Tag Archives: Beaujolais

Visiting Brouilly’s dynamic duo

21 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by in France, Uncategorized

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COTE De’ BROUILLY, Beaujolais, France –  The NBA has Lebron and Steph while the NFL boasted dynamic duos like Peyton and Tom.

Leagues boast superstars but they don’t necessarily play on the same teams. Two of the Cote de Brouilly’s wine superstars are unequivocally Claude Geoffray and Nicole Chanrion.

The duo’s story is one of a lasting family legacy while the other is an endearing matriarch of the wine region.

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Claude talks about his wine aging philosophy

Geoffray recently retired as the fifth generation winemaker at Chateau Thivin high atop Mont Brouilly. He maintains the family business started in June 1877 by Zaccharie and Marguerite Geoffray. While Claude is ever-present around the winery, acting as ambassador and leading tastings of their Chardonnay and Gamay-based wines, the 6th generation, Claude’s son Claude Edwouard, will continue the tradition. The son’s education came from working side by side with his father and in the vineyards and wineries of Saint Emilion, Switzerland, Austria, New Zealand, and others.

Claude hosted our foursome in the Chateau’s family dining room with the house dog and cat snuggled in front of a roaring fireplace on a cold November Wednesday. He poured us his well-balanced and soft Chardonnay, made from grapes on a plot an hour south of the Chateau. And then we explored his signature Cote de Brouilly, an estate Cote de Brouilly, and the family signature bottle made from the best grapes each season the Cote de Brouilly Zaccharie.

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Pouring a 2003 vintage

One of the great things about Beaujolais Cru is the cost. The Cote de Brouilly sells in the US for $20-$25. The Zaccharie is in limited US release. At the winery, the Zaccharie sells for 29E, though we saw it at a local restaurant in Morgon for much more.

During our walk through the various portions of the cellars he picked up a dusty bottle of 2003 Cote de Brouilly and poured that for us as a grand finale. The wine was gorgeous, elegant and slays every thought that Beaujolais Cru is wine meant to be drunk when it’s young.

The Geoffray name has a long history and bright future. Claude told us he was off to Paris to present his wines while his son, stepdaughter and three grandchildren keep busy atop Mont Brouilly.

Down the windy roads up Mont Brouilly in a small village, unassumingly along the main highway is the production facility for Domaine Chanrion. As we pull into the parking lot a spry, white-haired woman walks briskly to meet us. No introductions are really necessary because our host is Nicole Chanrion the  matriarch of Brouilly.

Chanrion has guided her one-woman operation since the 1970s, leading the way for female winemakers. She has won the respect of her peers – male and female – heading the Brouilly winemakers association. In recent years, her son has joined the team.

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Nicole Chanrion

Her unbridled charm, wit and a twinkle of the eye is among her many charms. The large wooden casks where she ages her Cote de Brouilly are among her tools to make one signature bottle of great Beaujolais Cru.

She took glee in finding a 2010 Cru to pour for us and again prove these wines will age beautifully. But Chanrion is a global citizens not afraid to share her opinions on politics and politicians. She does it all with a wink and a nod but expresses concerns about the potential 25 percent tariffs which could hit French wines. The majority of Chanrion’s annual production is sold in the U.S.

After a few photos we said our goodbyes. She was clearly thrilled to have US visitors including one who helped sell her wines in the US. She giggled and gasped when told a photo of her and I would be displayed in the shop.

What an awesome day of great people and outstanding wine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beaujolais a great house wine

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in France, Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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There are lots of different ways to experience wine. A wino can pick up a bottle at the nearest grocery, liquor store or wine shop. An oenophile can taste wines at a retail wine tasting and take home their favorites. A real wine geek can travel to the great wine regions of the world and buy from the producer.

grape-sense-logoBut growing in popularity is another method and that’s wine dinners. Wine dinners usually feature several courses paired by the restaurant’s chef and sommelier. I recently enjoyed a Beaujolais wine dinner in Indianapolis at Fletcher Place’s Bluebeard restaurant.

The hosts mentioned a couple of times that Beaujolais would make a great house wine. I certainly agreed by end of the night. Now, a bit of education before moving on. Most people know Beaujolais from the Nouveau which is harvested, fermented, bottled and shipped around the world every November. While that’s a fruity, and sometimes funky, wine it is not what you want to look for in a fine wine or house wine.

The Beaujolais grand cru wines are those from selected regions in Beaujolais. They are wines that are aged and worthy of your consideration. Beaujolais is a great house wine because most of the 10 grand cru wines can be found for $20 or less.

And if you have never tried Beaujolais the current vintage of Cru wines on shelves comes from the standout year of 2015. Legendary Beaujolais winemaker Georges Duboeuf recently called the 2015 vintage the best since 1947.

TMoulinhe wines I tasted at the Bluebeard dinner were good to outstanding. These wines are also not difficult to find. Many wine shops carry at least some Beaujolais.  We tasted Duboeuf wines with our dinner.

The Macon-Villages and Saint Veran chardonnay wines were a nice contrast and lovely whites. The Villages wine had hints of butter and oak for those who like their Chard in a traditional style. The Saint Veran was crisper, dryer, with lovely minerality and definitely a food wine.

The restaurant served the Villages as our ‘welcome wine.’ We were served a delightful salmon cake with the Saint Veran.

We sipped three Beaujolais red wines made from the Gamay grape. The Cote de Brouilly would have been a standout in most vintage years. The dark red wine was solid with with veal sweetbreads in a mushroom cream sauce.

 

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 84-year-old Duboeuf still active at winery

The night’s standout wines were from Fleurie and Moulin-A-Vents, both considered top regions in the Beaujolais region and both from DuBoeuf. The Fleurie, served with pork loin, was silky smooth with a deep dark fruit flavor on the finish and smooth tannins.

 

The  Moulin-A-Vent was served with ostrich steak with a blueberry demi glace. The last wine was simply the best Beaujolais I have ever tasted. The rich, dark wine reminded me of a good Mourvedre from Southern France. If tasted blind, I’m not sure I would have guessed it was Gamay.

Each of these wines sold from $19-$23. All three reds were $20 or under.

Of course you can buy a few wines of your own, pair them up with dinner plans, and invite over a few friends for your own wine-tasting dinner experience.

If you are looking to keep something around the house to please all palates and guests, then try Beaujolais Grand Cru wines.

Make purists crazy – chill your reds

07 Friday Jul 2017

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grape-sense-logoJuly is upon us and along comes the warmest months of the year. Summer wines, picnics, and backyard gatherings are all appropriate as the temperatures soar.

But instead of thinking about just the right white wines for summer let’s think radically. Let’s put our red wines in the fridge for a short bit.

Some people really like their beer and even wine drinkers have been known to switch over to suds during the July-August heatwaves. But there is something of a new wave in the wine world and it’s a suggestion wine drinkers chill their red wines a bit more than normal during warmer weather.

Many people simply prefer red wines. Who doesn’t enjoy a big Cabernet with a nicely charred piece of beef? Zinfandel and Syrah remain under-appreciated red choices for the summer. Syrah is getting to the point it can be hard to find on Midwest wine shop shelves.

 

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Don’t hesitate to give chilled reds a try this summer.

But if you’re eating lighter – maybe grilled salmon and salad – and want a red in the heat of the early evening perhaps you should try something familiar yet different.

 

Perhaps you have read, even in this column, Americans tend to drink their white wines too cold and reds too warm. The standard suggestion is give your red wines about 10 minutes in the fridge to cool them off a bit before serving. That’s particularly important for lighter red wines.

But what if you cooled them more than the standard 10 or even 15 minutes? What if you chill your lighter red wine for 30 minutes? Blasphemy? Outrageous? Can’t you just hear the wine purists screaming?

Wine is best enjoyed when you forget about the rules. I’ve written many times the most important thing about drinking wine is to consume what you like – AND the way you like it. Some people drop an ice cube or two in their wine.

Let’s go back to that salmon and salad. Pinot Noir pairs perfectly with grilled salmon. Take a lighter bodied Pinot and give it 30 minutes in the fridge. You’ll need to experiment to find out if 30 minutes is just right or whether you need a bit more time or less. I’d urge caution on leaving it more than 30 minutes but it’s your bottle of wine.

You can chill any bottle you wish for summer consumption. But if you are looking for some guidelines stick to the lighter bodied wines or wines from cool climate areas. For example, a chilled Oregon Pinot Noir is probably going to work better for your dinner than a heavily-extracted California Pinot. Beaujolais seems like a good choice for chilling. Recent articles have suggested even a chianti can be chilled for enjoyment. Spain’s lighter tempranillo wines might work for your palate.

Lighter body and a bit more acidity are keys to wines that might withstand a 30-minute visit to the fridge. Forget the rules of wine and drink what you like at whatever temperature increases your enjoyment.

Hard Times in France’s Beaujolais Region

16 Friday Nov 2012

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Yesterday was the international release of this year’s French Beaujolais Nouveau. Largely dismissed as nothing more than marketing it still is one of the major dates on any yearly wine calendar.

Many wine drinkers have tried to like the young wine, fresh from the vineyard but it is thin, it is uncomplicated, and often just isn’t very good. But Beaujolais winemakers have gotten better in recent years promoting their Cru wines from 10 different regions. Now the Crus wines are Thanksgiving and holiday worthy for any meal. They are still lighter style wines but they are aged, have some tannin structure along with more depth of flavor.

It is actually fun to try the different Beaujolais Cru and appreciate the subtle differences.

You can read a lot about Beaujolais wines this time of year in a lot of different spots. But a news story of note caught my eye going through my morning reads. The Beaujolais harvest was severely impacted by 2012 weather.

Check out this piece from the iconic Decanter Magazine.

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