Beaujolais Cru - Personality and Charm
Beaujolais is a region that often gets overlooked for its northern counterpart, Burgundy, as being wines that are early drinking, fruity and mass produced. Look closer at the Beaujolais Cru (or simply Cru) in the northern part of the region and you will find wines that are dynamic, full of joy and age worthy. Each of the 10 Crus have their own personality and charm.
How did this all happen? Let’s take a brief look in history. In 1395 Gamay was ordered out of Burgundy by the Duc Philipe le Hardi as it was considered “undrinkable and unfashionable.” The grape moved south to Beaujolais where it found its happy place amongst the hilly granite soils. The 35 mile (56 kilometers) region creates a range of styles of Gamay from the simple quaffable Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages and the more profound and sophisticated Cru’s. Unfortunately the regions “nouveau style” gave the region a bad rap in the 1980s for its overproduction. Thanks to the Gang of Four (Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Jean Paul Thévenet and Guy Breton) the regions reputation was forever changed. They were the forward thinking winemakers who changed winemaking in the region with a prioritization on quality via a ‘less is more’ attitude. The paradigm shift eliminated the use of herbicides and pesticides and ‘natural wine’ was focused on old vines. They let the grapes stay longer on the vine to develop the flavors in order to create a more structured wine. They only used the healthiest grapes and avoided adding any sulfur, if none at all. They took a stand and demanded change. The result was a forever change in the perception of Beaujolais
The crème de la crème comes from the 10 Crus (villages) of Beaujolais. Let’s be clear, not all Crus are not equal. Each one has its own quirky personality, style and charm. From north to south, the Cru’s produce very distinctive wines. The wines range from fresh and fruity (Brouilly) to concentrated earthy and full bodied (Moulin-À-Vent). Most Beaujolais is made through a traditional fermentation process called carbonic maceration in which whole bunches undergo fermentation in a carbon dioxide rich environment which amplifies the fruity character of the grape and softens tannins. The most well-known Crus are Morgon, Fleurie and Moulin-À-Vent.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the Crus. Beginning in the north:
St. Amour produces romantic (Amour means love in French) style of wine either in a soft red fruit style or a more serious type of wine due to soil variations, an intensely red fruit wine similar to Burgundy.
Juliénas wines are weightier, with dark cherry and earthy notes.
Chénas wines are graceful, supple and full of floral aromatics.
Moulin-À-Vent are known as the royalty, the King of Cru. These wines are rich in flavor, texture and character, not to mention ageable for 20 to 25 years.
Fleurie is Moulin-À-Vent’s Queen of Crus. She gets her floral and blossom-like red fruit elegance and charming nature from the steep slopes.
Chiroubles wines are quite delicate and light in style thanks to the highest elevations in the region - imagine a bouquet of violets and red fruit.
Morgon is home to the Gang of Four. The rich granite soils provide a firm minerality and concentrated, fuller character to the wines. More of a masculine type of wine and fuller in body compared to the other Crus, the fruit leans towards savory red fruit (blood orange & peach), earthy richness and spice. Régnié style is fuller bodied and rounder flavors of raspberry, red currant and spice.
Brouilly wines are rather lighter in style thanks to the pink granite soils, fresh and fruity, the type of party starter red you would love to serve to your friends.
Côte de Brouilly is located within Brouilly. The vines are on the slopes of Mont Brouilly, an extinct volcano. The fruit has more structure and power than its neighbor in Brouilly.
As for food pairing, the bright acidity, freshness and low tannins make Gamay such a versatile food match. A few pairing suggestions would be panko crusted chicken cutlets with braised leeks and herbs, grilled pork sausages with roasted beets, French flageolet beans and arugula cranberry salad.
Beaujolais Cru wines are beloved by sommeliers the world over for their historical rebel nature, the range of character and exceptional food pairing ability. Ultimately though, they just put a smile on people’s face every single time, not to mention the affordable quality in comparison to its northerly cousins fo Burgundy. It’s the type of wine that welcomes you in with a warm hug and mesmerizes you with its beauty.
Published on The Good Gourmet: Beaujolais Cru Personality & Charm
