The new wave of dynamic producers in Beaujolais
'Nouveau' no longer just pertains to the fruity wines released on the third Thursday in November
Given one of the themes in my last post was my love of beaujolais back in the day, it seems fitting I give more insight into styles of wine from the region – and as luck would have it I managed to get a place on the trade event ‘8 from 8: Discover 8 Faces of Gamay’, a Beaujolais masterclass organised by The Drinks Business in conjunction with the area’s promotional body Beaujolais Nouvelle Generation.
Patrick Schmitt MW talked us through the eight wines (one was a chardonnay, so not quite the eight faces of Gamay) that comprised the main tasting, all made from dynamic, new producers who have released less than eight cuvees on the market in Beaujolais. As well as learning more about the region, it’s always great to get the opportunity to calibrate with someone with a wealth of tasting experience.
What is Beaujolais?
A wine region in France, south of Burgundy and just north of Lyon, consisting of 12,520 hectares and renowned for producing fresh and fruity red wines made from the gamay grape. There are 12 appellations, in order of quality: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages and the ten ‘cru’ areas.
Beaujolais Nouveau, which is traditionally released on the third Thursday in November, was extremely popular in the late 1980s-early 1990s, and is made using winemaking techniques such as carbonic maceration to accentuate the fruitiness of the wine. Wines from the crus Moulin-a-vent and Morgon are the most structured and ageworthy. Fleurie is arguably where the best-quality wines are made and this cru has applied for premier cru status, but it probably won’t be awarded this title for another ten years. White wine is also made in Beaujolais (from chardonnay), as is a small amount of rose.
I haven’t drunk much beaujolais recently, but that’s something I must rectify soon as it’s a great spring wine – it’s fresh, fruity and can be consumed chilled. It’s lower in alcohol than many other styles of red wine and is on the whole easy drinking, but there are excellent structured examples from the ten cru areas.
My three favourites from the eight:
Chateau de Pougelon Beaujolais Villages 2022 (approximately £12, producer looking for a distributor)
This is textbook Beaujolais Villages, extremely fresh and fruity as a result of semi-carbonic maceration, No sulphites used in vinification and natural yeasts used.
Domaine Elisa Guerin Moulin-a-Vent 2021 (£29 distributed by Les Caves de Pyrenees)
Made by Elisa Guerin, one of a new wave of Beaujolais producers. Red and black fruit and excellent structure from one of the ten beaujolais ‘crus’. The finish is long and lingering.
Chateau Bellevue Morgon Les Charmes 2021 (£22 distributed by Hayward Bros Ltd)
Winemaker Elodie Rousselot explained the production methods – it’s made like a pinot noir, with partially destemmed grapes and a long fermentation with manual punch-downs. There are toasty notes from some oak ageing and is flinty and delicate. Elodie expects the wine to age for up to seven years.
There was also a great-value morgon I tasted in the free pour beforehand, JM Aujoux’s ‘Collection’ 2020, which is just £11.50 from the Wine Society.
The masterclass took place in One Great George Street, Westminster, a stunning building, and this slick marketing initiative is sure to pay dividends for Beaujolais producers in the future.
Flight 5
Animus Douro Valley 2021 (£7.50 Aldi)
A popular choice among budget drinkers, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz (Tempranillo) and Touriga Franca from the Douro. The fruit is jammy and cooked, but hey it’s £7.50. It’s fairly weighty on the mid-palate and the tannins are smooth and quite structured. Seems to be verging on off-dry, but that’s probably the jammy fruit coming through. Not bad for the price.
Fonte do Ouro, Dao Branco 2022 (£10.95 Wine Society)
Made from the encruzado grape from Dao, a region in Portugal that deserves more attention. It’s entry level, but for the price you get good complexity, with stone fruit peach and nectarine as well as a waxiness and some fennel. It’s well-bodied for a wine without any extended lees or barrel-ageing. I’ll be drinking more encruzado . . .
Fikardos, ‘Leonardo’, Paphos 2016 (approximately 25 euros, purchased from the winery)
I purchased this during a trip to Cyprus a while ago and only just opened it. It’s cabernet sauvignon and has new world characteristics (not surprising given the climate in Cyprus). Extremely rich black fruit with some sweet spice and tobacco and liquorice from ageing. Heat on the finish owing to 15% abv. Not really my style but good and will age.