Cru Beaujolais
August 28, 2009 at 9:55 am by Lex
"The best Cru Beaujolais approaches the quality of good Burgundy, but for a lot less cash."
Jon Bonne, S.F. Cronicle
This week Jay has been excited about our Weekend Wine, as excited as I have seen him in months. It is a Cru Beaujolais from the very fine 2007 vintage. You can read about the specifics of the wine and the producer in the Weekend Wine section below. Here’s a bit of back-story about Cru Beaujolais and why the staff at 3CUPS is so keen on these wines.
Beaujolais is named after Beaujeu, the 10th century town in the western hills of the area. Because it was on the trade route through the Rhone Valley in the days of the ancient Romans, there have been vineyards on this land for a millennia. Unfortunately most of us know the name Beaujolais because of a marketing bonanza that happens once a year in November to sell Beaujolais Nouveau. Today’s wine is from the top level wine in the region called Cru Beaujolais, and is a far from Nouveau Beaujolais as Guinness is from Bud Light.
The reason we love Cru Beaujolais is because we can afford to buy the very best wines from this appellation, something we can’t say about wines from many others. And the wine is charming and delicious.
The label does not say Beaujolais on this level wine but rather one of the 10 special villages on the steep granite hills listed here:
St. Amour, Regnie, Julienas, Chiroubles, Chenas, Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, Brouilly, Fluerie, Cote de Brouilly
Lex Alexander
“Few wine names are better known around the world than Beaujolais, but no well-known wine is as little understood.”
Eric Asimov, NYTimes
