Domaine Calot Cuvee V V Morgon

["T"]

Domaine Calot Cuvee Vielles Vignes 2000

Mediun cherry red appearance, medium intense aromas of dusty cherry and floral notes.

Dry, medium acidity, smooth tannins. Dried cherries, strawberries on palate. Beautiful smooth fruity finish, good length.

After 1 hour of decanting: Intense aroma of cherries, raspberries, strawberries. Fresh rosemary.

Palate mimics the nose. Good concentration of fruit balanced with medium acid and smooth tannin. Dried herbs along with fruit in the finish.

Perhaps the best Beaujolais I've had. From Morgon in Beaujolais, this is serious wine from a region known for light playfull easy drinking wine. Although this wine is easy to drink it does not fall into the catagory of "light" and "playfull". Much more complex and structured than most Beaujolais. Apparently the wine maker plays music to the wine while it is fermenting. Could this be the secret to great Beaujolais?

Ciao, "T".

[Craig Camp]

Sounds great. Who is the importer?

[Ron Johnson]

Morgon and Moulin a Vent are two villages in Beaujolais that consistently produce terrific wines for the money. Some can be very complex.

["T"]

Craig:

I believe the importers in the states are North Berkeley Imports. I live in Canada I am not sure of the importer here.

"T"

[vmilor]

Domaine Calot Cuvee Vielles Vignes 2000

Apparently the wine maker plays music to the wine while it is fermenting. Could this be the secret to great Beaujolais?

Ciao, "T".

!00 % this is the reason. I learned that the squab I ate at Le Calandre was so good because the squab master in Tuscany played Bach to them. Do we know which composer does Morgon VV. vines particularly enjoy?

[Craig Camp]

From the North Berkeley site:

Calot, Morgon

Some three years ago we visited the Calot cellars in Villié-Morgon. It was our last tasting of a long day and we were thrilled with the results. It was clear from the first taste that our cuvée of Morgon would be one of the finest Beaujolais we have ever imported. With that taste in our mouths and a spring in our step we went up the hill about 200 yards to our hotel. This place has become a kind of refuge for us. It is the only hotel in town and arguably the best in all of Beaujolais. The rooms are large and comfortable and all look out on Morgon vineyards. There is even a swimming pool and you never have to leave the hotel for dinner.

After ordering the meal we went to work on the wine list. We wanted Beaujolais, of course, and the selection was impressively large. Fortunately there were lots of half-bottles so we began with a Regnié-Durette. No one home. Simple fruit, like Kool-Aid.

Remaining calm, and still just beginning the first course, we ordered a Fleurie. Virtually identical to the first wine. Little if no personality. Next we tried a Brouilly, thinking a bigger wine might be the answer. Big problem. The wine was no larger and certainly not better. In desperation we turned to Morgon. Surely Calot was not the only good producer in town? He was that night. Nothing we tried, and we tried very hard, even came close to the wine we had tried in Calot's cellar. Was it just us, looking for a story? Absolutely not. Anyone of you reading this would have had the same experience. Is most Beaujolais insipid? Yes. Is that what the French want? Good question.

When we were tasting with Calot, he casually mentioned to us that as of this year we are his only customers in the world who still want an old vines cuvée, aged in used Burgundy barrels. He was sad. This is the man who gave us the idea in the first place to explore the outer reaches of Beaujolais' complexity potential. Calot told us his French clients complain that our traditional cuvée makes them think too much, that it is too serious and not gai like Beaujolais is supposed to be. Well, here is a perfect French expression for them: tant pis, bad luck for you, good luck for us.

QUICK FACTS

• Our Calot Morgon is our exclusive Barrel Selection, raised in barrels that we provide, generally barrels that once held Grands Crus from the Cote de Nuits. When we told him that his barrels for the 2001 vintage once held Bonnes-Mares and Charmes-Chambertin from Domaine Arlaud, he joked, "Will those ruin my wine?" The spice that these barrels imparts is mindboggling.

• Monsieur Calot plays music to his wine while it ferments. Sometimes the vintage calls for Michael Jackson, and sometimes an overzealous fermentation requires something more mellow, like Bach. Occasionally, the music Calot plays is a closely-guarded secret.

• Calot's Morgon is issued from 100-year old Gamay vines that look like gnarled old fingers grasping at the sky. They are inefficient grape producing machines, in the same way that Ferrari is an inefficient automobile producer; their quality far outweighs the lack of high yields.

["T"]

Interesting how he can't find customers for his wine.

It's a crazzzzzzzzy world we live in.

Mr. Calot can add my name to his mailing list, tomorrow, if funds allow, I shall purchase what was left in the store.