This is the third installment of a Zoom conversation that I had with Romain Teyteau, the Export Manager for Les Vins Georges Dubœuf. We had started off our Zoom chat talking a bit about the company and their famous flower-label wines.

We then moved on to what Dubœuf refers to as their “Domaines et Châteaux” line of wines where they partner with individual growers in the ten Beaujolais Cru villages to produce some really spectacular wines.

Below, are the conversations we had about the other three wines we “shared” but we touched on a plethora of topics, including whether there is a “typical” Dubœuf customer:

We also touched on the concept of “palate”, how Romain developed his and how Georges Dubœuf was a legendary taster of wine:

In this next clip, I express a bit of my frustration with studying French for oh so many years:

We eventually started tasting wines again and the first one up today is perhaps my favorite, Château des Capitains:

2018 Georges Dubœuf Juliénas Château des Capitans, Beaujolais, France: Retail $25. 100% Gamay. Under cork. This is the only “Domaines et Châteaux” that is solely owned by the Dubœuf Family and (not so?) coincidentally, it is one of my favorites. Quite dark in the glass in both color and aromas with blackberry, plum, cassis as well as dark earth, flint, and a bit of spice. Whoa. The palate is certainly fruity, but there is plenty of complexity, particularly on the mid-palate. It finishes tart, with a driving acidity and noticeable tannins. This is rather gangbusters now, but it will improve for another 5 years, easily but I am going to hold onto my other bottle for at least a decade. Excellent. 94 Points.

That was followed by what turned out to be the most memorable stop on my visit to the region a couple of years ago, Jean-Ernest Descombes in Morgon:

2018 Georges Dubœuf Morgon Côte du Py Jean-Ernest Descombes, Beaujolais, France: Retail $28. 100% Gamay. This was the fourth bottle of six that I opened with Dubœuf’s export manager on a 9:30 (that would be a.m.) Zoom call today. This Jean-Ernest Descombes Morgon Côte de Py is perhaps the most widely recognized wine in the Domaines/Châteaux portfolio at Dubœuf as well as one of the longest relationships, spanning close to sixty years. I have tried many iterations of this wine and this 2018 is particularly enticing. Here are my notes from May: “Cassis and blackberry in over-abundance with black pepper and crushed granite on the nose. Whoa. The palate is even more worthy of a Whoa (if that is a thing), with rich dark fruit, lip-smacking tartness, and noticeable tannins, which is both fairly rare in modern Beaujolais and also an indication of the aging potential (5 years easy, perhaps 10). Whoa.” And all of that still holds true. Whoa. Outstanding. 93 Points.

After tasting the Morgon, I asked Romain about the importance (or lack thereof) of the name “Georges Dubœuf” on the bottles of the Domaines et Château wines:

We eventually got to the last wine, the Domaine des Rosiers:

2019 Georges Dubœuf Moulin-à-Vent Domaine des Rosiers, Beaujolais, France: Retail $25. 100% Gamay. Under cork. Last year, I absolutely loved this wine but 2018 was, along with 2009 and 2015, another “Year of the Century” in Beaujolais. While 2019 was no slouch, and this wine is still fantastic, I feel it just doesn’t have the complexity of it’s slightly older sibling. Still, great fruit abounds with boysenberry, blueberry, and ripe plum on the nose. The palate is wave after wave of fruit, luscious, rich, and oh so fruity. Don’t get me wrong, this is a fantastic wine with enough tannins to enable 5-10 years in the cellar. Excellent. 92 Points.

Finally, I thought I would end with our discussion about Franck Dubœuf, Georges’ son, who has been running the company for some time, but is now certainly the face of Les Vins Georges Dubœuf after its namesake’s passing last year:

I am currently debating publishing a few of the outtakes from our conversation, but I might need to run that past Romain first!