(This post was originally written for the entaste wine blog, where I am one of several contributors. Please check out what my colleagues are saying as well!)
Beaujolais might just be the perfect wine.
(Actually I’m trying to be diplomatic; I’m pretty sure that Jean Foillard’s 2007 Morgon - pictured here - IS in fact the perfect wine.)
If I were pressed to come up with my “Desert Island Top 10 Bottles” (à la Nick Hornby) it would be up at the top of the list along with Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose, Ostertag Munchberg Riesling, and Quintarelli Amarone - not only because it’s amazing, but even more so because it is the most refreshing red wine I’ve yet found. Ideal for that island heat.
“What??” You say. “You mean that stuff with the colorful label that comes out in November?”
No. Not that stuff. Or at least not exclusively - there’s a lot more to Beaujolais than Nouveau. (Not to mention that Georges Duboeuf - the most recognized name in Beaujolais and creator of that colorful label as well as the ad campaign that brought it into our cultural consciousness - has now been convicted of two different kinds of oeno-fraud).
Beaujolais, although it’s technically part of the Burgundy region, is a whole yummy world unto itself that really has only the most superficial characteristics in common with its northern, better-known neighbor. The Gamay grape is to Beaujolais what Pinot Noir is to Burgundy, with Chardonnay being the primary white grape in both regions (although it only accounts for something like 1% of total production in the Beaujolais). The appellation is comprised of 96 different villages altogether, 60 of which are allowed to label their wine Beaujolais, the wider appellation that accounts for half of the region’s production. 39 of the more northern villages in the zone known as Haut (or “upper”) Beaujolais, are legally able to classify their products as Beaujolais Villages, and 10 of the northernmost villages are able to make Cru Beaujolais, taking the name of the specific village where the grapes are grown. From South to North these villages are: Côte de Brouilly, Brouilly, Régnié, Morgon, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, Chénas, Juliénas, and Saint-Amour, with the more recognizable names in bold.
While I’ve always loved these wines, I grow more excited about them each year when the weather warms up, as light-bodied Beaujolais is typically served with with (at least) a slight chill. This year, to really ice the cake, I was able to attend the “Expressions d’Origine” tasting held by a consortium of 14 Beaujolais producers. Yesterday they were here in New York, today in Chicago, and tomorrow they will hold the event in Washington, DC, before heading home to France. This is one of the few trade tastings of the year where people don’t really even pretend to spit (nor did the presenters seem to want us to, with their generous pours) - Beaujolais is what wine geeks drink when they want to drink. At its best it is complex and elegant as well as light and refreshing; yesterday’s show-stopper, the 2007 Jean Foillard Morgon, was all of these. Some of us were there to buy wine, some of us where there to sell wine, and some of us to taste (read: drink) wine, but all of us kept returning to that table.
There were many great producers present, including renowned winemaker Marcel Lapierre, whose passion for natural, sulfur-free winemaking paved the way for others, including Foillard, and whose name has become synonymous with Morgon. I loved the way Jean Paul Brun’s Terres Dorées (Beaujolais Villages) hit my palate, and enjoyed most of the other wines I tried. However, nobody ever said that we’re not allowed to play favorites with vino.
Now that I think about it, maybe adaptating High Fidelity to take place in a wine shop isn’t so bad an idea, after all.
June 3rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No comments