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Beaujolais is a
historical province and a wine-producing region in France. It is now part
of the Burgundy région for administrative purposes. Wine The region is
known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, and more
recently for the enormously popular Beaujolais nouveau. The Beaujolais
is a French AOC wine, almost all Beaujolais wines are reds of the Gamay
grape but like most AOC wines are not labelled varietally. Whites from the
region, which make up only 1% of its production, are made with Chardonnay
grapes. Beaujolais
tends to be a very light bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of
acidity which makes it less a casual sipping wine and one more suited to
food. Most Beaujolais
should be drunk within the first three years of its life. Only the best
examples of the ten "crus" listed below - and produced by the best vintners
- improve with age for up to ten years. Wines labeled
simply "Beaujolais" account for 50% of the production. Beaujolais
Villages makes up 25% of the region's production, and comes from better
vineyard sites in and around the ten "crus" in the north part of Beaujolais. Wine from these
individual crus, which make up the balance, can be more full-bodied, darker
in color, and significantly longer lived. Unfortunately
for the unknowing wine drinker, these wines do not usually use the word
"Beaujolais" on the label, leaving one with little recourse but to memorize
the list. The ten crus
are: Morgon,
Moulin-à-Vent, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Saint-Amour, Chiroubles, Chénas,
Fleurie, Juliénas, and most recently, Régnié. By far, the
largest production comes from the négoçiant Georges Duboeuf, who makes the
well-known "flower labels". |
