Sunday, April 2, 2017


Recent Beaujolais Wines Drunk -- Part I

The good news is that each year brings the discovery of more producers of quality.  However, quantities in recent years have been mixed (and in 2016, as in Côte d’Or, some properties had very small or essentially non-existent crops), and quality, too.

Many 2014s are classic Beaujolais, light and with fresh, expressive fruit. Others, however just seem rather pinched.

The 2015s are all over the lot. I’ve heard of alcohols as high as 17%, although the highest I’ve come across have been stated alcohols of 14.5% (which, of course, is still very high for Beaujolais and could in fact be even higher). The big surprise is that the stated alcohols don’t give any clue to the freshness in the wines. Some at 13% stated alcohol lack freshness, others at 14.5% have freshness and balance. When the wines are good, they are very, very good; but not all are, and some can be very, very bad.

The first two 2016s I tasted are listed below under Guignier (very early bottling — drunk in February) show a lot of promise for the vintage.

Other reviews of Beaujolais that may still be on the market are found here, here, and here. (Continue reading here.)

posted by Claude Kolm has been writing The Fine Wine Review since 1986. At the end of 2014, it switched to a blog in order to allow more timely and in depth information about estates. @ 4:57 PM