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Putting Beaujolais back on the map

"The British wine trade is currently all agog about the quality of the 2009 Beaujolais, eulogizing its drinkability and the fact that serious wines are now made here, with the dreaded beaujolais nouveau but a memory. It's time to take Beaujolais seriously again", they chorus.

Domaine Henry Fessy, producer of wines from all of the 10 Beaujolais crus, namely Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié and Saint Armour, also makes the more basic Beaujolais-Villages and a really tasty and quite rare Beaujolais blanc.

"2009 was a marvelous vintage and a good way to put beaujolais back on the map," says winemaker Laurent Chevalier. "Forget all about Beaujolais nouveau. That was then and this is now. It was a great marketing tool in the seventies and a golden river for producers to pick in September, sell in October and drink in November But as a region we've outgrown it, concentrating instead on making the best we can at the top end".

This top end - the aforementioned 10 crus - often gets dismissed as being rather lightweight and not in the same league as the great wines of Burgundy and the Rhône. They are certainly not so expensive, with a top Fleury around half the price of a top Beaune or a half-decent Hermitage, but that is no reason to take them lightly.

Tasting all the 2009 range, the wines are hugely appealing with luscious juicy red and black fruit, soft tannins and gentle acidity. Although all are from the same grape (100% gamay), they do differ. The Fleurie is round and generous, the Juliénne more tannic and complex and the Chiroubles elegant and fine. We're often told that Beaujolais can be drunk young when it is vibrant and refreshing but these wines age very well.

Today, burgundy is too pricey and beaujolasis too cheap; fine Beaujolais is an ideal credit crunch wine. Instead of spending £30 on a bottle of crus classé claret, top burgundy or rhône you could spend the same on three bottles of Juliénas, say, and enjoy its rhône-like youth or let it mature into something slightly burgundian.

"There are indeed elements of both Burgundy and the Rhône in the wines of Beaujolais," Chevalier says, "But we make gamay here, with around 90% of the world's plantings, and we value our independence. We see ourselves as a proud little Gaulois village holding out against outsiders thanks to our magic potion."

The magical properties cannot be vouched for, but on this evidence the potion's an extremely drinkable one.

Extracted from an article by Jonathan Ray published in the Telegraph on 26th June 2010. "Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century. It has been often cultivated because it makes for abundant production; however it can produce wines of distinction when planted on acidic soils, which help to soften the grape's naturally high acidity." (from Wikipedia)

A French recipe

RECETTES DES CUISSES DE GRENOUILLES

1. Prendre une douzaine de cuisses par personne
2. Les essuyer, les rouler dans la farine
3. Les faire sauter 6mn dans du beurre bien chaud et en les retournant
4. Saler, poivrer
5. Disposer les cuisses cuites sur un plat de service
6. Parsemer d'ail et de persil haché
7. Napper les cuisses du beurre de caisson auquel on peut ajouter un jus de citron
8. Décorer de rondelles de citron et de persil
9. Servir très chaud.

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