Let's talk again about cru Beaujolais. [Edited for clarification -- thanks Fredric] Beaujolais Nouveau is made in the Beaujolais region south of Burgundy from Gamay grapes. It's a special process designed to make a quick, fruity wine that won't last for a long time. Beaujolais-Villages and the crus are made in the same region and from the same grapes, but using traditional winemaking processes and thus they have more structure and aging potential than the Nouveau. The crus fall into my favorite category of wine: a delicious regional favorite that allows for its own enthusiastic and scholarly appreciation but doesn't cost a lot. There are ten crus within the Beaujolais appellation. With this bottle, I've so far tried Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, and Saint Amour. I still need to try Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte-de-Brouilly, and Juliénas.The wine still carried bright red cherry flavors. The tannins had entirely dissipated, though the wine had begun to turn a shade of brick red. I tasted it fresh out of the bottle, then after one hour of decanting, and finally after three hours of decanting. One hour was about perfect for this wine; afterwards the fruit began to fade out and the end result was somewhat watery. Still, for the price, not a bad bottle and I was glad to check it off the list.
4 comments:
Don't tell the producers of Cru Beaujolais wines -- many of whom are small, artisanal concerns -- that what they make is a "high-end version of Beaujolais Nouveau." There's really no conncetion except the gamay grape.
Zut alors! Just trying to keep things simple, no insult intended. The post has been edited for clarification.
I guess I'm 2 yrs late & $2 short, but hey, your dad just gave me the address to your blog.
If you haven't tried the Chiroubles yet, I think you will enjoy it and find Beaujolais from this cru are a little more 'turkey' friendly than some of the other crus.
Our wine store just branded the term Beaujolais Retreau (as in back to the future, back to traditional Beaujolais wine making). We are trying to get people turned on to "real" Beaujolais, and to drinking it more often than then end of November.
Randy,
Good to hear from you--Dave Moreau mentioned your name recently. Since this post I've also tried the Chénas. Memphis is a difficult town for the Crus, as we pretty much only get the Dubœuf and maybe an occasional bottle of Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages.
One of these days I'll finish the list with Chiroubles and Côte-de-Brouilly... Might just have to go to France.
Thanks for writing, and let me know if you start a wine blog.
Cheers,
Benito
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