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Home , Beaujolais, Beaujolais nouveau, Cru (wine)

(ferment) cruelly neglected

The ten crus of Beaujolais may lack the grandeur of the best of , but for Peter Liem, they have a delicious charm all of their own and, contrary to the popular preconception, certainly qualify as fine

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One of the most famous of , Beaujolais is also variety is different, its soils are different, and furthermore, one of the least respected. For many people, Beaujolais is its culture feels entirely different, with more of a kinship to largely associated with the third week of November, when than to Dijon. the barely finished wine from the latest is foisted I wonder, though, if part of the reason is because upon consumers worldwide in one of the greatest marketing Beaujolais is not taken entirely seriously as a wine. The triumphs to be found anywhere in the wine business. insidious specter of Beaujolais has diminished has been both a boon and a curse. On the standing of high-quality Beaujolais among wine the one hand, it has turned Beaujolais into a household consumers, and while wines from the top growers might name; yet on the other, it has drawn valuable attention away be willingly embraced by a hipster Parisian wine-bar from the real stars of the region, the wines of its ten crus, or crowd, they are more likely to be met with raised eyebrows communal . at a finer-dining establishment. It’s a shame, because top- Beaujolais is technically part of Burgundy, but in quality Beaujolais has a great deal to offer. practical terms it is rarely thought of as such. The Wines of In considering the question of why Beaujolais Burgundy, the latest book by Clive Coates MW, includes ought to be considered as a serious wine, I began to think Chablis and the Côte Chalonnaise but not Beaujolais; other about the particular traits that fine wines are commonly significant books on Burgundy, such as Remington considered to possess, such as finesse, harmony, Norman’s The Great Domaines of Burgundy or Matt complexity, longevity, or expression of . Of all of Kramer’s Making Sense of Burgundy, also omit Beaujolais. these characteristics, longevity is the one that I find to be This is presumably because Beaujolais is so radically the least relevant. One can argue that a truly fine wine different from other Burgundian appellations: Its grape requires a certain period of time to develop its full range of

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3dS`g WaacS ]T BVS E]`ZR ]T 4W\S EW\S TSObc`Sa Q]dS`OUS ]T bVS e]`ZR¸a ¿\Sab eW\Sa W\ bVSW` (ferment) VWab]`WQOZ O\R QcZbc`OZ Q]\bSfb OZ]\U eWbV \Sea `SdWSeaW\bS`dWSeaO\RQ][^`SVS\aWdSW\bS`\ObW]\OZ OcQbW]\ `SacZba 4]` Tc`bVS` W\T]`[ObW]\ O\R b] acPaQ`WPS b] BVS E]`ZR ]T 4W\S EW\S ^ZSOaS dWaWb eee¿\SeW\S[OUQ][ ]` QOZZ "" %'# " "$&  complexity and character. But if this arc of development examples show a stony tension and a subtle, soil-driven takes place within five to ten years rather than 20 to 40 intensity that shapes and defines the fruit flavors, and years, I fail to see how that factor alone serves to diminish is surprisingly adept at reflecting the terroir in intrinsically the quality of a wine. which it is grown. Beaujolais might not be as overtly Good cru Beaujolais does, in fact, take some time to minerally as, say, a Wachau or a Savennières show at its best, evolving in character through that process. from the , but it remains highly influenced by I’ve drunk cru Beaujolais that was still fresh and vital soil nevertheless, as evidenced by tasting through the at 15 years, 20 years, and even 30 years of age. region’s various crus. I’ve even had a Moulin-à-Vent from 1929 that, poured blind, fooled me and my dining companions, all of A study in terroir whom were seasoned wine professionals, into thinking This capacity for soil and site expression is the primary it was from the Côte d’Or. In general, however, even the reason that I consider Beaujolais to be a fine wine.I n fact, I best cru Beaujolais matures more rapidly than do its would extend this sentiment to encompass wine in general: counterparts in the Côte d’Or—for example, The most notable common thread among all of the world’s Jean Foillard, in Morgon, recommends drinking his Côte great wines, and by far the main reason that they du Py and Cuvée Corcelette are interesting, is that up to ten years after the they all have something , and his basic significant to say about Morgon at between two the place in which they and five years of age. No one will argue that Beaujolais are grown. is the most complex wine in In Beaujolais, the Silky charms various crus offer a As I write this, I am the world, yet it’s not necessarily fascinating study in drinking Foillard’s 2006 terroir, particularly if Corcelette, which, only a a simple one, either. While you taste examples from couple of years after Gamay thrives on a succulent those growers who release, has shed the restrict their yields to eager exuberance of its fruitiness in its youth, primary reasonable levels and youth and is already fruit is not the only component ferment with natural demonstrating a quite yeasts instead of factory- exceptional harmony in a top-quality cru Beaujolais. made ones designed to and depth of flavor. The best examples show a amplify fruitiness. It’s Recently I had the useful to taste several pleasure of revisiting stony tension and a subtle, examples from the same Foillard’s 2000 Côte du Py, commune: Morgon, for a Morgon that I remember soil-driven intensity example, seems to be as being relatively particularly blessed with backward and constricted conscientious growers, when it was first released. and comparing wines It has since blossomed into a positively regal wine, and in from estates such as Foillard, Lapierre, and Louis Claude terms of sheer satisfaction, I doubt that I would have Desvignes allows for a multifaceted perspective of traded it that evening for very many other wines of Morgon’s schisty slopes. It becomes even more intriguing supposedly grander pedigree. when pairing wines from different locations within the If it’s finesse and refinement that one seeks, a wine village, contrasting Foillard’s lithe, silky Corcelette with the from Foillard or from another first-class grower such as sterner and more baritone Côte du Py, for example, or Marcel Lapierre or Pierre-Marie Chermette can have a Desvignes’s more elegant version of Côte du Py with his silky, graceful charm that rivals many a Pinot Noir in complex, ageworthy Javernières. texture and elegance. In fact, the purity of fruit found in The ten crus of Beaujolais are located fairly close to these wines can often accentuate the feeling of finesse, one another, arrayed very roughly along a north–south and the fresh acidity, supple tannins, and relatively low axis, and the most northern of them, St-Amour, lies alcohol of Beaujolais all combine to give it a compelling only about 12 miles (20km) away from Côte de Brouilly in harmony and balance. the south. The characters of their respective wines, though, No one will argue that Beaujolais is the most complex can differ to a notable degree, influenced largely by subtle wine in the world, yet it’s not necessarily a simple one, changes in the composition of the soil. For the most part, either. While it’s true that Gamay thrives on a succulent this involves variations on themes of granite and schist fruitiness in its youth, primary fruit is not the only in this section of the . (South of the crus,

component in a top-quality cru Beaujolais. The best some vines are grown on a gold-colored limestone / Cephas © Mick Rock Photography . La Madone Chapel above spread: Previous

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known as pierres dorées, but these vineyards qualify wines from some of the region’s most renowned locales: only for the regional appellations of Beaujolais and Côte de Brouilly, Morgon, Fleurie, and Moulin-à-Vent. Beaujolais Supérieur.) A tasting chez Brun is a lesson in terroir, because each In the north, where the region’s granite tends to be of his wines demonstrates an uncommon purity and mixed with higher proportions of clay, St-Amour and transparency, achieved by natural-yeast fermentation, little Juliènas are best represented by the wines of Michel Tête, to no , and traditional vinification rather than which are highly aromatic and boldly flavored. The carbonic . nearby crus of Moulin-à-Vent and Fleurie are adjacent to one another, yet their soils are dissimilar, with a heavy Drink me! influence of manganese in the granite of the former, The expression of terroir demonstrates the intellectual as opposed to the purer pink granite of the latter. side of cru Beaujolais, but another element that is often These wines are starkly different in personality, too. ignored, particularly in an environment driven by A great Moulin-à-Vent from Bernard Diochon, Paul professional blind tastings and numeric scoring, is sheer Janin, or Louis Jadot’s Château des Jacques shows a drinkability: the capacity of a wine to compel us to keep powerful structure and mouth-filling depth, while a top returning to it over and over again. Somewhere along Fleurie like that of Yves the line, the notion of Métras, Michel Chignard, deliciousness seems to or Jean-Marc Despres have become, if not retains a certain delicacy pejorative, then at least and floral finesse, no An element that is often ignored, frivolous—as though we matter how prominent particularly in an environment should feel guilty for the fruit happens to be. delighting in a wine’s Crus such as driven by professional blind visceral pleasures. and Regnié lean toward Like a Kabinett an elegance echoing that tastings and numeric scoring, Riesling from Germany of Fleurie but are usually is sheer drinkability: the capacity or a finely balanced even lighter in body, Non-Vintage , while the darkly brooding of a wine to compel us to keep good Beaujolais has an intensity of Moulin-à- returning to it over and over again. ideal combination of Vent can be rivaled by delicious drinkability that of Côte de Brouilly, The notion of deliciousness has and intellectual appeal, particularly as expressed become frivolous, as though we offering value to both by the superb wines of novice and expert alike. Château Thivin. should feel guilty for delighting This drinkability also All the distinctions brings food-friendliness, among these communes in a wine’s visceral pleasures the combination of become even more bright fruit, fresh acidity, apparent when tasting low alcohol, and mild different crus vinified by tannins allowing for the same producer. Pierre-Marie Chermette of the versatile applications without the danger of the wine Domaine du Vissoux owns vines in Fleurie, Brouilly, and dominating or overshadowing a dish. Moulin-à-Vent, and while each cuvée demonstrates the One of the examples that best illustrate this silky elegance and sophistication that is the hallmark of versatility is Alain Coudert’s Clos de la Roilette. The Chermette’s wines, they also each express highly individual Clos lies in Fleurie on the border with Moulin-à-Vent, personalities. Chermette makes wine from two different and its wine seems to combine many of the best parcels in Fleurie, with the fragrant, high-toned Poncié elements of each commune: Its succulently fragrant contrasting the deeper, more structured Les Garants. At red-fruit aromas place it plausibly in Fleurie, while an the same time, the two have more similarities with each underlying sternness and mineral intensity are often other than they do with the broader, more muscular more reminiscent of the neighboring cru. Although it’s a Brouilly, from a called Pierreux, or with the dark, serious wine, it’s never severe, and it’s as delightful to sappy Moulin-à-Vent, a blend of three different parcels drink upon release as it is at ten years of age. As a wine within the commune. lover, I find Clos de la Roilette to be highly satisfying A similar comparison can be made with the wines of for its vinosity and expression. At the same time, it seems Jean-Paul Brun, of Domaine des Terres Dorées. Brun’s that whenever I open a bottle with friends, it’s emptied estate is in the village of Charnay, in the very south of the with an almost alarming rapidity. To me, this is ultimately Beaujolais appellation, which lies closer to Lyon than it an indicator of quality. After all, what is the raison d’être does to the nearest of the crus. Nevertheless, Brun makes of wine, if not to be drunk? ·

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