Beaujolais - The Perfect Quaffing Red

"Beaujolais is the only red wine region in the world producing wine that flaunts gaiety, lightness, youthfulness and extroverted fragrance: the most perfect ‘quaffing’ red equally at home with or without food.

The region is fascinating, with rolling hills with numerous beautiful, unspoilt villages scattered all around. Beaujolais is a hospitable area where there are 7,000 growers, many with cellars open to the public. The village cooperatives all have cellars for tasting (you have not lived until you have experienced a Saturday afternoon touring the cellars and finished at the tasting caveau at Villié Morgon).

A designated driver is a good idea! It seems that in August every second Dutch, Swiss and Belgian restaurateur clutches his wife or girlfriend, hops into the Volvo estate and tours the villages tasting and buying. When the car is fully loaded he returns home with sufficient discoveries to keep the wine list interesting until the New Year."
From my first book, “Enjoying Wine”.

My Mate, the late, great John Arlott, was a great fan of good Beaujolais. He enjoyed copious quantities and wrote in Burgundy, Vines & Wines:
“More than any other red wine it should be drunk cellar-cool, when all its youth and attractiveness become apparent. In its versatility it makes a happy partner for almost any meat, poultry, cheese, pasta or egg dish. Yet, it is so eminently drinkable that it has a reputation of being, above all, a wine for swigging. Indeed, it is reputed to be the only wine that truly quenches thirst."

AND WE SHIP FROM THREE GREAT GROWERS

Definitely NOT coming to a supermarket near you!

For the British consumer there is a major problem. The top growers, with only small amounts available for export, are of little interest to most wine retailers – far too complicated. It is easier to ask the big boys for samples, and never have to leave the office (ever noticed how often Georges DuBoeuf appears on lists?) There is nothing wrong with these big names, but the majority of their wines lack excitement. I prefer the more complicated approach.

GAĖL MARTIN SAINT VERAN
I realise that it is rather cheeky to class this as ‘Beaujolais’ ….but Saint Veran is a neighbouring appellation, and in the old days all the produce went into “Beaujolais Blanc”. Now the growers produce great wines under its own name…

SAINT VERAN 2007 “CUVÉE OPHELIE” £24.50
A fabulous 100% unoaked Chardonnay. In fact one of the most fascinating white wines I have tasted in the past few years. Heaps of glorious ripe flavours – honeysuckle, peaches….You name it, the taste buds tingle!

JEAN-MARC LAFOREST DOMAINE CHEZ LE BOIS
I met Jean-Marc when I was juror at the 1999 Fete des Crus Beaujolais .His Regnie was unanimously awarded a Gold Medal. Then we judged it the finest wine of the show…..”Double Gold” as they say in Sydney. A month later it struck Gold in Paris, and he hasn’t looked back!

REGNIE 2007 £21.50
A whoosh of vibrant, intense raspberry fruit with a zippy elegance

BROUILLY 2007 £22.50
Lovely depth of cassis & raspberries balanced with a lingering, soft, unctuous finish. One of the greatest bottlings of Cru Beaujolais I have ever tasted, and in the words of Guy Northridge, my doctor, I have enjoyed “far too many bottles!”

FRÉDÉRIC BÉNAT DOMAINE LE COTOYAN
Now here I was extremely lucky! Frédéric’s son Geoffray did an ‘English stage’ working for us, and said “I never expected to work for an Englishman with such a passion for Beaujolais…try these wines, they are my father’s”. Despite the fact he got my nationality wrong, I was hooked! What a class act. The 15 hectare estate is in Julienas, one of the smallest of the Cru. It features regularly in my bible Le Guide Hachette des Vins.

JULIENAS 2006 £22.50
A lovely scented nose with heaps of luscious cherries.

SAINT AMOUR 2006 Gold Medal £22.50
One of my favourites of the ten Cru. The granite soils produce a rich style of Beaujolais. This one is packed with soft & silky rounded plums and redcurrants. Stunning stuff!