Beaujolais wine

History

Beaujolais owes its grape to a ban. In July 1395 the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, outlawed Gamay on the Côte d'Or, which pushed the variety south into Beaujolais, where it thrived on granite soils. The Beaujolais AOC was established in 1936. In 1985 the release of Beaujolais Nouveau was fixed on the third Thursday of November, and the young wine became a global marketing event; about a third of the region's production is sold as nouveau.

Terroir and appellations

The Beaujolais interprofession counts 13,500 hectares claimed under 12 appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages and ten crus. The north has sandy soils of granite origin and schist that give more structured wines; the south has clay and limestone soils on gentler slopes and produces lighter wines, mostly under the basic Beaujolais appellation. Geologists have described more than 300 soil types across the region. The ten crus, all in the north, are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly.

Grapes and wine styles

Gamay covers about 97% of the vineyard, and Chardonnay most of the rest, used for a small amount of white Beaujolais. Many producers use semi-carbonic maceration: whole bunches ferment in closed tanks, giving fruity, low-tannin wines. Beaujolais Nouveau is bottled within weeks of harvest and meant for early drinking. The crus are more serious red wines: Fleurie and Chiroubles are known for finesse, while Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent produce fuller wines that can age for several years. Labels usually show only the cru name, not the word Beaujolais.

Beaujolais wine: questions and answers

Other wine regions of France

• Bordeaux
• Burgundy
• Champagne
• Alsace
• Rhône Valley
• Loire Valley
• Provence
• Languedoc-Roussillon
• South West France
• Jura