technique than most winemakers in Beaujolais). Remember how great 2012 was in Burgundy, well that is what you get in her 12s. The nose is brilliant. The Clos du Mez Morgon shows gorgeous dark fruit aromas, with seductive mineral and cooling tones on the nose but also loads of earth and bark. The palate is classic explosive Clos du Mez Morgon, with tiny dark black and red fruits hitting your palate in waves with a distinctly rocky, cooling minerality. Velvety tannins throughout coat the palate with the juicy, vivid pure fruit. She ages her wines much longer than almost anyone as she is making it just like Burgundy.

$22.99 usually gets you a gluggable wine without much complexity.  $22.99 wines usually have generally unidimensional fruit but lack aromatics, structure and secondary and tertiary flavors.  Clos de Mez has complexity that punches way above its weight.  From the first sip you can taste the structure and complexity of the wine; it's almost like a coiled 20 foot python that gradually unfurls as the wine opens.  It's unlike almost any other Cru Beaujolais and more like a complex, fruity Burgundy.  If you are looking for an affordable red wine that is delicious, this is #1 in my book.

I tasted many of Marie-Elodie's wines (who is very famous in France for her Beaujolais) across a number of vintages and was surprised by the trademark Clos du Mez style and how still going back to even 07, the wines are stalwart yet giving. The young fruit of Clos du Mez is like nothing else in Beujaolais. It is thrilling stuff as many of you have attested. They are dense, juicy and full of character and flavor and also with some juicy yet prominent and thoroughly ripe tannins. She makes wines that taste like Burgundy that just happen to be in Morgon and Fleurie. The '13's are just being released. The de Mez wines age in barrel and bottle for an extra year or two before they are released. They are full-bodied and thrilling expressions of Gamay that some (me and others) have called the longest aging estate in Beaujolais today.

2013 Clos de Mez Fleurie "La Dot" - $24.99 ($91.96 4-pack) 

2012 Clos de Mez Morgon "Chateau Gaillard" - $24.99 ($91.96 4-pack)