Much has been written about the plight of French wines in the United States and United Kingdom—how so many of today’s wine drinkers favor the taste of New World wines and no longer relate to the dryer, leaner, less-fruity style of wine that is so common in France.
What does surprise and disappoint us, however, is that the wine trade has not turned to Beaujolais as a middle ground. Of all the red wines of France, Beaujolais is perhaps the most suited to modern diners’ thirst for fruity, flavorful wines.
Among French wines it is something of an anomaly because it has exuberant fruitiness and high flavor intensity, and it does not give the impression of being particularly dry. These are all characteristics of wines beloved by fans of Australian Shirazes and Californian Pinot Noirs. The characteristics also typify most Cabernets from California retailing for about $12 or less per bottle.
WINE OF THE WEEK 2006 Georges Duboeuf “Flower Label” Fleurie This is a pretty, rather than a powerful, Beaujolais cru wine that is particularly easy to like. It has aromas of flowers and red fruits and in the mouth is smooth and round with tannin that is very fine-grained and unobtrusive. It’s still young and should improve over the next year. Wholesale case price: Approximately $120
One of the big differences between Beaujolais wines and other popular wines is the lack of a grape name on Beaujolais labels. If Beaujolais were to be labeled varietally, many consumers would not recognize the grape name, Gamay. The Gamay grape is one of those niche varieties that is ideally suited to its native region, Beaujolais and southern Burgundy, but has made no inroads elsewhere.
Beaujolais goes by many names. Besides basic, region-wide Beaujolais wines and the more substantial Beaujolais-Villages wines, which come from a more limited production zone in the northern part of the region, the Beaujolais region also produces cru wines named only for their very specific vineyard areas. These crus have the fruity flavors that consumers crave, but to a slightly less degree than the most basic Beaujolais, and they do not carry the commercial image of Beaujolais Nouveau.
Each of the 10 cru Beaujolais wines—Saint Amour, Julienas, Chenas, Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly—has its own distinct personality within the larger context of fruity, flavorful Gamay. The four fullest and most substantial wines are Moulin-a-Vent, Chenas, Julienas and Morgon. The lightest of the ten cru wines are generally those from Brouilly, Regnié and Chiroubles. The remaining three wines occupy a middle ground stylistically, and St. Amour wines tend to be the lightest of this middle group.
The current vintage for many of these wines is 2005, which was a vintage of relatively small crop size due to hail in the spring. We have found the 2006 crus to be somewhat lighter but very classic, with mineral aromas and flavors and the usual cherry, berry and floral notes. Several of the 2006 crus entered the market in April, while others are still aging at wineries.
