Maison Bleue Jaja

Discovered this in the recesses of my cellar not too long ago. Definitely seems to be on the decline, but still pleasant. Only downside to continuing to hold.

2010 vintage

Nice nose of red fruits and berries on pnp. However, the palate had some funk initially but it blew off and developed nicely with some air. Drink up, this one probably won’t last much longer.

2010 vintage

Opened to unfavorable reviews as it was thin and a tad sharp in its opening performance. Second day was like a whole new supporting cast came in. Much fuller richer and flavorful. Should have treated more fairly to begin with by decanting.

2010 vintage

Consumed over three days. The first day it was a little big but nice and earthy. The second day some of the earthiness was more prominent and it has mellowed. The third day it was flabby. Overall ok to good but I will pass in the future.

2010 vintage

This has come around REALLY well and was a big hit last night. Great value for the price.

2010 vintage

Both new and old world, very nice.

2010 vintage

Hot, disjointed and tripping over itself. Still needs more time.

2010 vintage

Scored on Day 2. Rather hot and not a lot of depth. I've heard good things about the Graviere (about 75% mourvedre, which is more to my liking). Not bad, but I expect I'll enjoy the Grav more.

2010 vintage

Meh. I had to remind myself to re-calibrate expectations as this is, after all, a base-line blend for MB. Sean Sullivan's praise is overrated on this wine, IMO (and he's rarely wrong in my opinion). The best thing about this wine is its nice fresh fruit profile. However, it still lacks much depth and complexity. It tastes just like I remember it tasting last time I had it. I probably won't buy again, as it's not good enough to pay …

2010 vintage

A touch hot at first, but blowing off with air. Juicy red cherry fruit, tobacco, earth, and a finish of cherry pie. Good stuff, with years left on it.

2010 vintage

Really, I thought that some cellar time would make this better, as it did with the Syncline Subduction. It didn't. Another hot, thin wine that is akin to having aluminum foil in the mouth with amalgam fillings. This bottle was just horrid. Cooking with the remainder after 2 glasses with some air. Not buying this ever again.

2010 vintage

Really solid GSM blend worth seeking out (if you can find it). No noticeable oak, but a very fruit-forward GSM blend with good structure and balance. Great fruity red and blue fruit nose. On the palate it's got solid acidity, bright red/blue fruits (leaning towards blue) with a satisfying finish. A fantastic value and drinking very nicely right now.

2010 vintage

Good wine but still needs at least an hour or two decant to integrate. Plan to try again in a year.

2010 vintage

pleasant berry nose; light in character but quite nice - seems like a good summer afternoon wine

2010 vintage

Ordered off a restaurant list. Quite a crowd pleaser. Black, smokey approach. Wood recedes with air. Very nice freshness. Excellent Grenache tipicity even though just 37% of the blend. New World pleasure with Old World sensibility.

2010 vintage

Unlike some previous notes, my bottle seemed nicely integrated. Lush, full flavors of dark berry/plum. Round and fairly long, though simple and forward. *Update: on night 2 the fruit had faded slightly, revealing a bit more heat and harshness. Which to me just means that this should be drunk in the relatively short term.*

2010 vintage

Consumed over two nights. A bit disjointed on night 1 and showing a good bit of heat on the finish as it warmed up over ~75F. Night 2 showed much better, with nice fruit on the nose and palate. Still showed more heat than I would like on the finish, but overall, a pretty good wine at this price. Needs a little more bottle time to pull itself together, or a healthy decant before serving.

2010 vintage

Seriously hot. Not going to get better. I consider this flawed by the winemaking process. They should have shut down the yeast way before the ABV got this high. Thin sweet tannined dark fruits. This wouldn't be touched in Southern France for $25US. Why would anybody buy this when Guigal, Perrin & Fils and just about everybody else makes stellar cdR when compared to this. I don't think I will buy Maison Bleue again.

2010 vintage

Opened 2 days ago and poured two glasses without decanting. I can understand what Chris was saying when he called it disjointed; the wine seemed like two different wines poured together that hadn't meshed. It seems like a light wine (probably the grenache based on their single varietal bottling) that isn't meshing with a deeper more full bodied wine (Syrah/Mourvedre?). It leaves a very interesting mouthfeel across the mid-palate but it feels like it could be much more. Vacu-vinned it …

2010 vintage

Still seemed disjointed to me. Clear garnet magenta color, fruit on palate with some mineral but really needs more time I think.

2010 vintage

Dark colored Rhone blend. Blackberry, pepper and violet on the nose. And I mean pepper, wow is that a pronounced aroma. Complex flavors of blackberry, pepper, violet and a bit of graphite in the mid-palate. The pepper continues in the long, long finish with a touch of green olive at the end. Medium tannins, good balance. Better than my first bottle. A great value.

2010 vintage

This was delicious. Loads of all types of berries on the palate but mostly the distinct blueberry notes that I get from Washington Rhones. Definitely fruit forward with some earth in the background but in no way over done. Med-full bodied, bright acid, and medium tannins. Ridiculous value at $24.

2010 vintage

Has notably improved in the past months. Bright and complex, with a full mouth feel and long-lasting finish. Punches above its price class.

2010 vintage

Nice Rhone blend. Great berry fruit, pepper, a touch of funk and earth.

2010 vintage

Drank over two nights, much better the first. Probably needs a year.

2010 vintage

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Maison Bleue Jaja

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