Master Class on the complexity, charms, and beauty of Beaujolais

Had been in London for just over a week for the third session of the Bordeaux Ecole du Management Wine MBA when the opportunity to sample a sublime selection of Beaujolais came about.  London is a wonderful city to be in for the study of the business of wine, but an even more engaging location for sampling wines from around the world.  This place vibrates with vinous venues spreading throughout the city as so many shoots on a vigorous vine.  Occasions to taste and explore are behind nearly every wine shop door and trade events occur on a daily basis.  However, with the course load weighing heavily, I had to limit the number of tastings, choosing those that offer oenological observation opportunities of true exploration, and this is how I found myself attending a Beaujolais Master Class sponsored by Inter Beaujolais and presented by Isabelle Legeron, MW.

Beaujolais is a misunderstood and vastly under-rated wine region, yet it holds a special place in my memory as it was a bottle of Beaujolais Morgon by Marcel Lapierre sipped in 1995 that woke my palate and propelled me along the continuing road of unearthing all I could about wine.  Why Beaujolais and Gamay rather than a more storied appellation, with its superstar grape? Good question and one that I’ve thought about more and more as I slip further and further into this passion as a business path.  Why indeed. More tasting was the need.

Began the evening with a bottle of Sorrenberg Gamay from Beechworth, a cool climate region of Victoria, Australia.  I chose this wine because it is a unique expression of the Gamay grape and wanted to see how different, if at all, it would be from the Beaujolais tasted later that evening. The wine was brambly on the nose, with warm spice and even some cola, hinting at warmth and ripeness. On the palate, it was velvety, and rather voluptuous, yet neither weighty nor sloppy. It was balanced. I had another glass. With the Sorrenberg on my palate and in my mind, I arrived at the tasting ready to travel the Beaujolais vineyards along the Natural Wine way under the guidance of Beaujolais lover and natural wine proponent Isabelle Legeron, MW (www.thatcrazyfrenchwoman.com)

The Master Class commenced with two Beaujolais Blanc, each nice and tight, full of life and light, perfect wines to segue into the night.  The Terres Dorees Jean Paul Brun 2009 had a nose of apple and pear, with dancing acidity on the palate while the Chateau du Chatelard 2009 was lush but not fat, with great minerality, some slight creaminess and a lingering, gratifying finish.  The wines could persuade the Chardonnay haters to give the variety another chance, as these were definitely wines one could sip throughout a meal with great delight.

After such charming whites, Isabelle ever so gently introduced the audience to Beaujolais Rouge with three, lighter, AOC, expressions. I preferred the Chateau Cambon 2010, with its floral, spiced nose and concentrated palate of crunchy red apples, taunting me to have another glass. I would have if I could have, but with the ten Crus yet to sample, had to say no, perhaps another time.   Deftly arranged, the Crus were tasted in the following order: Chiroubles, Brouilly, Regnie, Fleurie, Saint-Amour, Cote de Brouilly, Julienas, Chenas, Morgon, and finishing with Moulin-a-Vent.  All wines were from viticulturalists who practice natural wine making, choosing minimal manipulation in the winery and organic vineyards for fruit.  With the exception of the Moulin-a-Vent, all wines were from the “Outstanding” 2009 and 2010 vintages.  One of the more interesting contrasts were the two wines from Fleurie.  While the “Le Printemps” by Domaine Yvon Metras was all roses, seductively scented and presently palate pleasing, the Julien Sunier 2009 boasted more minerality on the nose, with a tight palate structured for a few years of aging and the further deepening of both nose and palate.  If you can find either, buy some.

Moving along the Crus to more depth, we arrived at Morgon and some 2010 Marcel Lapierre. Sadly, this was the vintage that marked the end of an era as Mr. Lapierre, who in the early 1980′s began following the natural wine teachings of Jules Chauvet, passed away due to melanoma complications.  His son, Mathieu finished this vintage brilliantly, allowing the ripeness to show, yet not overrule the wine.  As I sipped, my memory recalled the wine that in 1995 brought me into to the world of wine as art, something to be revered and savored rather than collected as an investment, like so many stocks on the market.  Anyhow, back to Beaujolais, it was superlative with notes of berries, bramble, game, and mushrooms with a lively palate that, like the Sorrenberg, was velvety and voluptuous, yet it had an underpinning note of nervousness that made it almost ethereal with electric energy, which is something a bit more than the Sorrenberg. Maybe an argument on terroir, but that is for another time. Both were excellent wines, but my palate preferred the Lapierre on that particular evening.  The final wine of the tasting was a 2006 Moulin-a-Vent “Vignes du Tremblay” by Domaine Janin.  This was a boasting Beaujolais, with notes of rusting iron and youthful balsamic on the nose, with drying red fruits, game, and sinewy tannins on the palate.  While a nice wine, felt it was nearing its “dumb phase” and in need of few years slumber to awaken with more depth and finesse.  Great way to end the evening by showing how Crus Beaujolais have the stuffing to cellar.

So, the question, “why Beaujolais and Gamay”. Maybe it is just a mythic memory created with time, but I believe it is the utter unpretentious of the wines, their countryside manners, earthy, easily approachable and fun, yet with great complexity and minerality from the perfect marriage of grape, soil, and weather that in the capable hands of respectful vignerons, produces wines capable of profound pleasure, which, after all, is what wine should be.