Cru Beaujolais 2009

2009 - an EPIC vintage!

Not all Beaujolais is equal.

The descriptions for the wines below will be here in a little bit (by 7:00pm Wed.).

I LOVE "Cru Beaujolais." It's one of the truly undervalued areas in the world. People hear "Beaujolais" and immediately think, "Beaujolais Nouveau." Cru Beaujolais shouldn't be compared to Beaujolais Nouveau. This is much more like a Burgundy than it is the candied fruit of Nouveau.

"Cru Beaujolais" designates the 10 villages in Northern Beaujolais that comprise the best growing areas - Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Saint-Amour, Chenas, Morgon, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Moulin-a-Vent, Julienas and the "new kid on the block," Regnie. These areas are hillier than the rest of Beaujolais and have much rockier soils.

Many factors influence the quality of grapes:

1. Weather - this changes each year
2. Location - southern-facing hillsides get more sunshine than flat ones
3. Yields per acre - the smaller the yield, the better the grapes
4. Soil composition

Think of Beaujolais as a rectangle. The bottom third of the rectangle is where Beaujolais Nouveau is produced and its grapes grown. A great harvest in the Nouveau area is A LOT of grapes (the highest yields are in this area). The land in this part is quite flat. The middle third is where Beaujolais Villages is produced. The land is becoming rockier and more hilly. The northern third is where Cru Beaujolais is produced. The hillsides are steeper. The soil is rockier. Despite being the northernmost part of this wine-making region, the grapes here ripen earlier than elsewhere in Beaujolais because of the sunny hillsides.

Beaujolais is the southernmost part of Burgundy. It's unlike Burgundy in that the red grape is Gamay and white wine only makes up about 1% of wine production. It's similar to Burgundy in that the weather year year DETERMINES the quality of the grapes in many ways. Another similarity is that location of the vineyards determines the quality of the grapes.

Onto the Crus!

Georges DuBœuf "La Trinquée" Juliénas 2009 (Beajuolais) $14.99 - one of the CLASSic CRU's.....this is CRU BEAUJOLAIS.....lots of red fruit, black fruit, balance.....mocha, dark chocolate.....not tannic.....smooth and rich!

Domaine de la Tour du Bief Moulin-a-Vent 2009 (Beaujolais) $16.99 - This is our favorite of the CRUS and the richest and boldest! Dark fruit and vanilla and coconut dominate this wine.....GREAT with poultry!

Georges DuBœuf Morgon Jean Descombes 2009 (Beajuolais) $15.99 - It's a Morgon and that means dark richness....this has a wonderful ripe, dark berry character to the wine and this cool salinity.....Robert Parker, 91 points