EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS: CHIROUBLES

The French wine region of Beaujolais has been the topic of a number of Now And Zin  posts this year.  During the holidays, I received a number of different Beaujolais wines to sample, and the experience has been illuminating.  I sample hundreds of California wines - and wine from all over the US - each year, but Beaujolais was one of the areas I had failed to explore properly until now.

After trying several wines from a few of the Beaujolais crus, I'm happy I've had the chance to delve into the region.  Today's wine comes from Chiroubles, a cru with some of the highest altitude vineyards in Beaujolais.  The climate is a bit cooler and the growing season somewhat longer as a result.  Wines from this region are said to be distinguished by their delicate, softly perfumed bouquets. 

This wine is the D. Coquelet 2010, imported by Louis Dressner.  Damien Coquelet is the winemaker.  A (very) little detective work shows him to be the stepson of George Descombes, one of the top growers in Beaujolais. This wine appears to come from his vineyard n Chiroubles, although Damien has plans to purchase vineyards of his own at some point.  One big distinction between the wines of Descombes and Coquelet is that the elder ages his wines a year, while the younger releases his early. 

The wine has an alcohol content of the more-or-less standard number for Beaujolais, 12.5% abv.  It shows a medium tint in the glass.  The nose is marked by raspberry and a bit of candy.  As advertised, very delicate floral notes surround the fruit.  Flavors of cherry, cranberry and a trace of cassis join a very nice acidity to make a wine that drinks like a light, slightly tart Pinot Noir.  It's really a beautiful effort. 

I see this wine selling online for $17 to $25 - worth it at the high end and a definite bargain at the low price.

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EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS: A PAIR OF GEORGES DUBOEUF MORGON WINES

Georges Duboeuf is known for his eloquent and verbose vintage reports in which he yearly extolls the virtues of the Beaujolais crop.  "Divine! Dazzling! Voluptuous! Generous!" is just part of his report on the 2011 vintage.  The 2009 Beaujolais Crus are "truly the vintage of my lifetime," according to Duboeuf, while the Beaujolais Crus of 2010 prompted him to exclaim, "The Beaujolais region is on a winning streak."

Duboeuf has every right to use as many exclamation points as he likes.  Jean Bourjade is the Managing Director of Inter Beaujolais, the wine council representing the Producers of Beaujolais, and he echoes Duboeuf's praise of the last three vintages in Beaujolais.  He claims Beaujolais is the only French region in his memory to have three consecutive vintages of such high quality.

Salesmanship aside, Georges Duboeuf is the most recognizable name in Beaujolais wine.  He represents over 400 winegrowers in the region and his name is a mainstay in the French section of supermarket shelves worldwide.  In this post we'll explore Morgon, one of the twelve Crus of Beaujolais. 

Both of these bottles are produced from Duboeuf's Morgon vineyards, both are marketed as "red Burgundy wine," both have a 13% abv number and both sell for about $16.  The wine with the more serious looking label is a grower-specific wine from the vineyards of the late Jean-Ernest Descombes.  His daughter Nicole now tends the wine business.  The wine with the flower on the label is made from Duboeuf vineyards, but is not grower-specific.  These bottles were provided to me for sampling purposes.

The Morgon Cru lies south of six Beaujolais crus and north of three.  Gamay is the main grape, as it is in all of the Beaujolais region.  In the 14th century, the Dukes of Burgundy kicked the Gamay grape out of Burgundy in favor of Pinot Noir and Gamay took root in Beaujolais to the south.  Morgon has a long history with grapes - it was home to the vineyards of the Romans.  The volcanic and granitic rock found in the crumbling soil of the Morgon region supplies the terroir. 

The Descombes bottling has a bright nose full of cherry and raspberry.  The palate is full and refreshing with a zippy acidity.  The tannins show restraint while cherry and raspberry flavors are laced with a very slight hint of citrus.   I really get a sense of the minerals in these flavors. 

The flower label bottle shows the same fruit on the nose, but has more of a mineral or vegetal overlay.  It's not quite so bright - fairly dark, in fact.  The palate is less delicate as well, with a darker aspect to the fruit and a bit more tanninic grip.

Keep an eye out for more exploration of the Beaujolais crus here on the Now And Zin Wine Blog.

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EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS: BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES

Jadot's Beaujolais Villages 2010 is labeled as red Burgundy wine, even though the Beaujolais region is its own appellation.  Beaujolais is situated in both Burgundy and the Rhône, and  the Beaujolais Villages region is located in the southern Beaujolais, near Lyons, between the Beaujolais appellation and the Crus.  Beaujolais Villages is a little more Burgundian in its terroir.  The soils are mostly granitic. 

The Jadot maison was founded in 1859 and bears the founder's name.  It's customary in Burgundy for winemakers to work with single varieties, and Jadot follows that plan.  They utilize Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in their Burgundian bottlings and Gamay grapes for their Beaujolais wines.

Commenting upon the Jadot methodology in the vineyards, their website exclaims,  "we have, for the past 20 years, banished all use of synthetic products (fertilisers, herbicides, etc) on our vineyards soils and have taken up traditional practices instead.  Our work is done either by tractor or, for the most inaccessible vineyards, by horse.  We don't work our soil deeply but prefer to concentrate on surface actions in order to preserve its innate structure.  We encourage our vines to grow their roots in such a way as to enable them to mine the soil's minerality.  This allows them to fight disease naturally and more efficiently."

Jadot's 2010 Beaujolais Villages is a wine which is available widely in the U.S., at price points well under the $20 mark.

The nose offers an aromatic fruitiness, with cherries and strawberries in the forefront.  Rich ruby hued, the wine is not dark.  Light passes through easily.  The palate shows the same red fruit with the mark of minerals on it.  The tannins are subdued - elegant, if you will - and the acidity is wonderful.  It's very easy to drink, at 13% abv, and is quite light on the palate.

Pairing the Jadot Beaujolais Villages with cheese is a natural.  If you pick up a bottle at Trader Joe's, grab some Madrigal cheese to go with it.  Light meats will also pair quite well with it.

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EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS: COTE DE BROUILLY

Nicole Chanrion, Domaine de la Voûte des Crozes, Côte de Brouilly 2009 is made from 100% Gamay grapes, has an alcohol content of 13% and retails for $19. 

Kermit Lynch imports this wine to the US, and he tells a rather compelling story about the winemaker on his website. 

“When Nicole Chanrion began her career in the 1970s, convention relegated women to the enology labs and kept them out of the cellar - even her mother thought winemaking was man’s work - but she would not be deterred from her dream of becoming a vigneronne.  With six generations of family tradition preceding her, she grew up helping her father in both the vineyards and the cellar in the Côte-de-Brouilly, one of the southernmost crus of the northern Beaujolais. 

"Ever since taking over the family domaine in 1988, she works all 6.5 hectares entirely by herself, from pruning the vineyards and driving the tractors to winemaking and bottling, all without bravado or fanfare. 

"In 2000 she became president of the Côte-de-Brouilly appellation, a position of respect and importance among peers. It’s small wonder then that she is affectionately referred to as 'La Patronne de la Côte,' or the Boss of la Côte."

The Côte-de-Brouilly appellation is a small part of the larger Brouilly Cru.  Lynch describes the Côte-de-Brouilly appellation as sitting "on the hillsides of Mont Brouilly, a prehistoric volcano that left blue schist stones and volcanic rock along its slopes. These stones yield structured wines with pronounced minerality and great aging potential."

According to Lynch, the traditional methods of the Beaujolais are employed by Chanrion -hand harvesting, whole cluster fermentation, aging the wines in large oak foudres for at least nine months, and bottling unfiltered.  "The resulting wines," says Lynch, "are powerful, with loads of pure fruit character and floral aromas.”

An intriguing fruity nose shows blackberry and currant.  There's dark fruit on the palate too, joined by some really nice oak spices, like clove, anise and some vanilla.  There's a very nice acidity and a healthy dose of minerals, too.  The tannins are noticeable but not too strong.  The wine is quite dry and has a lengthy finish that is more than welcome to stay awhile. 

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EXPLORING BEAUJOLAIS

I have always thought rosé wines had it tough.  People seem to think rosé is reserved for summer, so a lot of folks miss out on the pink delight the rest of the year.

That's nothing compared to the sad story of Beaujolais.  Some people think Beaujolais is for November only - and just the last two weeks of November!  Au contraire.

Beaujolais Nouveau is the young, fresh wine of the Gamay grape released on the third Thursday of November each year - but there's a lot more to the Beaujolais region than that fruity beverage that ends up on so many Thanksgiving tables.  

Picturesque Beaujolais is sometimes called "the Tuscany of France," with vineyards covering nearly every hillside.  Beaujolais produces the most single-varietal wines in France, and 99% of their production is Gamay.

Nearly the entire production of wine in the Beaujolais region is red - only 1% is white, and most of that is Chardonnay.  Beaujolais is technically in both the Burgundy and Rhone regions.  The climate is more like the Rhone, but the wine is considered to be different enough to justify separation from both regions.

The Gamay Noir grape - a cross of Pinot Noir and the ancient white variety, Gouais - is the grape from which Beaujolais wines are made.  The wine of Beaujolais is fermented in cement or steel tanks, undergoes semi-carbonic maceration and is put through malolactic fermentation.  

The result of all that tech-talk is a fruity red wine high in acidity and low in tannins.  It has been called "the white wine which is red."

The Beaujolais region has twelve appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages (made up of 39 communes) and the ten Beaujolais Crus - Brouilly (pictured), Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à vent, Régnié and Saint-Amour.  The Cru wines come from these villages in the northern part of the region.

In the coming weeks - maybe months - Now And Zin will be tasting and reporting on a number of different wines from the Beaujolais region.

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