Concentration - Completeness - Elegance
2010 Yvon Métras Fleurie
Cuvée Printemps & Vieilles Vignes
Yvon Métras is the cult producer of Beaujolais. And while these wines aren't inexpensive, they're cheaper than flying to Paris to try and find a bottle or two.
We have been carrying the wines of Yvon Métras since the 2006 vintage. This fact has spread quietly, yet quickly, among a certain genre of Beaujolais fanatic.
From this group the whispers and rumors of Métras' wines have spread and for the last two vintages, our small parcels have disappeared very quickly, people ringing in from all over the U.S. for a few bottles.
Describing these wines is very difficult. They are rich wines, yet airy and graceful and feminine. More than one taster has referenced a textural similarity with the wines of Jayer or even Truchot, the way the plush fruit is so finely woven with mineral, so complete and full but also ethereal.
Métras' Beaujolais are meaty and savory with dark, perfumed fruits almost moist in their ripeness. The minerality is broad, plush, midnight-black granite pulverized and infused all through the palate and defining the rigorous structure of the wine (especially for the old-vine cuvée).
For all this concentration, the wines do not come off as over-the-top. They are not flamboyant show-off wines, ripeness and size for the sake of a quick thrill. Words fail here: Métras' wines simply have an extra dimension and sense of completeness that puts them on a different level.
Today we offer out two of Yvon Métras' great 2010 Fleuries: The young-vine Printemps and the old-vines Fleurie. While we have both wines available for purchase, we have shaved the pricing very lean when you buy one of each. A Métras "study pack" if you will. And frankly, there's some logic to doing this as the Printemps will drink younger than the V.V., so something to enjoy while you wait for the other to develop. (We also have a few bottles of 2009 Printemps for those that need immediate gratification.)
 |
In 2010, the higher acidity and increase in plush juiciness mark a return to more classically styled Beaujolais after the monster weight and depth of the riper 2009 vintage. Still, it would be a serious mistake to think these are lighter wines that want for concentration in any way. Even the Printemps is by no means an easy-drinking quaffer; it is a wine that will likely need a year or more to find its best drinking window and should be put on the dinner table.
The sites Métras farms in Fleurie are within the Grille-Midi and La Madone: both prime, steep and very sunny climats in the main part of the Cru, with sandy, pink granite that gives way to a very classically feminine style of Fleurie.
For Beaujolais, the 2009 vintage was a watershed year - this vintage served as an introduction for many to the serious (and ageworthy) Cru Beaujolais. This is good. That said, especially for the purists and classicists among us, it will likely prove to be a big mistake to overlook the 2010 Beaujolais. They are simply a bit more energetic, a little sharper. While some might not make "old bones" like the 2009s, still, with the top wines of the vintage, a decade or more won't be a problem.
This is our only parcel of Metras 2010s and even though it's a holiday weekend, we expect these wines to go quickly. However, because it's a holiday weekend and we don't want anyone to miss out because they're spending a bit too much time poolside, away from the Blackberry (isn't the point of these weekends to be away from the Blackberry?), we will take all orders and then allocate on Tuesday.
Please give us your maximum order and we'll do our best - preference will be given to balanced orders. And again, you may not hear back from us until Tuesday! Have a great holiday weekend.
To place your order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
Cuvée Printemps & Vieilles Vignes
Click here to view available 2010 Métras.