BEAUJ-OLÉ

Now that the 2010 “Le Nouveau Beaujolais Est Arrive" madness is over where we paid more for a bottle of  “Nouveau” ("because it's air freighted"), than the vastly superior 2009 regular Beaujolais, it's time to talk about the treasures that the '09 Beaujolais vintage delivered.

Incidentally, I happened to be in a wine store on the evening before the official release date of the “Nouveau” which is set by the French authorities for the third Thursday in November.  I asked the clerk whether I could have a bottle of “Nouveau” and was told in no uncertain terms that that would be a violation of French law. Huh? Since when do we abide by French law?
   
Beaujolais is part of Burgundy and vintages are highly variable, just as they are in Burgundy. The grape of Beaujolais is called Gamay.

Beaujolais is one of the best food wines on the planet because of its great fruit and acid balance. It even works with fish. Also, Beaujolais is perhaps the only red that can cool the burn of spicy dishes. It’s  the ultimate guzzling wine as well.

Once upon a time, long before the Wall came down, I was living in West Berlin. As often as possible during fall and spring we escaped from Berlin's frigid clime and dashed down to sunny Provence.
On one of those trips I wanted to explore St. Louis in Alsace, where my father was born. There wasn't much to see and finally we stopped at an inn, went inside and were greeted with a handshake by a young woman in native costume. We sat down and I asked her about the contents of the kegs that sat on the counter. “Why, it’s Beaujolais, “ she answered with a sweet smile. From the moment we tried Beaujolais, we were hooked. We slept well that night, under the stars of Alsace, snug in our sleeping bags in a field outside St. Louis.

BEAUJOLAIS QUALITY LEVELS:

“BEAUJOLAIS” is the cheapest and “simplest” level in the Beauj hierarchy. Prices range from eight to fifteen dollars. An excellent choice would be the Depardieu (imported by Kermit Lynch in Berkeley) for about fifteen dollars.

"BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES” are wines that come from the northern and better part of Beaujolais. Depending on producer or negociant (dealer), these tasty wines retail from about twelve to fifteen dollars.
A good example is the Chateau de Piron, imported by Beaune Imports in Berkeley

The best (and sometimes age-worthy) Beaujolais wines come from ten villages (e.g. Morgon) but you will NEVER see the word “Beaujolais” on these bottles, which are referred to by the wine savvy as “Cru Beaujolais.”

"CRU BEAUJOLAIS" refers to ten villages that have earned this special quality designation. They are  FLEURIE, ST-AMOUR, JULIENAS, CHENAS, MOULIN-A-VENT,  CHIROUBLES, MORGON, REGNIE, COTE DE BROUILLY, and BROUILLY.

Wines from these villages may be be bottled by huge producers like Georges Duboef or artisans like Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton and Jean-Paul Thevenot (the latter all imported by Kermit Lynch, Berkeley) and many other wineries.

Crus Beaujolais start from about fifteen dollars. I bought the tasty Maison Loius Tete "Morgon" for fifteen dollars and the same firm's "Moulin-a-Vent" for sixteen dollars at K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco. At these prices you can experiment and it's worth it, but you may encounter some Crus Beaujolais that are quite a bit pricier.

Beaujolais is an ideal wine for holiday feasts with all their different dishes because it's so food-friendly. And yes, Beaujolais always tastes best when slightly chilled, say to about fifty-five degrees.


MISCELLANEA

It's the season....to think about your impecunious friends who love wine and perhaps want to learn more about them.

BOOKS THAT COVER THE WINES OF THE WORLD:

Hugh Johnson's  Pocket Wine Book 2011- $15. Updated yearly, with input from experts around the globe. A handy reference which fits into your hand bag or coat pocket. Excellent cheat sheet for restaurant and wine shop visits.

Hugh Johnson, The World Atlas of Wine - $50. Demonstrates the close relationship between geography and wine. Indispensable for wine aficionados who want to get a grasp of the vast world of wine.


CALIFORNIA AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST:

Bob Thompson, The Wine Atlas of California and the Pacific Northwest. Does pretty much for the American West Coast what Johnson does for the world. In addition, it lists wineries and gives travel info. Out of print, but worth searching for.

Matt Kramer's New California Wine - $25. Great survey of the current California wine scene.

REST OF THE WORLD:

Mitchell Beazley's Pocket Guides: Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines, Wines of Australia, Wines of Bordeaux, Wines of Burgundy, Wines of the Loire, Alsace, and the Rhone, Wines of New Zealand, Wines of Spain. Wines of Italy, etc. Individual guide books, discussing wine regions and their producers and recommending regional restaurants.

Under the auspices of Hugh Johnson, the British Publisher Mitchell Beazley puts out a series of Wine Atlases, focused on the wines of specific countries (e.g. Stuart Pigott, The Wine Atlas of Germany). These atlases are treasure droves of information about the wines. The also double as travelers guides.


Willie Gluckstern, The Wine Avenger - $12. Off-beat and provocative.

LIQUID GIFT IDEAS:
Magnums (with a content of 1500ml=two bottles) look impressive and wine often tastes better from large format bottles. If no purveyor is mentioned go to www.winesearcher.com

MAGNUMS FOR THE HOLIDAYS:
REDS:'08 Clos de la Coutale-Cahors (Southwest France - Malbec country) $32 - Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, California

'05 Chateau St. Eulalie - "La Cantilene" (Languedoc, Southern France - mostly Syrah with the rest Mourvedre and Grenache, great vintage) $41 - DeeVine Wines, Pier 19, the Embarcadero, San Francisco

'00 Paramo de Guzman - Crianza (Ribera del Duero, Spain - Tempranillo from a great vintage) $45 -  DeeVine Wines

'05 Chateau Lanessan, Haut-Medoc (Bordeaux - mostly Cabernet Sauvignon from a great vintage)  $70 -  K&L Wine Merchants, San Francisco

WHITES:
'09 Muscadet Clos de La Papiere, "VV Clos des Briards, $38

'07 Weingut Erben von Beulwitz "Kaseler Nies'chen" Riesling Kabinett (classic, off-dry German Riesling) $46.75 - DeeVine Wines

'09 A. J. Adam, "Dhron Hofburg"Riesling Kabinett (off-dry German Riesling) $55