Beaujolais, some refer to it the only white wine that appears to be red. That is a analogy that is quite appropriate, never mind the intense burgundy colors that Beaujolais appears.
Beaujolais is similar to white wine in its expressiveness and thrist-quenching abilities. The personality of a beaujolais starts with the gamay grape.
The singular grape used in red Beaujolias is gamay. Gamay noir a jus blanc, to be precise. Distinguished as quite litterally a black grape that offers white juice. Ironically, a scant amount of white Beaujolais is also produced annually. Usually made from chardonnay and aligote grapes.
Gamay grapes flavorings are simply unmistakeable. Just think about a thrust of sweet black cherry and black raspberry, then a hint of peaches, violets, and roses, followed by a clip, in the form of peppery spiciness at the end. In many reds a confined rasp of tannin acts as a cloak over the fruit flavors.
Not always so in Beaujolais. Gamay grapes are naturally low in tannins. They are already profuse in fruitiness and often seem more dramatic. However, the character of the Beaujolais comes not soley from the gamay grape, but also from the unusal manner in which the wine is made.
The process itself is long and and steeped in tradition. The process is called carbonic maceration. During the process, clusters of grapes are put whole into fermentation tanks and the fermentation literally takes place inside each grape.
Carbonic maceration in theory could be used with just about any other grapes, however, it happens to be most successful with ultrafruity grapes, as with the gamay grape.
After fermentation, Beaujolias relaxes in tanks for five to nine months before coming to market. While 5 to nine months may not seem like a long time, it so happens that it's just enough time to take the grapey newborn edginess off the wine and allows it to emit a more fruity, flowery and spicey flavor.
Beaujolais is both the name of the place and the wine where it's made. The vineyards of Beaujolias form north to south for some thirty-five miles over low granite hills in the southernmost reaches of Burgundy, France.
Beaujolais is considered to be part of Burgundy even though, aside from the proximity, the 2 regions have virtually nothing in common. For one example, the climates are dissimilar; the grapes are unmistakeably different; the way the wines are made varies radically.
Even the flavor of each wine is distinctive in and of itself. Beaujolais is as light-hearted as Burgundy is dramatic.
One large misconception with regard to Beaujolais is that it's a annual wine experience, typically drunk in the late fall months, when signs in savvy restaurants and cute little wine shops go up en mass.
As far as Beaujolias go, there is a distinction between what is commercial and what might be called "old-style" Beaujolais is important for anyone who truly cares about flavor.
By comparison, "old-style" Beaujolais is made by a very fractional percentage of growers, who are quite often considered fanatics. These traditional vineyards keep yields at least 20% to 30% below the amount allowed for average production. They prefer not to chaptalize, they filiter much more lightly, if at all, and they hold the wine up to 10 months, bottling it as an estate wine. Traditionally made Beaujolais wines age the very best and often take on an earthy, pinot noir-like characteristic as they become older.
How do you tell traditionally produced Beaujolias from commercially made Beaujolais? There really isn't a foolproof way to know; moreover, traditionally made Beaujolais are likely to cost more, they are generally bottled by an individual estate, and is often imported into the United States by a handful of select importers who specialize in small estates.
Vintners who specialize in top-notch, "old-style" Beaujolais include Alain Jugenet, Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner, Martine's Wines and Weygandt-Metzler.
The average varieties are labeled only Beaujolais. These grapes come from less distinguished vineyards in the south. However, the soil there is more fertile, but, the land is flatter. The result is, the wines tend to be a bit lighter, with less concentration of fruit flavors, however, there are exceptions.
Beaujolais-Villages, is a wee bit better in quality, it originates from thirty-nine villages in the hilly midsection of the region. The soil here is a poorer, it is mostly composed of granite and sand, forcing the grapevines to struggle much more and ultimately yields better grapes. Beaujolais-Villages wines are generally a blend of grapes of wines from a number of villages.
Even better still is the Beaujolais Cru. In Beaujolais the word Cru does not indicate a vineyard as it does in other French regions, but, instead, refers to ten special villages. Beaujolais Cru wines come from these villages, all of which are located on steep granite hills in the northern part of Beaujolais.
Should anyone drink Beaujolais chilled? oh yes, chill it. When Beaujolais is served cool but not cold to the touch, after about fifteen minutes in your wine refrigerator, its flavor simply exploded with fruits and spices. Chilling the wine, by the way, is customary in the region.
Beaujolais is similar to white wine in its expressiveness and thrist-quenching abilities. The personality of a beaujolais starts with the gamay grape.
The singular grape used in red Beaujolias is gamay. Gamay noir a jus blanc, to be precise. Distinguished as quite litterally a black grape that offers white juice. Ironically, a scant amount of white Beaujolais is also produced annually. Usually made from chardonnay and aligote grapes.
Gamay grapes flavorings are simply unmistakeable. Just think about a thrust of sweet black cherry and black raspberry, then a hint of peaches, violets, and roses, followed by a clip, in the form of peppery spiciness at the end. In many reds a confined rasp of tannin acts as a cloak over the fruit flavors.
Not always so in Beaujolais. Gamay grapes are naturally low in tannins. They are already profuse in fruitiness and often seem more dramatic. However, the character of the Beaujolais comes not soley from the gamay grape, but also from the unusal manner in which the wine is made.
The process itself is long and and steeped in tradition. The process is called carbonic maceration. During the process, clusters of grapes are put whole into fermentation tanks and the fermentation literally takes place inside each grape.
Carbonic maceration in theory could be used with just about any other grapes, however, it happens to be most successful with ultrafruity grapes, as with the gamay grape.
After fermentation, Beaujolias relaxes in tanks for five to nine months before coming to market. While 5 to nine months may not seem like a long time, it so happens that it's just enough time to take the grapey newborn edginess off the wine and allows it to emit a more fruity, flowery and spicey flavor.
Beaujolais is both the name of the place and the wine where it's made. The vineyards of Beaujolias form north to south for some thirty-five miles over low granite hills in the southernmost reaches of Burgundy, France.
Beaujolais is considered to be part of Burgundy even though, aside from the proximity, the 2 regions have virtually nothing in common. For one example, the climates are dissimilar; the grapes are unmistakeably different; the way the wines are made varies radically.
Even the flavor of each wine is distinctive in and of itself. Beaujolais is as light-hearted as Burgundy is dramatic.
One large misconception with regard to Beaujolais is that it's a annual wine experience, typically drunk in the late fall months, when signs in savvy restaurants and cute little wine shops go up en mass.
As far as Beaujolias go, there is a distinction between what is commercial and what might be called "old-style" Beaujolais is important for anyone who truly cares about flavor.
By comparison, "old-style" Beaujolais is made by a very fractional percentage of growers, who are quite often considered fanatics. These traditional vineyards keep yields at least 20% to 30% below the amount allowed for average production. They prefer not to chaptalize, they filiter much more lightly, if at all, and they hold the wine up to 10 months, bottling it as an estate wine. Traditionally made Beaujolais wines age the very best and often take on an earthy, pinot noir-like characteristic as they become older.
How do you tell traditionally produced Beaujolias from commercially made Beaujolais? There really isn't a foolproof way to know; moreover, traditionally made Beaujolais are likely to cost more, they are generally bottled by an individual estate, and is often imported into the United States by a handful of select importers who specialize in small estates.
Vintners who specialize in top-notch, "old-style" Beaujolais include Alain Jugenet, Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner, Martine's Wines and Weygandt-Metzler.
The average varieties are labeled only Beaujolais. These grapes come from less distinguished vineyards in the south. However, the soil there is more fertile, but, the land is flatter. The result is, the wines tend to be a bit lighter, with less concentration of fruit flavors, however, there are exceptions.
Beaujolais-Villages, is a wee bit better in quality, it originates from thirty-nine villages in the hilly midsection of the region. The soil here is a poorer, it is mostly composed of granite and sand, forcing the grapevines to struggle much more and ultimately yields better grapes. Beaujolais-Villages wines are generally a blend of grapes of wines from a number of villages.
Even better still is the Beaujolais Cru. In Beaujolais the word Cru does not indicate a vineyard as it does in other French regions, but, instead, refers to ten special villages. Beaujolais Cru wines come from these villages, all of which are located on steep granite hills in the northern part of Beaujolais.
Should anyone drink Beaujolais chilled? oh yes, chill it. When Beaujolais is served cool but not cold to the touch, after about fifteen minutes in your wine refrigerator, its flavor simply exploded with fruits and spices. Chilling the wine, by the way, is customary in the region.
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