High quality Beaujolais. Age worthy Beaujolais. Full bodied Beaujolais. These are adverbs most wine drinkers do not associate with Beaujolais, yet they are all true.
Gone are the days of "Beaujolais nouveau" and in with the new guard of winemakers focused on terroir and quality. Have you heard of Jean Foillard? He is a member of the “Gang of Four,” four guys making great wine in the Beaujolais Cru Morgon.
The story goes that Jules Chauvet figured out how to make clean and pure wine in Beaujolais without the use of sulfur. Chauvet never made it big here in the US as Beaujolais just wasn't considered a "great" wine back in the ’80 and '90’s due to backlash over Beaujolais nouveau. However, Chauvet taught Foillard and the three others, Lapierre, Breton, and Thevenet how to do it themselves. For the past two decades, the Gang of Four, and others, have been making high quality Beaujolais wines that reminisce of the ancestral relationship between Gamay and Pinot Noir, while showcasing the Gamay grape’s range.
We will taste 10 Beaujolais wines, including two Chardonnay based wines from the Beaujolais Village AOC, followed by two flights of four wines each from some of the best wines from the ten “Cru Beaujolais” AOC areas. We will taste wines made by Foillard and others, including a wine from the year 2009. Yes, that’s right, we will taste a 14 year old Beaujolais Cru Morgon that likely could celebrate a 20th birthday and impress.
Come join us on February 1, 2024 to discover or re-discover the wines of Beaujolais.
