Salon Saturday: Beaujolais Wines

This radio show aired on April 27. The previous week we covered Cote d’Or and as we recover from sticker shock I have good news; the last subregion of Burgundy has quality wines, but at a much lower cost. That would be Beaujolais, which while known for its fruity and lighter wines such as Beaujolais and Nouveau Beaujolais, offers rich, heady wines from its ten Cru village wines as well as Beaujolais-Village, which sources grapes from defined villages in northern Beaujolais.

Officially called Bourgogne and established as an AOC wine region in 1935. Burgundy has a higher number of appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOCs) than any other French region, and is often seen as the most terroir-conscious of the French wine regions.

This region begins in Auxerre (awx-air), home to Chablis and then 55 miles southeast to Dijon, the beginning of the Cote d’Or. Many wine drinkers think the Burgundy region stops at Maconnais, but it does go south to the Beaujolais region. Whether you think of Beaujolais as part of Burgundy or separate, there are many excellent wines here and many under the radar versus the very popular Cote d’Or.

Beaujolais Overview

Beaujolais is a French AOC wine primarily made with the Gamay grape. As with most AOC wines these are not labeled varietally, but geographically. Whites from the region are only 2% of its production, mostly with Chardonnay grapes though Aligoté is also permitted until 2024. The whites can be Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Village. Gamay tends to be a very light-bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity. In some vintages, Beaujolais has produced more wine than all the other Burgundy regions combined. Obviously finding Beaujolais wines is not difficult.

The wine takes its name from the historical Province of Beaujolais wine-producing region. It is located north of Lyon, and covers parts of the north department of Rhône, the Rhône-Alpes region and southern areas of the department of Saône-et-Loire, in Burgundy. While technically part of the Burgundy wine region, the climate is closer to that of the Rhône, and producers use a different grape and winemaking process.

The region is known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, for the use of carbonic maceration, and more recently for the popular Beaujolais nouveau wines released in November.

Beaujolais History

The region of Beaujolais was first cultivated by the Romans around the Saône valley. The plantings were at Mont Brouilly (BROO-Yee) and the area around Morgon (MORE-gon). From the 7th century through the Middle Ages, most of the viticulture was done by Benedictine monks. Their documentation of varieties, planting methods and wine processing were invaluable for future winemakers.

In the 10th century, the region was named for the town of Beaujeu, Rhône and ruled by the Lords of Beaujeu until the 15th century when it was ceded to the Duchy of Burgundy. While the markets were primarily along the Rhone and Saône rivers, the expansion of the French railroad system in the 19th century opened up the lucrative Paris market as it did for other wine regions.

In more recent history:

• In the 1980s, interest in Beaujolais peaked with the introduction of Beaujolais nouveau. One of the primarily wine merchants is Georges Duboeuf.
• As more producers got in the market, production of regular Beaujolais dropped and the glut on the market caused a backlash in the late 1990s and early 21st century.
• By this point, Beaujolais wine developed a negative reputation as a slightly sweet, simple light-bodied wine which was Beaujolais Nouveau.
• French wine critic François Mauss interviewed in Lyon Magazine, claimed the backlash was due to poor quality of Beaujolais Nouveau flooding the market. He claimed Beaujolais producers ignored the warning signs and continued to produce what he termed vin de merde. Ouch!
• In 2005 there was L’Affaire Duboeuf, an employee of Geo. Duboeuf admitted to mixing low-grade wine with better vintages after a patchy 2004 harvest.
• It’s important to note that it’s the basic Beaujolais and Nouveau one must choose carefully. Beaujolais-Village wines with their tighter regulations and rules generally do not have these problems.
• There is now a rise in the number of terroir driven estate-bottled wines, often single vineyard or in one of the Cru Beaujolais communes of which there are 10 covered later.

Quality levels

As one would expect there are distinctive quality levels to Beaujolais wines as suggested above. Beaujolais Nouveau; released right after bottling in November can come from all but the Beaujolais Cru.

• Beaujolais AOC (11,860 acres): wines can come from the north region, known as Haut Beaujolais, but usually southern Beaujolais, known as Bas Beaujolais on flatter, richer soils.
• Beaujolais-Village AOC (9,600 acres): one of 38 defined villages within Haut Beaujolais
• Beaujolais Cru AOC: only in the north on poorer soils rich in granite, schist and limestone. The terrain is hilly with many steep slopes to assist fully-ripe grapes.

Gamay Grape

Gamay noir is a cross of Pinot Noir and the ancient white variety Gouais. Compared to Pinot Noir, Gamay ripens two weeks earlier and is less difficult to cultivate. It also produced a strong, fruitier wine in larger abundance.

• In 1395, the Duke of Burgundy Philippe the Bold outlawed the cultivation of Gamay as being “a very bad and disloyal plant.” Clearly he thought he could also rule wine grapes.
• The Duke thought it would hurt the reputation of the revered Pinot Noir and as a result of his edicts the grape moved southward to the granite based soils of Beaujolais where it thrived.

Gamay is light-bodied with low tannins and moderate alcohol with good acidity and moderate sweetness accept for the nouveau versions. Flavors of pomegranate and blackberry bramble are accented with violets, potting soil and banana. Over 90% are from Beaujolais and the Loire Valley in France and 5% from Switzerland.

Carbonic Maceration

Beaujolais wines are commonly made using carbonic maceration. Michel Franzy, a French scientist, discovered the process in 1934, but it was not employed until the 1960s. This technique is also a form of whole cluster fermentation that is also being employed with Pinot Noir. Adding the stems can smooth out high acidity and add tannins to a wine. The character of the stems, green or brown also adds flavors.

• Some key flavors associated with carbonic maceration: Bubble gum, Kirsch, Banana and Strawberry, but there is two forms of carbonic maceration.

Full carbonic

• Whole bunches of grapes are placed in vats, which are then sealed and filled with CO2 to remove the oxygen.
• This triggers a process within the grapes known as intracellular fermentation. Once alcohol levels reach around 2% ABV, the grape skins split and release their juice.
• Carbonic maceration extracts some color from the grapes but little tannin, generally creating red wines that are light in color, low in tannin and which have a soft, fruity character.
• Wines made this way include Beaujolais Nouveau, drunk young and usually chilled.

Semi-carbonic maceration

• Semi-carbonic maceration is a similar method of production, but does not include filling the vats with CO2.
• Instead, when the vat is filled, the weights of the grapes on top crush the ones below, releasing the juice.
• Yeast ferments the fruit and releases CO2, kick-starting carbonic maceration in the remaining un-burst grapes, which can be whole bunches or de-stemmed.
• Some winemakers use this method to obtain a fresher fruit character in their wines.

Either method only produces around 2% alcohol, so once that completes, the juice is pressed off the skins or yeast completes the fermentation process. Some producers have also gone back to the techniques used before WWI, treating the grape similar to Pinot Noir.

 

Beaujolais Cru Sub-regions

Vineyards.com is an excellent website for wine maps.

The Beaujolais Cru wines all come from the hilly north region, making age-worthy wines that can age for 10 or more years. The wine label typically uses the Cru name, not Beaujolais to identify the wine. Each Cru has its own distinctive flavor profile and some Crus have become quite popular. These are more structured and complex wines that are the darlings of many sommeliers.

Interspersed with the Crus are the village wines. Optionally a Beaujolais-Villages wine can substitute its village name if all the grapes come from a single vineyard, such as Beaujolais- Lantignié. That village does possess the prized pink granite of many of the Crus, but for most the name recognition of Beaujolais- Villages carries more weight.

 

 

 

Reading from north to south:

Saint-Amour       Juliénas               Chénas                Moulin-à-Vent                 Fleurie
Chirobles            Morgon               Régnié                 Cote de Brouilly               Brouilly

The Crus vary in size from 556 acres in Chénas to 3076 acres in Brouilly. Many of them are famous for aging well and, in particular, for developing more and more Burgundian flavors over time. There’s even a French word for this transformation: “pinoter” — to turn pinot-like. Of course the French would have a word for it! Information gathered from Flatiron Wine & Spirits (Flatiron-wines.com)

2020: The Vintage of the Decade

The 2020 season is remarkable for many reasons, but for grapes, unlike man, it was a very good year. So good in Beaujolais that it was declared the vintage of the decade and even came with a 24-page vintage report booklet, created for the event, which I summarize here.

The winter was mild, bud break came early and warmer weather permitted earlier ripening and just enough rain. Because of concerns of hot weather, over 30 degree C, pruning in the early spring prevented scorching of the grapes and higher altitude vineyards kept heat spikes to a minimum.

The southeasterly orientation of many plots took full advantage and the presence of clay in the soil in some plots was able to retain moisture levels. The even ripening of the stems meant they could be incorporated into the vinification and lower temperatures were used in the fermentation. The balance also permits longer aging of the wines.

The result has been wines of perfect balance between alcohol and acidity and many winegrowers were able to perfect their own styles, whether ones of power or elegance and a range of dark to red fruit. The white wines also benefitted with the Chardonnay grape producing many ripe examples.

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

One source to go to for imported wines in particular, Lynch championed Rhone wines when they were not on anyone radar. He is also a big supporter of Beaujolais Cru wines. He recently sold out of a sampler, reduced to $140 that I’d have grabbed if I’d seen it sooner. Nonetheless it is a good sampler of Cru producers worth following so I’m listing them here. Flatiron-wines.com is another good source.

2017 Régnié • Guy Breton $32.00

In the vineyard, Régnié is distinguished by its pink granite soils. In the mouth, it has a slightly spicier profile than the other Crus. It’s a lovely wine in the right hands, and Guy Breton of the Gang of Four is one.

2017 Moulin-à-Vent “Vieilles Vignes” • Bernard Diochon $26.00

Considered the sturdiest, most tannic, longest-lived among the 10 Crus. If you’ve heard of someone opening a delicious bottles of 50-year old Beaujolais, it’s usually Moulin-à-Vent. Since this is Gamay-based, the wine is never that tannic, and some are still very approachable when young, in many vintages.

2018 Morgon • Jean-Paul et Charly Thévenet $37.00

This is the closest to Moulin-à-Vent in terms of weight and structure, and it can age nearly as well. It has a firm minerality, thanks chiefly to its granitic soils, and a fruit profile that shades towards orange.

But, the chief advantage of Morgon is that it is blessed with an extraordinarily range of excellent producers. This includes the “Gang of Four,” protégés of natural wine pioneer Jules Chauvet: Jean-Paul Thevenet, Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, and Guy Breton.

2017 Côte-de-Brouilly • Nicole Chanrion $23.00

We know in Burgundy “Côte” indicates slope and the Côte de Brouilly lies on the side of a hill. Its neighbor, Brouilly lies at the bottom. Predictably, Côte de Brouilly tends to ripen better, and it produces a more structured, elegant wine. Brouilly, meanwhile, produces a lighter style Beaujolais for early drinking; it makes frequent appearances in the simpler bistros that dot Paris.

2018 Brouilly “Reverdon” • Château Thivin $26.00

The top producer of Côte de Brouilly is the Chateau Thivin, which makes a very long-lived example. One would also expect their Brouilly wines to be among the best and not something to toss down at a Parisian Bistro.

2017 Juliénas • La Soeur Cadette $31.00

Juliénas is a Cru known for its sturdy wines worth aging. The wine’s signature profile is deep red cherries, which transform with a few years of bottle age into nuanced flavors that veer towards cassis.

To this list I’d add the following:

Fleurie: Outside of Morgon, this Cru has the greatest concentration of good producers. With its particularly fine terroir, Fleurie is another great source of Cru Beaujolais. “Fleur,” French for flower, is well-named as the wines of Fleurie are characterized by a distinct floral note – think violets.

Beaujolais wines are also great in the summer with their lower tannin and alcohol, fruit-forward personality and crisp mouthfeel. Lighter ones are also good chilled for added refreshment. Enjoy!