(中文版在下面)
Fire it up: Alex Foillard – Côte de Brouilly 2018
Tastes like: Pigs blood curd; wine gums
For fans of: Beaujolais, Mencia, Red Burgundy
Serious or fun? Bit of both
Cash monies: HKD$290 – not busting your ass but that ain’t cheap
People often bitch about Gamay and there is a degree of the wine being misunderstood, mostly from subpar Beaujolais Nouveau – but folks, fucking get over it, it’s not the 90s. Burgundy has gone gangbusters in prices, Beaujolais offers some serious value, but without the serious wanker attitude you often get with Burgs.
The boy wonder: Alex Foillard – the name needs little introduction – father Jean Foillard is a legend of Beaujolais and natural wine making methods. Everyone mentions dad, let’s stick to son shall we?
This wine is from Côte de Brouilly, one of Beaujolais’ most southerly crus, and with an approach that includes (actually just guessing here) sustainable farming low-intervention winemaking, carbonic maceration, minimal sulphur use, it is as you would expect: Fruity, vibrant, jumping right across your mouth with joy, and versatile with a range of dishes.
Annoyingly no site could be found, but the interwebs have provided the following (info 2016). Schist, granite, and a light layer of sand from north-facing lieu-dit Chavanne; whole-cluster fermentation with natural yeasts, no fining or filtration; fermentation in concrete tank lasts 21 days; pump overs once a day for first three days; aged 100% in concrete tanks for five months; Bottled unfined and unfiltered; aged 6 months in bottle.
There was a satisfying amount of sediment on show, love it, and the initial thoughts on the palate were blood – specifically the type of fried pig’s blood curd you get in Hong Kong’s Chiuchow restaurants. Oh, and wine gums, Maynards wine gums – when you open the pack and that fruity delicious aroma comes wafting through (although not after Maynards changed the recipe – lame).
Drunken Master says: suck it down
火熱之選：Alex Foillard——Côte de Brouilly 2018
風味：豬紅、果汁橡皮糖
適合：喜歡Beaujolais、Mencia、勃艮地紅酒的人士
屬「正經」派定「玩樂」派？兩者皆是
價錢：港幣290——未至於貴到入肉但唔算平
唔少人對佳美提子（Gamay）都嗤之以鼻，皆因大家都中過劣質Beaujolais Nouveau嘅伏，對呢種酒有唔少誤解。不過大佬呀，而家已經唔係90年代啦，update下啦！勃艮地嘅價錢已經離晒地，相反Beaujolais就可以做到平靚正，唔係下下都要咁大支野嘅！
Alex Foillard個大名應該唔使點介紹，佢嘅令尊Jean Foillard簡直係Beaujolais同天然釀酒法嘅傳奇人物。之不過咁，個個都講個老竇，不如我哋講返個仔啦！
呢隻酒由保祖利區（Beaujolais）其中一個最南面嘅酒園Côte de Brouilly出產，酒園採用（我只係斷估）可持續種植、低人工干預釀製、二氧化碳浸漬、極低硫酸用量等技術，釀製出果香味濃、味道鮮明怡人嘅葡萄酒，配搭各種菜式都同樣出色。
出奇嘅係冇乜網頁詳細講解Côte de Brouilly，不過請教過Google大神之後就搵到呢啲資料（最後更新為2016年）：酒園植地為片岩及花崗岩，上面薄薄鋪上一層取自朝北酒園區Chavanne嘅砂土；葡萄以天然酵母全串帶梗發酵，不經精煉或過濾；於混凝土桶中發酵21日；頭三日每日淋汁（pump over）一次，再於混凝土桶中存放五個月熟成至100%；入樽時不經精煉、過濾；再於樽內存放多六個月。
酒渣嘅份量相當唔錯，抵讚。第一啖入口感覺似飲血，味道尤其似潮州打冷舖嘅炸豬紅，聞落似開咗一包雜果軟糖——仲要係Maynards果種果汁橡皮糖——香甜怡人嘅果香撲鼻而來（話時話Maynards後期改咗配方，味道大不如前，可惜！）
醉酒大師評語：隊返支啦
Drunken master 