Fresh, fruity and charming, Beaujolais is the ultimate quaffer - sometimes. In our opinion, the reputation of this region has suffered from broad commercialization and the mistaken concept that all Beaujolais is as simple as Beaujolais Nouveau. While it's true that a lot of Beaujolais is fruit juicy, candy scented and not distinct, real Beaujolais (as we like to call it) is a completely different drink.
The best Beaujolais (real Beaujolais) typically comes from small growers who control vineyard yields, hand harvest and ferment their wines in a "traditional" Burgundian fashion. These examples, from Beaujolais-Villages to Cru Beaujolais are richly fruited, with pure vibrant flavors, lots of nuance, succulent acidity and subtle terroir distinctions. At Village level they will develop with a few years in the bottle, and the Crus are capable of longer aging, sometimes requiring time to show their stuff.
The Crus represent the top tier of the Beaujolais hierarchy. Ten villages are entitled to this classification - Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Chenas, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Julienas, Regnie, Saint-Amour, Morgon and Moulin-A-Vent. The last two are often considered 10 year wines, but all Crus benefit tremendously from at least 3 - 5 years bottle age.
Beaujolais, Beaujolais Superieur and Beaujolais-Villages represent the balance of the wines produced in the region. The distinctions relate to both location and degrees of alcohol. Beaujolais must have at least 9.5 percent alcohol, whereas the Superieur (as well as Villages) must have a minimum of 10%. Additionally, the Villages wines are produced in one of 39 (appropriately classified) communes. But, as always, classification is somewhat less significant than the grower. And I'm not just talking grape quality - wine making is equally important. It's the difference between a banana-nosed fruit-fest and the complexity of fresh cherries, berries, nuance and depth. Real Beaujolais is real wine.
