Not really sure where this wine fits into my index of Cru Bojo. Very troubling all around. The nose is dull and burnt and dirty. And you KNOW I love my drrrrrty wines but this is not a good kind of dirty. It smells like flabby alcohol gone awry. YOU LISTENING, CALIFORNIA??? No herbs no green gritty gusto, no spiky acid shards, no floral, no mineral. Just a Dr. Pepper-ish sort of dark cherry with a little green tea headed down Zinfandel Lane–all fleshy and, I suppose, trying to be decadent? I am principally offended by this attempt.
Tasting it solidifies these theories. Dark cherry ripeness combined with grainy bitterness in a duo-theistic cosplay suggesting an attempt by California. There are no interesting layers of even the simplest onion to peel. Abrasive metallic frames the finish, where the watery blackberry elixir long has vanished. My feeling is perhaps this is a Bojo DESIGNED for the California palate–something vignerons seriously need to stop doing. I think the telling point will be the ABV. There is NO WAY this thing is under 13-oh.
One of a clutch of producers under the Thevenet surname, I would cautiously advise they are not all created equal. This one is not living up to it. It’s drinkable–but barely. This is going to be a full+ half bottle on trash day–you watch for it. Wines like this I lose interest in early in an evening and never go back.
2015 ANTHONY THEVENET Morgon Cru Beaujolais France 14.0
Stephen McConnell 