This past week, I have been doing a bit of house cleaning: taking inventory in my cellar, organizing my coming trip to France, and clearing out the 100 posts or so that I started but never published.

This is one of those posts.

This just in: the COVID pandemic was weird. Yeah, I know, ground-breaking analysis. When the world essentially shut down, I was scheduled to go on four press trips in the subsequent months, but those all were cancelled and I did not travel at all for well over a year.

During the pandemic, however, I was sent a ton of wine, much more than normal. Why? As many of you know, there was not much else going on, but the grapes, they kept growing and winemakers kept making wine.

One of those trips I was supposed to take (but never did) was to Beaujolais in the southern part of Burgundy, France. One cannot mention the name “Beaujolais” without thinking of the man who pretty much single-handedly put the region on the map: Georges Dubœuf.

I chose to sit right next to M. Dubœuf. Nope. I am not a dummy.

As I have written here before, I was fortunate enough to taste wine with Monsieur Dubœuf on a number of occasions, including in his home in August 2019, shortly before he died in January, 2020.

Me with three generations of Dubœuf (hint: I am the tall one).

Below are a few wines that the kind people at Quintessential Wines (the importers of Georges Dubœuf) sent me early on during the pandemic. I revisit them now almost five years to the day of that last tasting with Georges Dubœuf.

2018 Domaine des Rosiers Moulin-à-Vent, Beaujolais, France: Retail $24. 100% Gamay. There is no disputing that I am a huge fan of all things Georges Dubœuf, the Pope of Beaujolais. And this is a quintessential example of why. On day one, this wine was fine, but it was perhaps “overly” Beaujolais with ripe fruit, plenty of bubblegum, and a bit all over the place. Day 2? Dark red berry fruit, but lacking the bubblegum almost entirely with some anise and black pepper. The palate is close to magical with fruit, acidity, balance, Whoa. Yes, this gets a whoa. I have had perhaps countless Dubœuf wines over the past several years, but this is pretty darned close to the top. It needs time, but if you wait, you will be rewarded. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2018 Jean-Ernest Descombes Morgon Côte du Py, Beaujolais, France: Retail $30. 100% Gamay. Of all the wines made in conjunction with Les Vins Georges Dubœuf, I am perhaps most familiar with this Morgon. And as luck would have it, I was able to visit the producer (Nicole took over for her father, Jean-Ernst, when he passed away in 1993). Oh yeah, I also had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with Georges, too, as we tasted through a few dozen of his wines. Just opening this bottle makes me sad–Georges, an avid cyclist in his youth, passed away in January, 2020. This wine, however, does not possess an ounce of sadness–it is spectacular. At that last tasting with Georges, he intimated that the 2018 vintage might just be the best, from top to bottom, of his entire career. As with most extravagant declarations, I proceed with caution. While I have nary a scintilla of the breadth of knowledge that Georges had, I have to say that this Descombes Côte du Py is pretty spectacular (particularly after some time open). 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. Outstanding. 93 Points.

2018 Château Saint-Amour Saint-Amour, Beaujolais, France: Retail $25. 100% Gamay. Saint-Amour is the northern-most (and one of the smallest) Cru in Beaujolais and given its name, is often associated with St. Valentine’s Day (while the rest of Beaujolais has to wait until March 15th for the release of a new vintage, Saint-Amour is granted a February 14th release date). The Sidaurin family has been working with Georges Dubœuf since the early 70s and 90% of the wine from the Château goes into the Dubœuf portfolio. Red fruit dominates the nose and the palate. Quite fruity with a touch of heat (14% which is a bit high for St-Amour). Darker than most wines from the appellation and still a bit young as it’s tight and a bit tense with evident tannins. Excellent. 91 Points.