Enjoying My First Beaujolais

This year at Christmas, I decided to try my first French wine. I shopped the local wine shops, including the ones at my grocery store to find something I thought would go well with our traditional Prime Rib dinner. I love trying new wines and usually with wines made from wineries here in the States--I pretty much know which wines will pair well with different cuisines because of how they are labeled. You know...a Merlot goes well with a steak and perhaps a Pinot Grigio goes well with pasta dishes. Of course, there are no real right or wrong answers when it comes to pairings--as everyone's palate is different, but it is always fun to try different wines with different foods to find that perfect pairing.

As I was diving into French wines, the labeling system is by region, not by wine type, which threw me for a bit of a loop. So how on earth is someone who enjoys pairing wines every now and then, going to pair a French wine, labeled by region, with Christmas dinner? Without some sort of knowledge, this pairing could go horribly wrong!! Sometimes the back of the wine bottle will have a small label with a short description, but that only tells you part of the story. I guess you could say, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" and off I went to learn as much as I could about French wines.

I did a little bit of research on French wines prior to shopping. I'm a firm believer of "hands on" type training--which means actually tasting the wine--but I'm not willing to just spend money unwisely either. So I put my nose to a few books from the library, and what I learned is that Beaujolais refers to the southern most region of Burgundy region in France. And the region of Beaujolais produces wines distinctly different from their northern neighbors. Beaujolais exclusively uses the Gamay grape vs. the Pinot Noir and they have their own ranking system for quality.

The Beaujolais region produces some inexpensive, simple red wines...that are pleasing to the palate...but they also produce a few high quality more expensive red wines as well that are comparable to their northern neighbors (The Burgundy's) at a fraction of the price. And a small part of this region produces some Chardonnay--but there is very little production of this type of wine.

There are four types of Beaujolais red wines that I know of and I've been learning more about them. The first is probably the most inexpensive, known as the Beaujolais Nouveau. This is a simple red wine that is designed to be consumed within weeks of the harvest. The second type of Beaujolais is simply called a "Beaujolais". It is a wine that can be grown anywhere within the region designated for Beaujolais and is a bit more sustaining than a Beaujolais Nouveau. This type of wine is light, with fruity notes and yet has a distinctness to it. The Beaujolais Villages title is given to any wine produced within the 39 villages occupying the rolling hills at the center of this French region. This wine is a bit fuller in scale--possessing more bright fruit flavors and minerals and spice. And the Cru Beaujolais produces the regions greatest wines. This wine is produced in the northern part of Beaujolais within 10 hillside villages. This wine is even more concentrated with flavors of fruit, minerals and spice flavors than the wines produced in the Beaujolais Villages.

While I've learned quite a bit about the region and the types of Beaujolais produced from this region--there is nothing like actually popping the cork and trying it for yourself!

I selected a Moulin À Vent by Georges Dubœuf, which is a Beaujolais to go with Christmas dinner. The description read, "The most robust wine of the Beaujolais, rich, velvety, well balanced, full-bodied and will become more generous with age.” I had a bottle from 2007—and I will tell you that it paired quite well with our dinner. I think I would have been really disappointed with this choice if it had not worked out. Thankfully, it did and I was quite pleased.

The aroma was fruity, yet pleasant. I did not sense any spices when I swirled my first glass and took in its scent. Instead, my senses filled with a wonderful fruity scent that didn't seem too overpowering. At that I decided to try some and get a feel for what this Beaujolais had to offer.

The flavors were fruity, yet really smooth. I think I expected it to have the weight of a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon when I read that it was full-bodied, but it was definitely lighter on my palate. I would not say it was as light as a medium bodied Pinot Noir, perhaps somewhere in between. It was definitely well balanced--it was not overly spicy or overly fruity...it was a great blend and combination of both.

I think this particular wine paired extremely well with our prime rib dinner. Our prime rib was served medium rare, with ham, baked potatoes, German noodles, and corn. It complemented the prime rib very nicely and it went just as well with the ham. As for this bottle of Beaujolais--it didn't last 4 hours past our 2pm dinner. There are many bottles of wine that linger around for another meal--because they didn't pair just right with the first meal they were tried with, and this wasn't one of them. The Gamay grape was definitely a hit this Christmas!!

I will not hesitate to try another Beaujolais. Actually, I am planning on trying another one at the end of the month. I have a particular wine shop that has recommended one to me--but it is a bit more pricey than I am used to spending on a bottle of wine--so I'm waiting til I can afford it. And that brings me to the price of the Moulin À Vent by Georges Dubœuf. The Moulin À Vent was priced at 16.99 a bottle, a bit more than I would normally spend on a bottle of wine with dinner, but this was Christmas dinner and of course, I didn't mind doing so for my favorite holiday.

Have you ever tried a Beaujolais? Do you have any recommendations for pairings with this wine? Can you recommend a particular Beaujolais to try?

I'd love to hear your feedback!!

Cheers, Duffee