Wine of the Week: 2009 Château de Saint-Lager Brouilly ($14.99)

Make this 09 Beaujolais gem your house red for the month - only $14.99 and available now at K&L! We can't get enough of '09 Beaujolais around here. K&L's veteran employee Jim Barr (review below) is not alone - K&L staff overall are obsessed with these stunning Gamays, from Villages to Cru level. They carry that classic bright Gamay red fruit, but with loads more complexity and substance, thanks to an off-the-charts vintage. If you like the finesse and character of Burgundy, but want something a little more lip-smacking and food-friendly to enjoy now (especially with Labor Day barbecue and picnic fare) don't miss these beauties from 09 in Beaujolais. You will never think the same about Gamay again!

"I thought that this would never, ever happen. For forty plus years, of all the cases of wine that I have bought and drunk or cellared, I have never bother to buy a Beaujolais, villages or in general. It was always a bottle here and one there, but never a case. Then this stupidly great vintage of 2009 shows up and I am totally mesmerized by the amazing quality and depth of flavor of these wines. Sooo, when [K&L Burgundy Buyer] Keith Wollenberg landed a 2009 villages production from Chateau De Pizay Morgon (now sold out) a few months back, I was so totally overwhelmed by its stunning richness and broadness of flavor, that I bought not just one case, but two, one for current consumption and one for aging to see how it will evolve. Chateau de Pizay has sent us another villages production from the 2009 vintage, but under another a different label, Chateau de Saint-Lager Brouilly (another K&L Direct Import) and it, too, is a wine to behold. It not only rivals the Morgon, in many ways it is even more complex and deeply flavored. Medium-deep ruby in color, the nose explodes with opulent tones of blueberry to violet to strawberry fruit characteristics, that carry over to a broad, fleshy, deeply flavored Beaujolais (this is Gamay?) that is full, abundantly rich and concise, with mineral undertones, a creamy, viscous middle, and a long, flashy finish that refuses to give up. And, yes, I have bought two cases of this Gem. Anderson* has informed me that this Gem beauty will be one of our house red for the month. ABV 13.0%" -Jim Barr, K&L Staff Member 08/31/2011

 

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Jim Barr has worked for K&L for 25 years. Interested in more recommendations from Jim? Visit the Staff Review section of KLWines.com to browse hundreds of staff reviews from Jim and other K&L Staff Members!

 

  

*Note: Anderson is Jim's dog who, along with the cats Bean, Eby and Rizzo, oversee the wine program of the Barr household.