2017 Lapierre Morgon
Cru Beaujolais
Regular Price $37.99
Sale Price $29.99
Do you remember Popeye? Popeye the Sailor Man? He was a cartoon figure from the 1930’s into the 70’s, who famously had one eye, smoked a pipe, had enormous forearms and a tattoo. He was constantly vexed by the larger, bearded, villainous Bluto, however, Popeye endeavored to remain pacific, until he could take no more. Then, declaring that, “I yam what I yam’, Popeye would consume a can of spinach and trounce Bluto.
Gamay, the grape that this wine (and all reds from Beaujolais) is made from, is like Popeye.
(Cabernet Sauvignon is like Bluto. More on that later)
Gamay is what it is…a grape that is often disrespected and vexed by wine ‘experts’ that really don’t understand that big, loud and thick wines are not, by those attributes, ‘better’. Rather, Gamay from Beaujolais, is not simply a ‘light-bodied’ wine that some think emulates Pinot Noir, but a versatile and enigmatic wine that offers different versions of itself. Depending on where its grown. And to double back, this wine is Popeye on spinach.
Morgon is among the most venerated of cru Beaujolais, as the wines from here are deeply flavored and ageworthy, complex and bold. And the house of Lapierre, now run by the children of the late, great Marcel Lapierre, still make wines of depth and power, without the residual sugar and oak flavoring typical so many of today’s Cabernet Sauvignons (Bluto-esque?)
This wine is expressive, with cherry and plum along side of savory cinnamon and hints of river stone. Its medium bodied in the mouth, but grainy and tenacious on the finish with crisp acidity propelling you towards another sip. Damn, I yam what I yam, it says.