The perfect roast chicken wine:

Grand Cru Beaujolais

2009 Villa Ponciago Fleurie la Reserve

Mention Beaujolais and one immediately thinks of the fresh, light and fruity Beaujolais Nouveau which creates frenzy when released on the third Thursday of each November. While that is still around (and will be in next week) it is not quite the heady stuff that causes wine critics to rush for their Riedels so they can swirl, sniff and spit to give it a marketable ranking. The 2009 vintage changed all that - critics went crazy over the affordable quality of 2009 Beaujolais done right. This debut wine is lip-smackingly good, with a spicy, velvety richness, intense aromas of violets and peonies and a tangy seductive charm. That's a lot for a mere $20.

Villa Ponciago is the latest project of the Henriot family, known for their Champagne house of the same name and for revitalizing Burgundy's Bouchard Père et Fils and Chablis' William Fèvre. In spring 2008, they took over rundown historic estate Chateau Poncié and its neglected steep vineyards in Fleurie. They restored its Latin name, which dates from 949 AD, and set about transforming its 120 acres with haute couture treatment. The estate made two Fleurie cuvées in 2009. La Réserve is a selection from the best parcels and has the potential to age and transform into a Burgundy-look-alike after a few years in the bottle. The elegance & finesse of this Fleurie is so good now I doubt you'll be able to keep your hands off for that long!     

 Pairs perfectly with Michael's favorite Publix Lemon Pepper Chicken!
   

2009  Villa Ponciago Fleurie la Reserve

90 Points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

$19.99 per bottle

10% discount by the case   

Review by David Schildknecht  Representing a blend originating in some 35 choice acres from across this estate's large holdings, Villa Ponciago's 2009 Fleurie La Reserve is strikingly scented with lightly-cooked dark cherry and blackberry; toasted nuts; charred, grilled red meat. An invigoratingly tart edge to the concentrated berry fruit offers ideal counterpoint to the vivid sense of roasted meat pan drippings on this cuvee's dense, finely tannic palate. Here is one of those relatively rare instances where I am willing to concede that the element of wood really does serve to "frame" the fruit. The overall effect if impressive though hardly exuberantly fruity, a wine of serious savor and formidable grip, though thankfully persistent juiciness, too. That said, some alluring peony-like perfume added charm as this opened to the air. I would anticipate this meriting at least 3-4 years of attention, although, of course, no track record exists yet for this or any other Villa Ponciago bottling. The Henriot family acquired the Chateau de Poncie with its 120 vineyard acres (encompassing 214 parcels!) in 2008, but the first commercial releases came last year from the 2009 vintage, and labeled with an allusion to the alleged name of this property in late Roman times (though it began its known life as a wine estate when the Abbey of Cluny was granted it in 949). Given the evolution of Bouchard Pere et Fils and William Fevre under Henriot ownership - not to mention the fact that this estate incorporates some of the traditionally highest-rated vineyard sites in Beaujolais - great expectations will be riding on these wines, and the early results are already impressive. The new team - led by Thomas Henriot and cellarmaster Frederic Weber - are vinifying in an essentially Burgundian fashion, aging the wines in older barriques and a few new demi-muids. Since - due to my own negligence - I did not visit these cellars, I missed out on tasting one of the 2010s that had not yet been bottled as of this summer. Wine Advocate # 196 (Aug 2011)

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