2023 Pardon & Fils “Cuvée P” Beaujolais-Villages, Beaujolais, France (Alcohol 13%, Residual Sugar 3 g/l) LCBO Vintages $20.95 (750ml glass bottle)
A decent Beaujolais, even the very simplest of Beaujolais, should at the very least bring the drinker a modicum of joy. That is simply not the case with this example. Believe me, there isn’t a single ounce of joy in a glass of this particular Beaujolais-Villages.
One would think that if one was paying over $20 for a Beaujolais-Villages, it would, at the absolute minimum, have some basic but pleasant Gamay fruit character. There’s absolutely none of that present here.
What you have is a characterless, dull, thin, reedy, carbonic Beaujolais that is one of those truly awful wines that have unfortunately, over the years, given Beaujolais a bad name.
Goodness knows what the LCBO buyers were thinking when they decided to order this, as it’s not going to encourage a newbie who tastes it to ever buy another bottle of Beaujolais again. And this, readers, is a very sad thing, as Beaujolais is one of those regions that is simply exploding with gorgeous, accessible, buoyant wines these days.
Saying all this, all is not lost, as I’m attending a Beaujolais tasting this coming Monday and will report back on the best wines from that event; I’m pretty sure every one I taste will bring so much more joy than this mean, miserable, and piss poor bottling.
I rarely say that about a wine, but it’s mediocrity to a fault.
(Two and a half out of a possible five apples)
