Stylish, fruity and affordable: Our selection of Beaujolais wine
CHEAP and cheerful? Our expert revisits Beaujolais and discovers real quality.
Cheap and cheerful? Our expert revisits Beaujolais and discovers real quality
Head south from Burgundy in France and you hit its neighbouring wine region, Beaujolais. In the past, Burgundy has been the successful, sexy region and Beaujolais has serviced the lower end of the market, with simple, fruity, inexpensive wines.
Now the prices in Burgundy have gone sky-high, wine enthusiasts are beginning to take another look at Beaujolais and its own grape variety, gamay.
Given lots of care and love, it turns out that Beaujolais has some great vineyards and that gamay is a superb grape variety. Here are seven wines that will change your mind about this exciting wine region with so much to offer.
Rémi Benon Chénas 2015 £12.95, tanners-wines.co.uk (01743 234500), 14% alcohol
Dense and focused, this red is brimming with bold raspberry and cherry fruit, plus it has some grippy tannins and a bit of tarry, spicy richness. It’s chunky and vivid with a savoury twist to the sweet red and black fruits and should be viewed as a quality tipple.
Domaine Julien Sunier Fleurie 2015 £19.95, bbr.com (0800 280 2440), 13% alcohol
This is meaty, spicy and dense with rich berry fruits and a touch of spicy pepper. It’s a very rich style of Beaujolais with a bit of a wild side, and I absolutely love it.
Marks & Spencer Fleurie 2016 £11.50, Marks & Spencer, 13% alcohol
From old vines planted in pink granite soils, this red is juicy and stony with red cherries, raspberries and a savoury edge. Good enough to drink on its own, it’s also delicious with food.
Domaine de Sermezy Saint Pierre Brouilly 2015 £11.50, jeroboams.co.uk (020 7288 8888), 13% alcohol
This red is supple and elegant with a lovely presence to the raspberry and cherry fruit. It has purity, finesse and a good structure. Sophisticated stuff.
Jean-Paul Thévenet Morgon Tradition Le Clachet 2015 £18, robersonwine.com (020 7381 7870), 13.5% alcohol
Here’s a truly beautiful bottle of gamay with gorgeous aromatics and flavoursome cherries and herbs. So pure and elegant, it’s one of the very best I’ve tried.
Domaine Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py 2014 £12.95, thewinesociety.com (01438 741177), 13% alcohol
This is a seriously good, age-worthy (although it drinks well now) red at a great price. It’s bursting with structured blackberry and black cherry fruit, but also has a bit of savoury grip. It’s food-friendly, too.
Château de Pizay Morgon 2016 £11.99 or £9.99 each for six, Majestic, 13% alcohol
Supple, fruity and rounded, this red has lots of attractive sweet raspberry and cherry fruit flavours. It’s nicely weighted, silky smooth and is everything a traditional Beaujolais should be.