Beaujolais
The Beaujolais region covers a 55 km long stretch of mainly granite hills running south from the Macon to Lyon. Here the Gamay grape, growing in sandy clay over granite gives uniquely fresh, vivid, light but fruity wines. Two thirds of all Burgundy comes from Beaujolais, with the standing joke being: "There are 3 rivers flowing into Lyon - the Rhone, the Saone and Beaujolais".
The vines are all free standing, pruned in the gobelet system, which necessitates hand picking. Vinification is by carbonic maceration (the whole bunches are fermented uncrushed under pressure), a method that gives intensely aromatic, fruity, wines low in tannins and ideal for early consumption, such as the popular Beaujolais Nouveau, fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November.
The serious quality wines come from the northern half of Beaujolais where the soil is far more granitic. There are 39 villages here, which carry the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, and 10 of these are entitled to carry their village name, such as Julienas, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Morgon, Côte de Brouilly... The wines from these villages range from crisply fragrant to rich and brooding and are well worth the effort of seeking out.
