Beaujolais Flashcards
Beaujolais Appellations
- Beaujolais Nouveau AOC / Beaujolais Villages Nouveau AOC
- Beaujolais AOC
- Beaujolais Villages AOC / Beaujolais Villages + Village name AOC
- Beaujolais Crus (each their own AOC): 10 individual crus
- Number of Beaujolais Crus
2. Names of the main 5
- Total 10 Beaujolais Crus
- From North to South:
- Moulin-À-Vent AOC
- Fleurie AOC
- Chiroubles AOC
- Morgon AOC
- Brouilly AOC
Plus: Chenás AOC, Julienás AOC, St Amour AOC, Regnié AOC, Côté de Brouilly AOC
Fathers of Natural wine movement in Beaujolais:
Jules Chauvet
Jean-Paul Thévenet
Winemaking technique in Beaujolais:
Carbonic/ Semi-carbonic maceration, especially for Nouveau wines
Traditional winemaking more frequently now for villages wines and especially for the Crus
Style of semi-carbonic maceration wines:
Pear drops, kirsch & banana aromas. Red fruit.
Brighter colours and less tannin extraction. Softening of malic acid.
Good quality low intervention producers:
Yvon Métras
Jules Desjourneys
Beaujolais location:
South of the Mâconnais and above Lyon
Beaujolais Climate:
Continental - but warmer than Burdundy
Beaujolais Rainfall:
740 mm/year
Adequate for grapegrowing
Beaujolais geographic landmark:
River Saone
*Acts as extreme temperature moderator
Beaujolais weather hazards:
Measures to combat them?
- Rain: Problems of fungal diseases
- Cold Mistral Winds:
Can damage flowering in cold, damp spring weather –> lead to millerandage
Can damage leaves and berries at the end of the season, affecting yield
Measures:
- Low vine training
- Vine orientation
Beaujolais soils & topography:
Haut Beaujolais (North):
- Hilly
- Granite, schits, sandy soils (–> fast draining and warming) (many colors)
- South / South-East facing slopes
- -> Earlier harvest than Beaujolais Bas
Bas Beaujolais (South):
- Flatter
- More clay
- More rich soils
Beaujolais main grape variety:
Gamay Noir á Jus Blanc (98%)
A tiny bit of Chardonnay at the North
Characteristics of Gamay:
- Early budding, early ripening
- Yields needs to be controlled to achieve ripe, concentrated, quality grapes
- -> Short pruning helps control the high fertility
Beaujolais vine training:
- Traditionally Gobelet (bush) but now more trellised to aid mechanization - especially in inexpensive wines
- Gobelet / bush trained is still the case in the steep slopes
Beaujolais - grape picking:
Mostly by hand - required for the preferred vinification technique: Carbonic Maceration
Winemaking of Beaujolais AOC, Beaujolais Villages AOC:
- Picking: Whole bunches
- Chaptalisation: Common, especially in cooler years
- Cold soaking: 5-6 for Beaujolais Villages, longer (6-9 days) for higher quality
- Fermentation: Carbonic / Semi carbonic
- Press: Pressed wine is normally blended with free-run wine, as it gives colour and tannins
- Ageing: Briefly in stainless steel
- Reseased early
Beaujolais - Why maceration on the skins?
To enhance the fruitiness of the wine
Add depth of colour
–>Make a wine for early consumption
Dry tasting note of inexpensive Beaujolais:
Red fruit, characteristick kirsch, banana and blueberry aromas.
Winemaking of Beaujolais Crus:
Semi-carbonic maceration
Longer maceration time (10-20 days)
ALTERNATIVE:
- Grapes destemmed
- Crushed
- Cold soaking
- Fermentation
- Ageing in small or large barrels
- Possibility of some new oak
- -> (Higher production costs)
- ->”Burgundian style”: Deeper in colour, fuller body, higher tannins than the ones made by semi-carbonic maceration.
Characteristics of carbonic/semi-carbonic maceration:
Kirsch, banana, blueberries aromas
Winemaking of Beaujolais Nouveau AOC, Beaujolais Villages Nouveau AOC:
Fast winemaking: –> Early consumptioin
- Short maceration on the skins
- Carbonic / semi-carbonic maceration
- Press (free-run & press juice blended)
- MLF: Some yes, some no
- Fining & filtration: YES
- High use of SO2 (important if no MLF)
- Rapidly bottled and released
Release date of Beaujolais Nouveau AOC & Beaujolais Villages Nouveau AOC:
- Third Thursday of November of the same harvest year
Maximum yields in Beaujolais:
- Beaujolais AOC: 60 hL/Ha
- Beaujolais Villages AOC: 58 hL/Ha
Dry tasting note of Beaujolais Villages AOC:
And Low Intervention wines
- Purple colour, medium intensity fresh red cherry, raspberry, red plum + kirsch, banana, medium(+) to high acidity, light to medium(-) body, medium alcohol and light to medium tannins.
Good to very good quality
Inexpensive to mid-priced
LOW INTERVENTION:
- Medium(+) to pronounced intensity aromas and flavours
- Medium tannins
- Very good to outstanding
- Premium to super-premium priced (Crus)
Brouilly AOC - Style:
Beaujolais Cru
Large area, with 4 different kinds of soils that give different styles: From tannic and robust to light and perfumed.
Overarching style is fruitiness and medium-weight approachability, with sweet black cherry notes backed with warm spices and occasional floral elements. Tannins are generally soft and round, and usually well-balanced against a gentle but present acidity.
Other 5 Crus of Beaujolais:
Julienás AOC, Chenás AOC, Saint-Amour AOC, Regnie AOC, Côte de Brouilly AOC
Why some Burgundy producers have decided to invest in Beaujolais?
Consequences?
- To diversify portfolio
- Some vineyards within the crus have Very High reputation
- Price of the land is cheaper
- -> Quality increased
- -> Moved away from semi-carbonic maceration towards traditional winemaking (Burgundian style of Beaujolais)
- -> Encouraged increased use of oak - especially in the Crus
Beaujolais % of sales through cooperatives:
25%
(Beaujolais is a big territory with around 100 communes and a lot of small vineyards owners, with an average size of holdings of 10 hectares)
Beaujolais market share in France:
Channels:
France: 60%
- Direct sales
- Specialist shops
- Supermarkets
Hospitality
Beaujolais market share in France:
Channels:
France: 60%
- Direct sales
- Specialist shops
- Supermarkets
- Hospitality
Beaujolais Export market share:
Top 3 markets:
Export: 40%
- Japan (Nouveau style)
- USA (Villages & Crus)
- UK (Villages & Crus)
What proportion of Beaujolais does the Nouveau style represent?
1/4
Beaujolais pricing:
- Very competitive - especially when compared to Burgundy
- Recently gaining track and demand in between sommeliers and wine lovers, causing a rise in pricing - especially the crus (reaching premium and super-premium prices)
Important producers:
Georges Duboeuf
Yvon Métras (low intervention)
Jules Desjourneys (low intervention)
