4.0 Beaujolais

Question 1

Describe the Beaujolais Region.

Answer 1

• Beaujolais is a part of greater Burgundy,
• Just south of Maconnais
• Produces vol = rest of Burgundy most from Gamay variety
• Gamay = 98% of plantings
• Mostly red wine
• Rose from Gamay
• White from Chardonnay

Question 2

Beaujolais: Climate and Weather

Answer 2

• Continental, drier and warmer than the rest of Burgundy
• Rainfall adequate 740mm pa
• Saone River moderatees extreme temps
• Cold Mistral winds
  
  • can affect flowering in Spring
  • damage the leaves and thin skins of the Gamay grape
  • low trellising and vine orientation used to reduce effect of wind
• North - Beaujolais Cru AOC’s and Beaujolais-Villages AOC
  
  • hilly 200 - 500m
  • fast draining granite, schist and sandy soil
  • vineyards S and S-E facing slopes - max exp to sunlight
  • conseq. harvest earlier than in the flatter south where soils are richer - Beaujolais AOC
• the south of Beaujolais tends to be cooler due to lack of slopes to intercept the sun and the predominance of cooler soils, i.e. clay

Question 3

Beaujolais: Soils and Typography

Answer 3

Granite base with variations.

• North
  
  • Fast draining soils with granite + schist (stronger wines).
  • Hilly terrain - 200 to 500 metres elevation
  • Faster and more homogeneous ripening than South
  • Vineyards on south and south east facing slopes
  • As Gamay is vigorous and hi-yielding these schist soils more suited to concentration in fruit, and constrained vigour
• South
  
  • flat with clay & limestone
  • Uneven ripening so diverse quality.

Question 4

Comment on Grape Var & Vineyard Mgmt

Answer 4

Gamay Noir

• 98% of plantings
• Early budding, flowering -> susceptible to spring frosts; millerandage from cold, damp, windy cond. > reduce yields
• Delicate skin > susc to rot
• Early ripening > can be picked before aut rain
• Hi yield -> must be controlled to ensure concentrated, ripe fruit.
  
  • Reduce no of buds helps to restrain
• The gobelet vine-training method is traditional in Beaujolais
  
  • (protection from the wind) - still on steeper slopes
  • most Gamay picked by hand because whole bunches needed for semi-carbonic maceration - the most common winemaking form in the region.
• For Beaujolais-Villages as well as the crus, pruning is used to reduce the bud numbers to a level where quality grapes will be produced.
• Increasingly, where possible, single cordon in the southern Bas Beaujolais, with up to 12 buds.
  
  • aid mechanisation
  • suitable for higher volumes/inexp styles

Chardonnay

• Usually found in the north, bordering Macon villages
• Does better on cooler marl or limestone soild that slow down ripening/preserve acidity

In Beaujolais there is a lively interest in sustainable and organic viticulture

• Terra Vitis was founded in Beaujolais.

Question 5

Beaujolais - Vinification - what methods are used?

Answer 5

Majority of Beaujolais made by semi-carbonic maceration

• Chaptalisation in cooler years
• Total maceration time
  
  • 4 - 5 days - Beaujolais & Beaujolais Village
  • 6 - 9 days - very good Beaujolais Village
  • 10 - 20 days - Cru Beaujolais
• Aim: enhance fruitiness, depth of colour, in a wine for early consumption
• Press wine blended with free-run to give added colour and tannin
• Wines age briefly in SS, released for early sale, reducing produ cost
• Characteristic: kirsch, banana, blueberry aromas typical of the method

Alternative approach to winemaking - Cru Beaujolais

• Some top end Cru producers may use std red wm techniques
  
  • crushing/destemming
  • fermentation completed on skins
  • barrel ageing in small/large barrels with small % of new oak - raising prod costs
  • Wines will be deeper in colour, more full bodied with higher levels of tannin than those made by semi-carbonic maceration
  • May be called “Burgundian” in style

Low-intervention winemaking

• Region is a centre for low-intervention wine making (in line with their focus on organic and sustainable growing)
• Natural wine pioneers Jules Chauvet, Marcel Lapierre were from this region

Question 6

Semi-carbonic maceration

Answer 6

Semi-carbonic maceration

• extracts colour (very purple) and aromas (pear drop, banana, kirsch, bubblegum) but limited tannin.
• Wines made this way are
  
  • distinctive, with a fruity, low tannin flavour profile, and are best consumed while young
  • Generally described as distinctive but not complex
• Technique is: •
  
  • Whole bunches filled into a vessel • No CO2 is added •
  • The weight of the fruit crushes the bottom bunches releasing juice
  • Ambient yeast ferments the juice (comm yeast can be added)
  • Fermented juice produces CO2 and the remaining intact bunches start carbonic (intracellular) fermentation
  • Normally, after the berries start to split at around 2% abv the grapes are pressed and yeast completes the fermentation off the skins
  • However, to extract more colour, tannin for extra body and ageing ability, additional maceration time (combined with punch down/pump over) can be used.
  • Amount of maceration in this method depends on quality outcome sought: •
    
    • 4 to 5 days on skins – Beaujolais/Beaujolais Villages •
    • 6-9 days for top quality Beaujolais Villages •
    • 10-20 days for Cru Beaujolais
  • fermentation may be followed up with additional post fermentation maceration
  • or oak ageing (Burgundian style)
• longer maceration results in better integration of aromas from intracellular fermentation with the grape flavours
• Wines are fruitier and softer

Question 7

Carbonic Maceration

Answer 7

Carbonic maceration:

• Winemaking process which transforms a small amount of sugar contained in uncrushed grapes into ethanol without the intervention of yeasts.
• Whole uncrushed bunches into vessel
• Vessel filled with CO2 >removes oxygen
• CO2 causes a fermentation to start inside the berries on top (anaerobic intracellular fermentation)
• this produces ~ 2 % abv
• grapes are crushed in the normal way, or berries start to split, releasing the juice
• normal fermentation starts
• juice is generally drained immediately, no further maceration on the skins
• grapes are pressed to separate juice from skins
• free run + press juice typically blended, yeast completes the fermentation
• NB
  
  • extracts colour, but little tannin, as the juice is pressed at 2% abv, and tannin is extracted most efficiently in the presence of alcohol
  • resulting wines typically have low tannin, and distinctive aromas from intracellular fermentation (candy) alongside the fruit.
  • flavours of oak not desired
• The technique is useful to enhance the flavour of grapes grown at high yield or not perfect ripeness
• Produces wines that are not complex,
  
  • acceptable - good quality
  • inexpensive and mid-price

Question 8

Describe Beaujolais Nouveau

Answer 8

• Category of wine within AOC regulations
• Can be labelled (– depending on where it is grown)
  
  • Beaujolais Nouveau AOC or
  • Beaujolais Nouveau Villages AOC
• Can be sold from third Thursday in November! Post Vintage
• Made from semi-carbonic or carbonic maceration
• BOTTLED 3-5 days after ferment is complete!
• Some have Malo conversion, others not
• Fining and sterile filtration is common, as is mod to high use of SO2 to prevent Malo c in bottle
• Short shelf life

Question 9

Describe the wines labelled Beaujolais AOC

Answer 9

• Regional AOC covering whole area
• most vy in south, south of Beaujolais Villages AOC
• Max yield is 60 hL/Ha (light concentration)
• May be sold from mid-Jan year after harvest as they are made in a fresh fruity style, semi carbonic maceration
• Good Q, Inexpensive

Question 10

Describe the style and wine of Beaujolais - Villages

Answer 10

The Village AOC

• Better Qy than Beaujolais AOC
  
  • riper as more N
• 38 villages
• 58 hL/Ha.
• Village name on bottle IF all grapes from there (unusual)
• Villages sit alongside the 10 single cru AOCs

Wines

• Typically purple
• med int fresh red cherry, raspberry, red plum fruit
  
  • often kirsch and banana aromas typ of s-c maceration
• m+/h acidity, l/m body, m alc, l/m tannin
• G / VG Q, prem to sprem price (relative to Beaujolais)

Question 11

Describe the style and wine of Beaujolais Crus

Answer 11

10 crus, own AOCs in the north. R only

• Do not need to say “Beaujolais” on the label
• Brouilly and Morgon are significantly larger than others
• land cheaper here - attracts investment from Burgundy
  
  • drives quality up
  • also encouraged trend away from carb maceration
  • inc use of oak - esp in the Crus

Wine character

• Gamay has good affinity with granite based soils,
• wines from the northern sites have greater complexity and depth than those produced in the east and south
• some crus have high reputation for quality and ageability
• Moulin a Vent and Morgon are full bodied and will improve in bottle.

Question 12

Describe the styles that the Crus are known for

Answer 12

Specific Crus / Styles (N - S)

• Moulin a Vent AOC,
  
  • Most powerful and long lived wines
  • Closer in style fo Cote d’Or reds than to most Beaujolais
• Fleurie AOC
  • southern part has sandy soil - lighter/more fragrant wine gives this appellation its name and reputation
  • towards the north close to Moulin-a-Vent more clay, wines are heavier, lower acid, fuller body
• Chiroubles AOC,
  
  • highest altitude
  • fragrant and hi acid wines
• Morgon AOC
  
  • fruit grown on s-f Cote de Py VY
  • pronounced black cherry + red fruit
  • sufficient tannin to age for a decade in bottle
• Brouilly AOC
  
  • most southern, marginally warmer area
    
    • wines are lighter and more perfumed
• Others
  
  • Saint- Amour AOC,
  • Julienas AOC,
  • Chenas AOC
  • Regnie AOC
  • Cote de Brouilly

Question 13

Beaujolais: Market Structure

Answer 13

• Ave size of holdings: 10 ha
• many growers sell to co-ops ~ resp for 25% of sales
  
  • OR to negociants
• Important producers include:
  
  • George Duboeuf - from 1964 promoted BN - created new markets in France and around the world
  • This led to increase in sals of standard Beaujolais and the Crus followed
  • Late 20th century BN became a wine festival attacting media
  • hugely pop in France, UK, Japan
  • 25% of all Beaujolais is made as “Nouveau”

Sales

• 60% Beaujolais sold domestically
  
  • direct sales, specialist wine shops, smarkets, hospitality
• Export: Japan, USA, UK
  
  • Japan prefers Nouveau
  • UK prefers Villages and Crus

Market demand

• Popularity driven by high prices of Burgundian wine - Beaujolais from Crus lower price, similar style
• Beaujolais, and especially Crus becoming more pop with USA sommeliers and winelovers
  
  • prices reaching prem and sprem levels

George Duboeuf - resp for success of BJ in International markets