A hot growing season, with some rain in June but very little in July and August, has resulted in excellent Gamay grapes in France’s Beaujolais region, which producers expect will result in some of the area's best wine ever.
The juice from the grapes was especially dark this year, similar to the color of 2005, when grapes had the most concentrated color the region had seen since 1976, said Jean-Luc Berger, technical manager of Inter Beaujolais, the region’s wine trade association.
“The combination of deliciously sweet, small, thick-skinned berries -- displaying a perfect balance of sugar and acidity -- and extremely low yields, has winemakers and producers anticipating that 2009 will be one of the greatest vintages Beaujolais has ever known," Inter Beaujolais said in a statement.
This year’s grapes have complex aromas and strong flavors of small red fruits as well as peach and violet, the organization said.
High-quality tannins are abundant in the wine, at levels comparable to those in 2005, which bode well for good structure, length and finish as well as an ability to age better than is typical for Beaujolais, whose wines are usually drunk young.
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