Granger


April 2007

88. 2005 Domaine Pascal Granger Beaujolais Villages Le Bouteau
Bright medium red. Zesty strawberry and cranberry scents accented by white papper, rhubarb and cherry pit. Refereshingly bitter flavors of vivid red berries and minerals lead to a snappy, focused finish. A quintessential light-bodied Beaujolais that would be ideal with an assortment of young and aged cheeses, goat or cow.

90. 2005 Domaine Pascal Granger Julienas
Bright red. Ripe, precise raspberry and blackberry scents are suavely accented by violet and white pepper. Then lush and weighty on the palate, with ripe dark berry compote flavors, soft tannins and gentle acid lift on the long, juicy finish. A distinctly ripe, fleshy wine, with the concentration to pair with heartier fare.

91. 2005 Domaine Pascal Granger Moulin-a-Vent.
Ruby-red. Spicy cherry and dark berry aromas are deepened by exotic floral and Indian spice accents. Mineral notes brighten the blackberry and blackcurrant flavors, with a strong peppery note and firm tannins giving the wine a serious aspect. But this remains elegant and almost light in weight, finishing with fine, dusty tannins and excellent length.



September 15, 2002

Julienas Cuvee Speciale 2000 91

Lovely beam of raspberry. This shows more of its structure now, but the dark spice and smoke notes and the latent fruit bode well for the future. Serious Beaujolais. Drink now through 2004. 200 cases imported. - J.M.



February 2003

Wine of the Week - JuliČnas Grande Reserve Special Cuvee 1995

A Better Beaujolais
Nick Passmore

"We wanted to explore the potential of vielles vignes."

That's "old vines" for those of you whose French never got beyond the "la plume de ma tante" stage, and this was Pascal Granger's answer to my question as to why, after his family had been making wine in Beaujolais for more than 200 years, he recently started producing a cuvČe speciale, or special edition, wine.

In last week's column and this week's I am taking a look at a new breed of Beaujolais that defies the region's stereotype of light, insubstantial wine. Granger is one of a dozen or so Beaujolais producers, out of many thousands, who are experimenting with various techniques in an attempt to make more substantial and serious wine, wine that can hold its own against the best from anywhere.

Now, back to the vielles vignes. About 17% of his land is planted with very old vines. These produce lower yields of more intensely flavored grapes that until recently simply went into the generic estate JuliČnas. Now they are vinified, aged and bottled separately.

However, it's more than just old vines that distinguish Granger's Special Cuvee.

Since the rise of Beaujolais Nouveau in the 1960s, a unique winemaking procedure has evolved in Beaujolais that yields light, fruity wine meant to be drunk young. However, if you start with superior grapes, as Granger does, and treat them like, say, a Burgundy producer would treat pinot noir, you wind up with a wine that tastes...well, like a Burgundy.

He uses a longer fermentation than is normal in Beaujolais and then ages his wine for up to 24 months in oak barrels. This is anathema in Beaujolais, and the result is a wine that couldn't be more different that standard issue Beaujolais.

According to Granger, until recently no one was exploring the possibilities of vielles vignes, but now there is a growing demand for special cuvČes and oak-aged Beaujolais, especially in the U.S. and Northern Europe.

And his JuliČnas Grande Reserve Special Cuvee 1995 is an eloquent demonstration of why these new-style, more substantial Beaujolais are becoming popular. It has a dark, dense color, and while it is luscious and plumy in the mouth, it still has that fruity Beaujolais character, but with structure and depth. It could easily be mistaken for a village Burgundy, and at a mere $20 it is a terrific bargain.