It's Beaujolais Time

I had planned on writing an article on French etiquette this week, but when I realized that it was already the third week of November, I decided to put off etiquette to a later date, in favor of writing about Beaujolais wines. Those of you who have come to my home for wine tasting parties, or to France with me for dégustations, visits to vineyards and caves coopératives will not be surprised by my choice.

For some years now, the third Thursday of November marks the appearance on the market of the much touted Beaujolais Nouveau. I’m all for the celebrations the event brings about worldwide. For you Seattle readers, check out Voilà Bistro or Le Pichet for a lively evening.

That said, I’m in no way a fan of the Beaujolais Nouveau wine itself. It’s not bad (well, sometimes, yes, it is bad) -- the problem is more that it’s just not very good. Its success isn’t connected to its taste, but rather to the clever marketing skills of Georges Dubœuf, et al. If you’re bent on trying the Beaujolais Nouveau (and you should at least once), be sure to chill it well and to serve it with anything but elegant dishes: French fries and sausages, for example, are a perfect match, kind of like beer and nachos. For that matter, Beaujolais Nouveau would probably work well with nachos, too. For something a bit more delicate, you might try a spinach salad dressed with walnuts, Roquefort, and a light balsamic vinaigrette. In this wine drinker’s opinion, though, that $10-20 you’re paying in the States for a bottle of the Nouveau could be better spent on a bottle of non-nouveau Beaujolais. Some of them are truly wonderful and almost always lower priced than a decent bottle of Burgundy or Bordeaux.

The densely planted Beaujolais fields are located in eastern central France, just a tad bit northwest of Lyon. Beaujolais wines are produced through an apparently unique method of vintification. I say “apparently” because I’m a wine lover, not an expert. My wine knowledge, as opposed to my wine experience, is limited: I’m familiar with numerous excellent small vineyards here in the south of France, as well as some from the Loire valley, Bordeaux, Alsace, and the Nantes region, some Italian, Californian, a smattering of South American and African wines. An expert, though, I’m not. When I take folks on wine tours here, I leave the technical explanations to the real experts: those who make the wine. What I can tell you about Beaujolais comes from some deliberate recent research for this article and from an American pianist, a real lover of Burgundies and Beaujolais, to whom I gave French lessons for five years. Hats off and merci, Monsieur C.

There are four classifications of Beaujolais: Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais (a step up), Beaujolais Village (getting better), and ten Crus du Beaujolais (miam-miam): Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, Saint-amour. Specifics on these different Beaujolais are given towards the end of this article. First let’s take a look at what makes Beaujolais Beaujolais.

Of initial importance is the wine grower's choice of Gamay grapes for the encépagement (the ensemble of vine types in the field). Next is the very dense planting of the vines and the hand harvesting of the grapes. Some 35,000 harvesters are used during the ten to twenty-day harvesting period (vendange) in mid-September. Finally, Beaujolais is defined by a vintification process that uses the entire cluster of grapes -- as opposed to removing the grapes from the clusters, I would imagine. This technique encourages the best expression of Gamay fragrances and flavors.

At harvest time, the grape clusters are carefully loaded into vats made of cement or stainless steel, varying in size from forty to three hundred hectoliters. The juice that’s initially released fills between 10 to 30 percent of the volume of the vat. This quantity increases during maceration, to reach between 40 and 70 percent with the draining of the lie. Two fermenting processes take place at the same time in the vat: classic fermentation in the liquid portion and an intracellular maceration within the whole clusters of grapes. If I understand correctly, it’s this combination of methods that marks Beaujolais vintification as unique.

While the use of whole grape clusters is a constant in the Beaujolais wine-making process, variances in other elements create the spectrum of Beaujolais wines. Some are designed to be drunk immediately; some can be put down for short periods, and others for up to five years or longer. Beaujolais Nouveau, for instance, is drunk within several months of the grape harvest. Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages have a longer life, while Beaujolais crus can and sometimes should be cellared for several years.

After fermentation, the grapes are pressed; the juice from the vats is mixed with the juice that has been pressed out. A second fermentation then takes place. Once completed, the wine can be filtered and bottled. The Beaujolais Nouveau is immediately bottled, since it’s put on the market the third Thursday of November. The other Beaujolais aren’t bottled for several more months.

The specifics that follow include suggestions for pairing the different Beaujolais with food. I personally don’t follow them too closely, since taste is very subjective. A “best” rule is to match wines and foods according to your own tastes; if you like the marriage, it’s a good match for you. What could be more obvious? You'll notice that Beaujolais is typically served between 50-57 degrees, the colder temperature being best for the Nouveaux. That, too, should be subject to your own tastes.

Brouilly
Acreage: 1200 hectares
Soil : granite and alluvial sand
Full-bodied, with a deep ruby color, nuances of red fruits, plums, peaches and mineral notes
Serve at 53°, with wild fowl and red meats

Chénas
Acreage: 260 hectares
Soil : granite sand
Well-bodied, with a ruby-tinted garnet color, floral and woodsy nuances
Serve at 57°, with lamb, sauced meats and strong cheeses

Chiroubles
Acreage: 350 hectares
Soil: granite and porphyry
Elegant, delicate body, vivid red color, very fruity with a floral nose (peonies, violets, lilies)
Serve at 53°, with charcuterie, poultry, pork

Côte de Brouilly
Acreage: 290 hectares
Soil : granite and schist
A Beaujolais thoroughbred, purple in color, with nuances of fresh grapes and iris. Ages well; should not be drunk too young
Serve at 55°, with charcuterie, rabbit stew or similar dishes

Fleurie
Acreage: 800 hectares
Soil: granitic sand
Smooth and elegant, carmine colored, with floral and fruity notes: iris, violets, roses, peaches, cassis, red fruits
Serve at 55°, with lamb, poultry, pork

Juliénas: one of my favorites
Acreage: 580 hectares
Soil : schist and granite, some clay
I read that this is a bit of a nervous wine (whatever that means) that can be drunk both young and aged for several years; strong red color, with a nose of peaches, red fruits, floral notes
Serve at 55°, with coq au vin, wild fowl, sauced poultry dishes

Morgon: another favorite of mine
Acreage: 1100 hectares
Soil : granitic schist, broken rocks
Rich and full, with a garnet color and aromas of cherry, peach, apricot, plums
Best aged
Serve at 55°, with sauced meats and game

Moulin à Vent: the Beaujolais of Beaujolais, one of my favorite wines (hmm, I have a lot of favorites...)
Acreage: 650 hectares
Soil: manganese-rich granite
Deep ruby red in color, big taste, with floral, spice, and ripe fruit nuances
Ages exceptionally well
Serve at 57°, with red meats, game, full-bodied cheeses

Régnié
Acreage: 650 hectares
Soil: sandy granite
The most recent Beaujolais, classed in 1988
Supple, well-structured wine, cherry color with a touch of violet, fruity nuances of currant, blackberry, and raspberry
Serve at 53°, with terrines, white meats, and dishes with cream

Saint-amour
Acreage: 280 hectares
Soil : siliceous clay
A lively, well-balanced wine, ruby colored with aromas of kirsch, spice and reseda
Serve at 54°, with organ meats, poultry and wild fowl

Beaujolais-Villages
Acreage: 5850 hectares
Soil : crystalline
39 towns can use this appellation
Cherry-red color, smooth in the mouth with nuances of red fruits (most notably cassis and strawberry)
Serve at 51-53°, with charcuterie, poultry, and a wide variety of dishes

Beaujolais
Acreage: 9700 hectares
Soil : chalky clay and granite
This is the porte-drapeau (standard-bearer) of Beaujolais; they tend to be floral and fruity, a good go-with-everything wine
Serve at 51°

Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveaux
2/3 of these come from Beaujolais acreage, 1/3 from Beaujolais Villages acreage
They are brightly red, currant or cherry colored, are typically fruity and floral
Serve at 50°

OK, now that you know a bit about what you’re in for, go have some fun at your local Beaujolais Nouveau party. My village isn't celebrating, though -- yup, that happens in some French villages --, so I'll have to wait till a later date to try out this year's production. If you're testing it out this evening, please raise a glass for me, hopefully to the tune of Chevaliers de la Table ronde. Then go hunt down a bottle of good Beaujolais.