In article >, Oliver White
> writes:

>Right. I hope you weren't expecting me to get that. A quick googling
>implies that he is a maker of *interesting* Beaujolais.

Sorry, Oliver, just a (lame) joke. Duboeuf is famous for the "banana-candy"
sameness of his wines. Your comments about artificial banana flavors triggered
a reaction.

As a funny (to me) aside, Pierre Rovani, Parker's "Man in Burgundy", has raved
over Duboeuf's 2003s. And he made this comment on the Squires board:

"A number of years ago he had producers with whom he had contracts using an
artificial yeast that promoted fruitiness. That yeast was also responsible for
tropical flavors like banana... and had a way of masking some of the
differences between the crus. When he realized what was happening that was
stopped. Today, the growers he buys from typically only use indigenous yeasts.
The "Duboeuf signature" of the old days is no longer there... and I'd bet money
you'd adore the wines if tasted blind."

Now, I'm no winemaking expert, but I have trouble imagining these "rogue
growers" being responsible. Last time I looked, doesn't the winemaker add
commercial yeast? In any case the idea that this guy (by far the biggest
producer in Beaujolais) had to "realize" what was happening in his wines (when
everyone else with knowledge knew exactly which yeast, one called 71B, was
being used) marks him as either a bit dense or something.
Dale

Dale Williams
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