Beaujolais – Nouveau

And the name of this versatile, enjoyable wine? Beaujolais, of course.

If your thoughts have now drifted to the sight of a "Le Beaujolais est arriv" notice pasted up in the window of an indifferent restaurant in mid-November, banish those thoughts immediately. Beaujolais has moved on, and so should we.

In the 1980s some restaurateurs thought it would be a great idea to race from the vineyards to home with the first bottles of new wine, just to get some news coverage. It worked. Beaujolais races were great fun – I did several myself, broadcasting on radio from a roadside phone box somewhere in France, in the days long before mobiles. And while the Beaujolais races brought attention to the region, it took the focus away from the wine. The region started to float on a sea of thin, acidic wine, some of which was still fizzy when it was bottled. Speed was everything – quality nowhere.

But time moves on and so has the region. Now the producers of Beaujolais are happy that they no longer have the world waiting for their wine on the third weekend of November. They are delighted that they can give their wine the attention it deserves, rather than rushing it though fermentation and into the bottle. And they are particularly pleased that the 2009 vintage is the best they have seen for more than a decade.

Beaujolais is an extension of Burgundy. Butted up against the southern reaches of Macon, the best vineyards occupy rolling granite-based hills and it is here that grapes ripen to produce the best flavours. Further south the land is flatter with more clay, and this is the powerhouse of the region, pumping out easy-drinking, quaffing Beaujolais.

The quality scale is easy to follow. Plain Beaujolais usually comes from the more southern part of the region. The best 43 villages, all of them in the north of the region can call their wine Beaujolais Villages and the top 10 villages, the Crus, need not put Beaujolais on the label at all. Their village name of Julinas, Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin Vent and others is enough to define its style.

The grape variety in Beaujolais is Gamay, a grape that captures raspberry, cherry and black pepper notes with varying degrees of success depending on vineyard.

This is the grape that was banished from Burgundy in the 15th century because it produced inferior wine, but it does well in Beaujolais and it responds well to a particular method of winemaking. Instead of the usual crush, ferment and press technique, a lot of Gamay is put through Maceration Carbonique, a method which allows the grapes to start their fermentation under a blanket of carbon dioxide. This gives a wine that captures youthful, juicy fruit, sometimes with a clear note of bananas in the mix.

2009 was a great year for the region with a warm dry August which allowed grapes to be picked early at full maturity. "But the nights were cool,"said Marion Fessy of Henry Fessy, "which means that the wines are balanced."

If you haven't tried a Beaujolais for a while you might like to get your taste buds in tune with the terrific straight 2009 Beaujolais from Marks and Spencer (6.49).

Its young, juicy, lively fruit is in stark contrast to the mouth-puckering acidity you might remember from Beaujolais Nouveau days of old. This is light enough to withstand chilling to enjoy on a warm sunny day with salmon or chicken.

The next step up is a Beaujolais Villages wine and my choice here is Combe aux Jacques from Jadot (Waitrose 8.99). This famous Burgundy house bought into the Beaujolais region a decade ago and has invested in quality winemaking.

This is a more serious wine, but it still captures the juiciness and quaffability of good Beaujolais.

Another notch up in quality is Beaujolais Villages 2009 from Ch du Chatelard (The Halifax Wine Co, 01422 256333) which is run by Sylvain and Isabelle Rosier. Sylvain gave up his regular job as a radio station manager in Paris to buy and run this estate which is now totally organic and moving towards biodynamic viticulture.

Moving up to the Beaujolais Crus, it is worth checking out the wines of Henry Fessy which are in reasonable distribution in Waitrose and some independents. Henry Fessy Brouilly 2009 (Waitrose 9.99) captures clear, red cherry fruit with a backing of light tannins and a long, lively finish. Too good to drink on its own, team this with

light summer foods such as a vegetable stir-fry.

Flourish and Prosper in Howden (01430 430006) has the 2007 vintage of Moulin Vent from Henry Fessy which is perfect for drinking now. The image of Beaujolais is that it must be opened and drunk quickly, but the better quality wines need some time to develop.

Ch de Pizay is a grand estate with hotel, spa and a historic winery and it was there that I tasted a range of Beaujolais wines going back over 20 years. The silky tannins and complex style showed that these wines can age, although I really did prefer the bright, young, structured flavours of Ch de Pizay Morgon 2009 (Majestic 6.99 on multibuy) which is the signature wine of the estate.

Lighter in style, with rather more elegance is Fleurie Domaine de la Madone 2009 from Jean Marc Despres (Harrogate Fine Wine, 01423 522270) made from grapes grown around the church at the top of the hill in Fleurie. Fresh and lively now, this is a wine that will age over the next few years.

YP MAG 17/7/10