What is Beaujolais Wine Anyway?
Beaujolais, some call it the singular white wine that happens to be red. That's a reference that is quite appropos, despite the intense magenta hue that Beaujolais display.
Beaujolais is similar to white wine in its expressiveness and thrist-quenching abilities. The personality of a beaujolais starts with the gamay grape.
The singular grape used in red Beaujolias is gamay. Gamay noir a jus blanc, to be precise. Distinguished as quite litterally a black grape that offers white juice. Ironically, a scant amount of white Beaujolais is also produced annually. Usually made from chardonnay and aligote grapes.
Gamay grapes flavanoids are frankly unmistakeable. Consider a rush of sweetened black cherries and black raspberry, then a whiff of peaches, violets, and roses, next comes a hint of peppery spiciness at the end. In many reds a confined rasp of tannin acts as a cover over the fruit flavors.
Not always found in Beaujolais. Gamay grapes are already low in tannins. They are naturally profuse in their fruitiness and more often seem much more dramatic. However, the personality of the Beaujolais comes not just from the gamay grape, but also from the unusal style in which the wine is conceived.
The process itself is long and and steeped in tradition. The process is called carbonic maceration. During the process, clusters of grapes are put whole into fermentation tanks and the fermentation literally takes place inside each grape.
Carbonic maceration in theory could be used with just about any other grapes, however, it happens to be most successful with ultrafruity grapes, as with the gamay grape.
After fermentation, Beaujolias relaxes in tanks for five to nine months before coming to market. While 5 to nine months may not seem like a long time, it so happens that it's just enough time to take the grapey newborn edginess off the wine and allows it to emit a more fruity, flowery and spicey flavor.
Beaujolais is both the name of the place and the wine where it's produced. The vineyards of Beaujolias extend north to south for some-odd 35 miles over low granite hills in the southernmost reaches of Burgundy, France.
Beaujolais is considered part of Burgundy even though, aside from distance, the two regions have nearly nothing in common. For example, their climates are different; the grapes are completely dissimilar; the way the wines are created varies radically.
Even the essence of each wine is distinctive in and of itself. Beaujolais is as lighthearted as Burgundy is serious.
One big misconception regarding Beaujolais is that it's a once a year wine experience, typically drank in November when signs in bistros and cute little wine shops go up in flux.
As far as Beaujolias are concerned, there is a diffrence between what is commercial and what might be called "old-style" Beaujolais is critical for anyone who truly cares about essence and flavors.
By comparing the two, "old-style" Beaujolais is produced by a very small percentage of growers, who are often considered dye-hard fanatics. These traditionalist keep yields 20% to 30% below the amount allowed for production. They don't chaptalize, they filiter lightly, if at all, and hold the wine up to ten months, preferring to bottle it as an estate wine. Traditionally produced Beaujolais wines age the best and often take on an earthy, pinot noir-like characteristic as they age.
How can one tell traditionally made Beaujolias from commercially produced Beaujolais? Well, there really is no foolproof way of knowing; however, traditionally made Beaujolais often cost more, is generally bottled by an individual estate, and is usually imported into the U.S. by a limited number of select importers who specialize in small estates.
Select importers who specialize in top-notch, "old-style" Beaujolais include Alain Jugenet, Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner, Martine's Wines and Weygandt-Metzler.
The basic varieties are labeled very simply Beaujolais. This particular grape comes from mainly less distinguished vineyards in the south. While the soil there is much more fertile, the land is a lot more flat. As a result, the wines tend to be lighter, with less of a concentration in fruit flavors, but, there are some notable exceptions.
Beaujolais-Villages, is a little better in quality, it comes from 39 villages in the hilly midsection of the region. The soil here is a bit poorer, it's mostly composed of granite and sand, usually forcing the vines to struggle more and ultimately, it yields better grapes. Beaujolais-Villages wines are usually a blend of grapes of wines from several villages.
Better still is the Beaujolais Cru. In Beaujolais the word Cru doesn't indicate a vineyard as it does in other the French regions, but, rather, refers to ten special villages. Beaujolais Cru wines come from these villages, all of which are located on steep granite hills in the northern part of Beaujolais.
Should anyone drink Beaujolais chilled? oh yes, chill it. When Beaujolais is served cool but not cold to the touch, after about fifteen minutes in your wine refrigerator, its flavor simply exploded with fruits and spices. Chilling the wine, by the way, is customary in the region.
Beaujolais is similar to white wine in its expressiveness and thrist-quenching abilities. The personality of a beaujolais starts with the gamay grape.
The singular grape used in red Beaujolias is gamay. Gamay noir a jus blanc, to be precise. Distinguished as quite litterally a black grape that offers white juice. Ironically, a scant amount of white Beaujolais is also produced annually. Usually made from chardonnay and aligote grapes.
Gamay grapes flavanoids are frankly unmistakeable. Consider a rush of sweetened black cherries and black raspberry, then a whiff of peaches, violets, and roses, next comes a hint of peppery spiciness at the end. In many reds a confined rasp of tannin acts as a cover over the fruit flavors.
Not always found in Beaujolais. Gamay grapes are already low in tannins. They are naturally profuse in their fruitiness and more often seem much more dramatic. However, the personality of the Beaujolais comes not just from the gamay grape, but also from the unusal style in which the wine is conceived.
The process itself is long and and steeped in tradition. The process is called carbonic maceration. During the process, clusters of grapes are put whole into fermentation tanks and the fermentation literally takes place inside each grape.
Carbonic maceration in theory could be used with just about any other grapes, however, it happens to be most successful with ultrafruity grapes, as with the gamay grape.
After fermentation, Beaujolias relaxes in tanks for five to nine months before coming to market. While 5 to nine months may not seem like a long time, it so happens that it's just enough time to take the grapey newborn edginess off the wine and allows it to emit a more fruity, flowery and spicey flavor.
Beaujolais is both the name of the place and the wine where it's produced. The vineyards of Beaujolias extend north to south for some-odd 35 miles over low granite hills in the southernmost reaches of Burgundy, France.
Beaujolais is considered part of Burgundy even though, aside from distance, the two regions have nearly nothing in common. For example, their climates are different; the grapes are completely dissimilar; the way the wines are created varies radically.
Even the essence of each wine is distinctive in and of itself. Beaujolais is as lighthearted as Burgundy is serious.
One big misconception regarding Beaujolais is that it's a once a year wine experience, typically drank in November when signs in bistros and cute little wine shops go up in flux.
As far as Beaujolias are concerned, there is a diffrence between what is commercial and what might be called "old-style" Beaujolais is critical for anyone who truly cares about essence and flavors.
By comparing the two, "old-style" Beaujolais is produced by a very small percentage of growers, who are often considered dye-hard fanatics. These traditionalist keep yields 20% to 30% below the amount allowed for production. They don't chaptalize, they filiter lightly, if at all, and hold the wine up to ten months, preferring to bottle it as an estate wine. Traditionally produced Beaujolais wines age the best and often take on an earthy, pinot noir-like characteristic as they age.
How can one tell traditionally made Beaujolias from commercially produced Beaujolais? Well, there really is no foolproof way of knowing; however, traditionally made Beaujolais often cost more, is generally bottled by an individual estate, and is usually imported into the U.S. by a limited number of select importers who specialize in small estates.
Select importers who specialize in top-notch, "old-style" Beaujolais include Alain Jugenet, Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner, Martine's Wines and Weygandt-Metzler.
The basic varieties are labeled very simply Beaujolais. This particular grape comes from mainly less distinguished vineyards in the south. While the soil there is much more fertile, the land is a lot more flat. As a result, the wines tend to be lighter, with less of a concentration in fruit flavors, but, there are some notable exceptions.
Beaujolais-Villages, is a little better in quality, it comes from 39 villages in the hilly midsection of the region. The soil here is a bit poorer, it's mostly composed of granite and sand, usually forcing the vines to struggle more and ultimately, it yields better grapes. Beaujolais-Villages wines are usually a blend of grapes of wines from several villages.
Better still is the Beaujolais Cru. In Beaujolais the word Cru doesn't indicate a vineyard as it does in other the French regions, but, rather, refers to ten special villages. Beaujolais Cru wines come from these villages, all of which are located on steep granite hills in the northern part of Beaujolais.
Should anyone drink Beaujolais chilled? oh yes, chill it. When Beaujolais is served cool but not cold to the touch, after about fifteen minutes in your wine refrigerator, its flavor simply exploded with fruits and spices. Chilling the wine, by the way, is customary in the region.
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Want to find out more about Beaujolais Winesand Beaujolais Cru, then visit Marc Mansco's site on how to choose the best Beaujolais Wines for all your wine needs.