The best Beaujolais is anything but nouveau
In the new (8th) edition of The World Atlas of Wine (Mitchell Beazley) by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson there is a new chapter and map entitled Beaujolais’ glacier-free makeup.
It offers a tantalising glimpse into the complexity of the granite-based soils which survived in this area of France, because they were not washed away by melting glaciers.
Today these granitic soils are home to the northern area of the Beaujolais region (known as Haut Beaujolais). This is where the best wines made from the gamay grape anywhere in the world are found, in the ten Beaujolais Crus. The ‘Crus’ make up about one third of the whole Beaujolais region’s 15,175 hectares, but for many years this top ranking echelon of Beaujolais elite has been completely neglected by serious drinkers.
Many of us think of Beaujolais as the easydrinking nouveau wine which arrives bottled fresh from the fermenting vats in early November. This image has, in turn, given gamay, Beaujolais’ main grape, a reputation for being a rather frivolous grape. But the wine now being made in the Beaujolais Crus is so completely different from young nouveaus. The Crus offer a range of sensationally elegant and aromatic, meaty and powerful wines – which bizarrely with age often begin to smell and taste more like pinot noir – and they would definitely appeal to red burgundy lovers.
At the lighter end of the spectrum there is the most northerly Cru of St Amour, which shares limestone soils with its neighbouring vineyard Pouilly-fuissé to the north – and makes a light aromatic style of gamay.
The most famous of the lighter Beaujolais Crus is Fleurie – perhaps it is its name which everyone remembers – but the wines of Fleurie are as varied as the soils. On the lighter, sandier soils the wines are charmingly aromatic, but on heavier clay soils in southfacing vineyards they are almost meaty and powerful.
The more powerful and ageworthy Beaujolais Crus are Moulin-à-vent and Morgon. Moulin-à-vent has a variety of vineyards with the best from Le Clos and Champ de Cour. In Morgon, styles vary widely from soft, succulent wines from the granitic Les Charmes and La Chanaise vineyards to the rich, spicy, intense wines of the famous volcanic Côte du Py vineyard.
Fleurie 2016 Domaine de Fa
Only the second vintage from Maxime and Antoine Graillot (Alain Graillot’s sons); aromatic tealeaf, herbal notes, soft light tannins, minerally freshness, moderate alcohol – elegant, juicy and very pretty – organic to boot.
£22, www.yapp.co.uk
Fleurie La Roilette Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 2018 Domaine Bernard Metrat
Serious meaty Fleurie made from old vine gamay grown on La Roilette vineyard’s granitic soils; savoury notes, deep ripe cherry fruits from the warm 2018 vintage with supple tannins to finish.
£15.95, Berry Bros, www.bbr.com
Brouilly 2017 Château de Pierreux
2017 was a tricky vintage, but the granite-based vineyards at the foot of Mont Brouilly have produced a lovely fleshy wine; floral and crushed red berry nose, black cherry fruit flavours, vivid acidity, a bit of wet stone, earthy undertones. £15.59-£18, Drinkmonger, Edinburgh & Pitlochry; The Wine Reserve; The Drink Shop
Brouilly La Folie 2017 Moron-garcia
Black cherry fruits, big rich meaty powerful style with firm structure; a very modern untypical style of Brouilly, but a little over-extracted. £27.99, Fine Wine, Musselburgh; Butler's Wine Cellar; D Vine Cellars
Julienas 2018 Christophe Pacalet
From hot 2018, this has very ripe redcurrant and blackcherry fruits, bright, youthful and fruity style, but lacked depth and concentration compared to other wines in the tasting. £16.75, www.vinatis.co.uk; www.lesgrappes.com
Chenas 2017 Jane Eyrerenard
This won a few votes for its sweet ripe fruits, hedgerow notes, blackcurrant fruit flavours and soft rounded tannins – but tasters preferred others at this price level. £24.99, Honest Grapes, Butler's Wine Cellar
Côte de Brouilly, Les Sept Vignes 2018 Chateau Thivin
Still youthful and could warrant more bottle age, but the Geoffray family have made another fabulous wine in the hot 2018 vintage; floral and liquorice notes, smooth soft rounded palate, gently spicy, vivid acid, earthy, firm tannins. £19.95, Berry Bros
Morgon La Chanaise 2016 Dominique Piron
Very different from the other Morgon in our tasting (below). This is silky, soft, succulently fruity and elegant – would suit those who like a mid-weight softer style.
£14.99, Waitrose
Morgon Côte du Py 2017 Jean Foillard
Foillard is closely associated with the natural wine movement with noninterventionist low-sulphur winemaking; herby, lush, intense minerally core; complex example from one of Beaujolais’ greatest vineyards (crumbly volcanic schist); worth tasting just to experience how exciting and unusual gamay can be. ■ £31, www.lescaves.co.uk; www.buonvino.co.uk; Harvey Nichols
Join Rose’s Burgundy v Jura wine & French charcuterie tasting at the Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh on 11 December, £60, www. rosemurray brown.com