A Few Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Beaujolais

By Alex Russell Instagram @ozwineguy on September 28, 2016 in Food

If you know of Beaujolais, you might think of the floral labels of Georges Dubœuf in the rosé fridge at your local bottle-o. This may give the impression that they’re light, lively wines, not to be taken too seriously. Some are, but there are also some serious drops from the region.

Beaujolais grapes
The main grape is the red Gamay grape. Some Australian producers also make wines using Gamay, including Bass Phillip and De Bortoli. According to Karen MacNeil of the Wine Bible, “Drinking Gamay is like diving into a pool of black cherries.” It’s a lighter red, a bit lighter than Pinot Noir.

Until 2015, the reds could also include some Pinot Noir. They can still include up to 15 per cent white grapes. White wines make up less than one per cent of production, mostly made of Chardonnay or, until 2024, Aligoté.

Classification
Beaujolais comes in three levels: Beaujolais (the lowest classification, which can include grapes from any vineyards within the region), Beaujolais-Villages (the next level up, which excludes grapes from certain vineyards that are deemed to be lower quality) and the Cru wines.
There are ten Crus (individual regions that are bottled separately). North to south these are St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly.

The Crus have individual characteristics. Moulin-a-Vent is considered to be sturdy, due to tannins, and will live the longest. Fleurie (taken from the French word fleur, or flower) is noted to have a distinct floral note, such as violets. A good description of the Crus is available at www.flatiron-wines.com/blog/a-guide-to-the-10-crus-of-beaujolais.
On the labels, you will generally see Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, or the names of one of the Crus. A Fleurie wine may not say Beaujolais on the label, just Fleurie.

Nouveau
To complicate matters a little, there is also the ‘nouveau’ style. The idea behind the nouveau wines is that they are given only a short amount of time to ferment and are bottled early, so that they are fresh and zingy. These are meant to be drunk young and are often chilled – great for hot days. They are not designed to age.

They are released on the third Thursday in November, and there used to be races amongst the producers to get the wines to various markets as quickly as possible, although that has died down a little.

This classification only applies to the Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages level – the Crus are not released in the nouveau style. The label will say Beaujolais Nouveau or Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau.

Some Australian producers are mimicking the nouveau style with some of their own wines. For example, Clonakilla now produces a Viognier Nouveau, which is a bright, fresh version of their more serious Viognier. Alex Head (Head Wines) also makes a nouveau style wine.

Where to buy
Most regular bottle shops will only carry one Beaujolais, if you’re lucky. Instead, try Neville at Eurocentric (www.eurocentricwine.com.au). He has a selection of nine Beaujolais producers, as well as a great selection of other drops. You can buy direct from his website.