Anthony Gismondi: Jump in quality the real Beaujolais story
Credit to Author: agismondi| Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2019 19:00:21 +0000
Two days in Beaujolais earlier this fall provided both a 101 refresher of the famous French appellation and an opportunity to be reacquainted with what is a beautiful stretch of wine country terroir.
Today, in conjunction with Beaujolais Nouveau week, we offer a quick report on the quaint yet re-emerging, French wine region famous for its juicy, Gamay-based red wine.
Beaujolais Nouveau is hardly the event it was in the 1970s, but it remains a fun week across Beaujolais. The Nouveau phenomena began back in the 1950s, when distributors began competing each year in a race to deliver the first bottles to Paris.
In the 1970s, Georges Duboeuf, a significant producer of Beaujolais Nouveau, took the festivities to the world announcing the now-famous phrase “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”
Today, parties on the third Thursday in November take place around the world, and the wine has never been better or more fun to drink.
Beaujolais locals celebrate to mark the end of long days harvesting grapes and making wine, while elsewhere consumers seem to delight in the party atmosphere that surrounds the Nouveau launch during one of the dreariest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Beaujolais Nouveau, or the new Beaujolais, is, in fact, wine of the current (2019) harvest. It goes to bottle less than 60 days after it is crushed and fermented, and it’s meant to be drunk, preferably before Christmas.
It’s hardly a serious wine but rather an antidote to endless rich, 90+ point reds that can rock you with their alcohol and high price.
B.C. Liquor Stores no longer touts the Beaujolais Nouveau release, but I notice they will be selling three different 2019 labels this month: Mommesin Beaujolais Nouveau ($19), Mommesin Beaujolais Nouveau Rose ($19), and Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau ($19). If you haven’t tasted a Nouveau in a decade or two, give it a chance — you may be pleasantly surprised by its quality.
Nouveau aside, the real Beaujolais story is what is going on today across the region and the apparent jump in quality, especially among the crus.
The Beaujolais AOC applies to the entire appellation, but the reds are easily divided into three spheres:
• Entry-level AOC Beaujolais Rouge (5,863 hectares), grown on clay soils, hails from the flatter areas in the south.
• AOC Beaujolais Villages (4518 hectares) is comprised of 38 communes in the wooded mountains to the west of the region, where better exposure and better concentration ensures it is a real step up in quality.
• All the new excitement is emanating from the 10 crus of Beaujolais (6190 hectares) that are the best individual AOCs of Beaujolais. The crus each have a personality that stems from their exposure and soils on the rolling hillsides of northern Beaujolais. Generally, they are more abundant in flavours and more sophisticated without losing that slippery, fruity exuberant undercarriage that makes them so drinkable.
A quick synopsis of the 10 crus would suggest they are not equal but very different. Saint-Amour, the most northerly cru, is light and packed with soft red fruit. Julienas is the most rustic, with weighty, dark fruit flavours with an earthy undercurrent. Chénas, the smallest in area, is more mineral and, dare we say, more Burgundian. Moulin-à-Vent, one of the biggest crus, is all about structure, tannin and aging ability. Fleurie is the pretty one — floral, soft and delicious.
Chiroubles is grown at the highest elevations and pitches delicate red berry fruit. Morgon is closer to the Moulin-à-Vent style, making rich, mineral, stony reds that can age. Régnié, the youngest cru that was admitted in 1998, has a supple spicy red fruit demeanour you can drink young. Côte de Brouilly grows on the slopes of an ancient volcano, where superior drainage and more sunshine yields a riper, more substantial style. Brouilly, the most southerly cru, is fresh, friendly and gulpable.
Reading about and tasting Beaujolais is one thing; travelling to the region is something else. Put it on your next European wine tour; you will not be disappointed by the people, the food, the wine, or the towns.
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais 2018, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France
$14.99 | 86/100
UPC: 03351650000061
Expect the classic fruity Beau-Jo nose with bits of cedar and earth to keep it interesting. The palate is spicy and fresh with juicy, uncomplicated, red fruit from front to back. Quail would be the perfect match, but less fussy dishes like a margherita pizza or spicy tuna sushi roll would be equally fun.
Louis Latour Gamay Bourgogne 2016, Burgundy, France
$25.99 | 87/100
UPC: 3566921000729
Gamay from declassified Beaujolais Crus can use the term Bourgogne Gamay as of the 2011 vintage, as is the case with this Louis Latour. It is 85 to 90 per cent cru (mostly Chenas, Regnie and Moulin-a-Vent) with 10 per cent Pinot Noir from Burgundy. The nose is showing a bit of mushroom and oak with brighter fruits underneath. The attack is fresh, with bright red fruit and a splash of pepper licorice and black tea in the finish. Richer than Beaujolais Village and not quite as cerebral as Cru Bojo. Great mid-week red with ham or sausages.
Mathieu & Camille Lapierre Morgon 2018, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France
$46.99 | 92/100
UPC: 00831906004140
Slick and stony with crunchy acidity and black fruit; you can sense how alive this biodynamic Morgon is the moment it hits your palate, and the wild herbs and bitter cherries carry through to a salty, stony, finish. This Morgon is every bit a cru, and will no doubt be among the leading sites to be chosen for the next level of Beaujolais before the next decade is out. It was perfect with chile-lime black bean tacos.
Domaine Baron de l’Ecluse Côte de Brouilly Les Garances 2016, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France
$38.99 | 89/100
UPC: 3760088470559
A serious cru built for aging. The viticulture is sustainable; the ferment is traditional in cement while the aging in oak takes place in two-year-old barrels. Look for slightly elevated tannins that will disperse with time and a rich, toasted black fruit-licorice flavours that finished dry and well structured. You could drink this now with a steak and peppercorn sauce or perhaps a duck dish, or wait another year or two for the final result.
Domaine des Marrans Fleurie 2015, Fleurie, Beaujolais Villages, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France
$45.99 | 91/100
UPC: 3569618608758
Domaine des Marrans is located in Fleurie, in the heart of the northernmost section of Beaujolais and is run by the talented Mathieu Mélinand, who joined the family estate just over a decade ago. Old vines and crystalline granite soils yield the silkiest, pristine Gamay grown in Beaujolais. The fruit is all hand-harvested from old vines (now farmed using organic practices), and the vinification is old school, with semi-carbonic maceration, whole clusters, minimal intervention, and indigenous yeasts. The wine is aged in large older barrels for 10 months before bottling. The attack is delicious. Juicy, silky, black raspberries and bright red strawberries laced with stony mineral flecks that coat the palate. It’s everything you could hope for in a Fleurie and more. Perfect with pork or veal or a favourite soft cheese.
Known in North Africa as dag hareef, this spicy fish bathed in a flaming-red fiery sauce that begs for a thick slice of bread for dipping. This version comes from Shuk, a colourful new cookbook by New York restaurateur Einat Admony and Tel Aviv food writer Janna Gur featuring the exciting cuisine of Israel. This dish is meant to be spicy, but how spicy is up to you. Start with half the amount of harissa and chili, and fire the dish up to your liking.
Spicy Fish in Cherry Tomato and Harissa Sauce
⅓ cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
10 garlic cloves, smashed
¼ cup (60 mL) tomato paste
1 jalapeño chili, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 tbsp (15 mL) harissa
3 tbsp (45 mL) sweet paprika
1 tsp (5 mL) ground caraway
1½ tsp (7.5 mL) ground cumin
2 pints (910 g) cherry tomatoes
Kosher salt
½ cup (125 mL) water
1 large bunch fresh cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper
6 7-oz (200 g) fillets of snapper or halibut
Pour oil into a deep, large skillet. Add garlic cloves and cook over very low heat just until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add the tomato paste, half the jalapeño, 1½ tsp (7.5 mL) of the harissa, and all the paprika, caraway, and cumin, and stir for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add 1½ pints (680 g) of the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to break down, 7 to 8 minutes. Pour in the water and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until thick and saucy.
Set aside 3 tbsp (45 mL) of whole cilantro leaves. Tear up the rest of the bunch and toss into the pan. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and the remaining jalapeño and 1½ tsp (7.5 mL) harissa if you want more heat. Add the fish fillets, skin-side up, tucking them gently into the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining ½ pint (225 g) cherry tomatoes on top of the fish. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, without stirring, until the fish is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes.
Serve straight out of the pan, garnished with the reserved whole cilantro leaves, with bread or couscous.
Makes 6 servings.
The active ingredient is the harissa sauce, and I think you can go two ways: Riesling/Gewürztraminer or a fruity, red Grenache — any should temper the spice and balance the dish.
Upper Bench Riesling Limited Release 2018, Okanagan Valley, $22
A medium-weight grapefruit, Granny Smith apple affair flecked with lime and peaches that should tame the spice and brighten the fish dish.
Château Pesquié Ventoux Les Terrasses 2018, Ventoux, Rhone Valley, France, $19.99
A ripe, fleshy black raspberry, black cherry with a peppery finish that falls in line with harissa sauce, intensifying the dish.
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