Who likes a chilled red?
November, specifically the third Thursday of the month, is a big date in the wine calendar as that’s when the first bottles of that year’s Beaujolais Nouveau are released, at exactly one minute past midnight. The wine is a vin de primeur, meaning it’s sold in the year that it’s harvested – in fact there are just weeks between it being produced and being sold, making it very fresh, light and juicy.
The Bojo Novo wines might get the headlines but there are other varieties well worth a look coming out of Beaujolais. Beaujolais-Villages wines are mid-range light and fruity reds made from grapes grown within 38 villages of the appellation in Burgundy. Cru Beaujolais wines, produced in ten villages, are the highest quality bottles with more distinctive and complex profiles. Though the region is predominantly known for reds, made from the Gamay grape (its high acidity and low tannins means it pairs really well with food and can be served chilled), you can find some cracking whites coming out of Beaujolais too. Find out the best places to head to this year here.
We asked Luke West-Whylie, Director at Peckham Cellars, what makes Beaujolais such a great region. “Gamay makes lighter, less tannic, fresher, easier drinking red wines and we’ve found that with our guests, these are the kinds of reds that people want to drink. There juicy, can be very fun, and work well with a variety of food, but also by themselves. We’ve seen in the last 10 years, much more Cru Beaujolais makes it way into the UK, and it’s interesting to see the different villages developing their own styles,” he says. “Lastly, due to a historic bad reputation from Beaujolais Nouveau the wines are also a little more affordable than you find in the rest of France, whilst still being of outstanding quality!”
Aside from heading to these Beaujolais Nouveau parties, these are the bottles Luke recommends if you’re looking to dive into the wines of Beaujolais.
Domaine Saint Cyr, Pet Nat Rose
Lightly sparkling, light rose colour, fresh and full of beautiful red fruits, this makes a superb aperitif to kick off a celebration.
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Chateau Cambon
This is an organic white wine, produced by Marcel Lapierre (one of the original gang of four). It’s such a pure and vibrant expression of Chardonnay. It’s bright and fresh, with notes of lime, white flowers and just a little hint of texture.
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Domaine Saint Cyr, La Galoche Rose
A delicate, slightly crunchy rose, a really nice difference to Provence style rose, with a little more character and depth than you tend to find in a pale rose.
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Jean Foillard, Morgon Cote Du Py
A cult classic and one of the world’s great value fine wines. Jean Foillard’s Cote du Py is the reference point for Morgon and the wines show exceptional balance, even in the warmer vintages, with a mesmerising balance between complexity and finesse. Cote du Py is a volcanic hillside planted with ancient Gamay vines in Morgon. The wines are made with minimal intervention in the winery – all the meticulous work is done in the vineyard. This also happens to be my favourite wine in the entire world!
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Domaine Lapierre, Raisins Gaulois
Crunchy, bright, juicy, can be served chilled. This is a wine I find myself drinking chilled in the summer, but would also reach for in the winter as well. We’ve sold thousands of bottles of this since we opened, and is always well received!
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Beaujolais is the fifth article in our Pour Decisions series. If you liked this, check out our pieces on British Ciders, DILF wines, Claret and Dry Tokaji. Cheers!
