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BEAUJOLAIS, BEAUJOLAIS, EXPRESSIONS OF A VINEYARD EXPRESSIONS OF A VINEYARD EXPRESSIONS OF A VINEYARD PRODUCED BY INTER BEAUJOLAIS, the Beaujolais Wine Council: 210 Boulevard Victor Vermorel 69400 Villefranche-sur-Saône +33(0)474 022 210 FOLLOW BEAUJOLAIS WINES: vinsdubeaujolais | vins_beaujolais | vinsbeaujolais www.beaujolais.com Drink Aware: please remember to drink responsibly. Creation: Arctic Graphic - Illustrations: Romain Renoux Photo Credits: Étienne Ramousse, Denis Laveur, Fabrice Ferrer, Inter Beaujolais, Destination Beaujolais, Loïc Terrier, Fraise & Basilic, Château Bellevue - Maison Jean Loron he year 2020 was an unprecedented one for everyone. Each of us THE 12 BEAUJOLAIS Editorial has truly become aware of our dependence on others on many APPELLATIONS Editorial levels: economic, social and cultural. We can now say that there Twill be a ‘before’ and ‘after’ “Covid”… The rules of the game are changing; it is up to us to reshu� e the cards, to show some imagination, to reinvent ourselves so that our Beaujolais story can be spread once again through its women and men, as well as its terroir. BEAUJOLAIS For the past four years, at Inter Beaujolais we have been defi ning a clear BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES strategy with three very distinct worlds: festive wines embodied by the Beaujolais Nouveaux, expressive wines corresponding to our core range BROUILLY and illustrated by Beaujonomie, and last but not least, exceptional vintages representing a plot-based approach and long-term maturing. CÔTE DE BROUILLY This triptych has made it possible to off er consumers an easy-to-read range where everyone can fi nd a wine to suit their taste, whether red, RÉGNIÉ white or rosé. MORGON The gamay noir à jus blanc that shapes our identity is an inimitable grape variety, fairly uncommon worldwide: what a strength! It produces fruity, CHIROUBLES elegant wines of legendary finesse - a wine for every occasion. For generations, Beaujolais winegrowers have known how to highlight this FLEURIE strong identity around this unique grape variety in Beaujolais winemaking. To preserve this “treasure”, the winegrowers have constantly reappraised MOULIN-À-VENT their practices. At a time of global warming and worldwide “ecological” awareness, the green transition has proven to be crucial in our region. CHÉNAS Admittedly, many hectares have disappeared but let’s look at this change JULIÉNAS in a positive light: vineyard restructuration with replanting attentive to meticulous tilling of the soil as well as grass cover management protecting SAINT-AMOUR against erosion are gradually starting and modifying the landscape. Environmental approaches such as HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale), Terra Vitis, and Organic Agriculture (AB label for Agriculture Biologique) are rapidly expanding. Sales and marketing for our wines have subsequently undergone a range of changes. Being competitive means off ering quality and price in the right balance. All the stakeholders in this economy – whether independent winegrowers, winegrower-traders, négociants or cooperative cellars – are aware of that. The development of local distribution channels, the need to promote our beautiful winegrowing region through wine tourism, and the warm welcome in our cellars are assets being intensifi ed over time. Little by little, new styles of management are emerging in which pooling skills is key. Because being a winemaker means fi rst cultivating the vines, then producing the wine and fi nally marketing it: three jobs in one! The new generation of winegrowers understands that perfectly. This younger generation, with a more global outlook, more sensitive to the environment and full of enthusiasm, that combines modernity with in-depth know-how passed down by their elders, represents the vineyard’s future. We are on the way to reconquering the Beaujolais: the path we have already been laying for several years looks very promising. Despite the still-diffi cult public health crisis, our market for the year 2020 remained balanced. As soon as restaurants, bars, wineries, wine cellars, events and trade shows open, we will be there to off er sociability, warmth, sharing, friendship and freedom, which are the very DNA of our Beaujolais. Daniel Bulliat President of Inter Beaujolais, the Beaujolais Wine Council 2 GRAPE 2 DEPARTMENTS VARIETIES 12 AOCS Rhône gamay noir à jus blanc – including two regional the iconic grape variety of the appellations (Beaujolais Beaujolais wine region – produces and Beaujolais Villages) & lovely compact bunches, surrounded and ten crus (Brouilly, Côte Saône-et-Loire by flat, fairly even-edged leaves de Brouilly, Régnié, Morgon, and chardonnay that offers racy, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, appealing and surprising wines. Chénas, Juliénas and Saint-Amour) 39 VILLAGES 14,500 HA 1937 crisscrossed by the Beaujolais Wine claimed in the The year the first AOC Route, which stretches from Lyon 12 AOC Beaujolais for the Beaujolais wine region to Burgundy and from the Massif came into being Central foothills to the banks of the Saône river. 1951 140 KM GETTING HERE the year Beaujolais Nouveau the length of the by high-speed train via Mâcon wines were first commercialised Beaujolais Wine Route Loché or Lyon Part-Dieu railway stations by plane via the Every year, over Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport by car via Motorway A6 2000 men and women produce Beaujolais wines. Beaujolais: expressions of a vineyard • 3 • TABLE OF CONTENTS p. 6 Foreword p. 44 What the Beaujolais vineyard has to offer Beaujolais: the diversity of a vineyard Beaujolais wines: Festive, Expressive and Exceptional p. 10 Beaujolais: a harmony of colours A tribute to gamay A glimpse of rosés and whites: a wider range p. 54 p. 20 12 Beaujolais appellations: Fact sheets Beaujolais & Beaujolais Villages: a range in three colours From vineyard to cellar: The saga of Beaujolais Nouveau Women and men at the epicentre From north to south: getting to know the 10 Beaujolais crus Grower’s work & vine growing cycle The soil, the vines, the women and men The Beaujolais vineyards: committed p. to environmental initiatives 90 “Beaujolais Nouvelle Génération”: vineyards with soul Exquisite Escapes A Beaujolais wine and Bistrot Beaujolais for every occasion Beaujolais getaways: the vineyard of a thousand hills What’s on in Beaujolais: dates for the diary p. 40 Timeline For more information… Historical overview via the vineyard’s milestones Practical Info A wine in sync with the times Editorial by the Inter Beaujolais president Key Figures for the Beaujolais Vineyard Inter Beaujolais mission and staff organisation • 4 • Beaujolais: expressions of a vineyard • 5 • FOREWORD BEAUJOLAIS: THE DIVERSITY OF A VINEYARD he hilly Beaujolais vineyards stretch out from north Of course, there’s surprising diversity in its wines that to south over 55 kilometres, bordered to the west are also full of subtlety. So much so that everyone can Tby the foothills of the Massif Central, and to the find the Beaujolais to suit their taste, whether red, white east by the Saone river plain. Located just outside Lyon, or rosé. Beaujolais ‘single-variety’ wines are mostly red the Beaujolais is less than a 30-minute drive away. The (95% of the production); gamay noir, which is the iconic vineyard’s past as well as its future are inseparable from Beaujolais variety, is also used to produce Beaujolais the gastronomic capital, endowing it with a special quality. and Beaujolais Villages rosés. Chardonnay grapes also Often called the ‘vineyard of Lyon’ or Lyon’s ‘third river’, flourish on the chalky and marly Beaujolais soil to produce if Beaujolais had to be summed up in a word, without a Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages whites. doubt, it would be: diversity. It’s an emblematic vineyard in the national landscape, First of all, diversity in its landscapes, which unfold like still teeming with secrets to be unearthed. Here, there is paintings one after another, with the crus in the north, a constant sense of welcome and sharing. The Beaujolais, the Beaujolais Villages in the centre and the Beaujolais sculpted over centuries by generations of men and appellation, the major part of which is located in the women day after day, is personified by its 12 AOCs south; with gamay noir à jus blanc as a recurring theme. (Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée). Extended across the departments of the Rhône and Saone- et-Loire, the diversity of the hilly vineyards boasts forests, plains and winding roads. The decor is green, varied, lush and inspiring, with nature galore, mountains to the north and Tuscany-like vistas in the south where countless variants of light reflect off the golden stone bathed in sunlight. • 6 • Beaujolais: expressions of a vineyard • 7 • FOREWORD FOREWORD DID YOU KNOW? rom 2009 to 2018, at the Inter Beaujolais council’s request, a terroir characterisation Fsurvey was conducted by the SIGALES soil mapping agency. After more than 15,000 soil surveys, nearly 1,000 soil pits and 50 field visits, the analyses made it possible to map the Beaujolais vineyard. Winegrowers and négociants are now taking advantage of the soil characterisation to highlight the terroirs in plot-by-plot cuvées. In April 2018, recognition of the outstanding geology led to the “UNESCO Global Geopark” label. Consequently, the Beaujolais vineyard became the 7th Geopark in France. TERROIR… A NOTION THAT CONVEYS A SENSE OF QUALITY WINES, WELL-ROOTED IN THEIR REGION AND IN THEIR SOILS. Although the Beaujolais wine region is not very extensive can easily be found. At the interface of all the major geological geographically speaking, it encompasses a multitude of events in history, located on the eastern edge of the Massif different soils in a highly surprising way; over 300 variants Central and impacted by the Alpine phenomenon of the have been identified and described. The soils form on bedrock Tertiary period but spared by the glaciers, the Beaujolais or on the parent material that supports them. As such, our wine region has inherited one of the richest and most complex vineyard is quite outstanding, since it bears witness to over geologies in France.

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