Displaying items by tag: beaujolais wines

If you are planning a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration and want to impress your partner with the best possible wine for the occasion, overlook everything you think you know about wine pairing. Forget choosing a red to match the steak or a white for the flounder. Lose the Champagne with chocolate (seriously, lose that one) and ditch any dessert ideas. The key to a successful Valentine’s Day is...

Summary: 

Once thriving and celebrated around the world the Beaujolais wines are sometimes today looked down upon. Laying in between Burgundy and Côtes du Rhone this region still produces some amazing white, rosé and red wines and benefits from the culinary influences of the French Capital of Gastronomy: Lyon.

Starting with Beaujolais Nouveau and travelling thru the different crus you will take a tasty trip in the vineyards of France's most renowned producer of Gamay.

First discovering the ambience, we'll then lead you thru the different wines' profiles and draw an aromatic map of the expressions of Beaujolais wines. From then on it will all be about food as we'll share pairings from around the world just to make your mouth water before lunchtime.

Presenter: Arnaud Valour, Gourmet Gourmand or Gourmand Gourmet

Arnaud Valour describes himself as a gourmet gourmand or a gourmand gourmet. He is a lover of food, wine and travel.

He has studied marketing and communications in both France and the U.K. and worked for several years promoting small and medium-sized enterprises in the Rhone-Alps region. Most recently, Arnaud was in charge of the Chablis and Grand Auxerrois Bureau of the Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) managing the Maison des Vins de Chablis et du Grand Auxerrois.

A Burgundian resident, he is currently a consultant in the fields of food, wine, and Burgundy wine travel.

Back to French Vintage Chart

The vintage chart and harvest reports provided by the Wine Scholar Guild gives you the ranking for every French wine region and vintage from 2000 to today.

Andrew Jefford, award-winning wine journalist for Decanter Magazine and author of twelve books on wine including The New France has compiled information and written the vintage charts starting with the 2013 vintage. He is also updating information for the vintages prior to 2013.

Last updated: Jan. 16, 2023

Beaujolais

Vintage	Quality	Drink	Comments
2021		Drink	A warm winter, savage April frosts, a cold May, hail in June and a cold, wet July: the first two-thirds of the growing season in Beaujolais was as difficult as it was elsewhere in Burgundy.  August began coolly, too, and by the time véraison got underway on the 5th of August, the ripening cycle was 18 days behind that of 2020.  From August 12th up until harvest eventually began in mid-September, though, the weather was warm and dry, and those growers prepared to sort extensively and vinify according to the needs of each parcel have produced incisive, vital wines packed with freshness and vivacity: mouth-watering drinking in the short to medium term.
2020		Drink/Cellar	A mild winter led to an early budburst at the end of March, and April and May, too, were warm, sunny and dry, with flowering beginning very early on May 20th.  It was successfully concluded by the end of the month – but June then slowed things down a little with a cold, wet debut before finishing with a new pulse of heat.  July was hot and very dry, and August continued hot, with a very early harvest beginning from around August 20th – the second-earliest harvest on record (after 2003).  Things got much cooler at the end of the month for the final two weeks of harvest.  Quality depending on how well each parcel was able to cope with the intense dry heat of July and the beginning of August: drought, sunburn and raisined grapes were in evidence in the sandiest, most freely draining parcels.  Where the vines could find moist subterranean clays, though, quality was outstanding (our rating is based on the quality of the best wines).  Despite the heat, the wines have retained freshness, and an almost hail-free year with little disease-pressure meant satisfactory quantities.  The cru wines will mature well.
2019		Drink/Cellar	The 2019 vintage is qualitatively attractive in Beaujolais – but growers had a wild ride along the way.  Overall quantities (at 400,000 hl) were only half the size of the generous 2018 crop, and a quarter down on the five-year average.  After a mild spring, budburst was early – but severe frosts in early April reduced the potential crop.  As elsewhere in France, a generally cool late spring and early summer gave way to flamboyant heat in July, with temperatures cresting 40°C in this continental climate.  The second half of August brought rain and – the second major blow of the season – hail, with the southern half of the region being particularly badly affected.  The crus were largely spared the hail, though, and here the rains were helpful for maturation after the fierce heat of summer.  The style of the best wines is concentrated and fresh.
2018		Drink/Cellar	The growing season began with a period of tropical warmth after a very wet, mild winter, though cooler weather later in spring slowed down the vines’ progress somewhat. Flowering took place in late May and early June, just three days earlier than in 2017, and was accomplished successfully in six days rather than the usual 10. After that, summer was in general hot, dry and sunny (August 2018 was the hottest in Beaujolais since 1959), and harvest began in late August, though in many of the best cru sites growers had to wait until full phenolic ripeness came in September, a little later than expected. The style of the wines was expected to be as flamboyantly ripe as 2015, but in the end they have proved to be fresher and more vivacious than that, with slightly lower alcohol levels, perhaps due to the groundwater reserves in the soils after the very wet first half of the year. The best cru Beaujolais from 2018 will mature well.
2017		Drink	In contrast to other parts of France, Beaujolais was not badly affected by the frosts of late April; by contrast, catastrophic hail storms in July slashed many growers’ production volumes for the second year running, both in the Beaujolais Villages zone and in the zone of the crus, on July 10th and then again on July 31st.  Some growers in both Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent lost 80% of their crop in both 2017 and 2016, and growers in other crus have fared almost as badly.  This was all the more tragic since the rest of the summer was largely problem-free with ample fine weather, providing a crop of exuberantly fruit-packed wines for those growers lucky enough to have escaped the hail.
2016		Drink	After mild winter weather and a mixed early spring, northern Beaujolais was hit by three separate hail attacks.  The first, on April 13th, affected Juliénas and parts of Beaujolais-Villages; the second came on May 27th, and hit 1500 ha principally in the crus, with 650 ha suffering losses of more than 75 per cent; while the third, on June 24th, was the worst of all, affecting 2,250 ha again principally in the crus, with 1,000 ha suffering losses of 80 per cent or more.  Overall, however, these losses in the north were compensated by an ample harvest in the south of the region.  Poor weather at the start to the year was balanced by a generous summer.  The result was a harvest of soft, amply fruity wines, though without the depth and density of the outstanding 2015 harvest.
2015		Drink	A sunny, dry spring was followed by ideal flowering conditions. Summer veered between very warm and hot, with a series of heat spikes—all alleviated by periodic rains and cool nights. Harvest began early, August 24th. The wines are dark, generously fruity, sometimes heady and chewy; acids remained bright, thanks to the cool nights.
2014		Drink	A warm spring followed by successful, early flowering gave way to a cool summer. September, though, was hot and dry, and harvest unfolded under perfect conditions. The wines are sprightly with pristine fruit characters but great depth too; more ‘classic’ than 2015.
2013		Past peak	A cool, moist spring and early summer resulted in bud break in late April and flowering in mid-June. July and August were warm and sunny, but not enough to speed the cycle. Harvest was late, the end of September and into October. Quality was variable, but the best wines were fresh, vivid and lively.
2012		Drink	Smallest harvest in 40 years (509,000 hl), 40% less than 2011, yields barely 30 hl/ha. Concentrated, fresh, vibrant reds.
2011		Drink	Third highly successful vintage in row, combining mature dark fruit without exaggeration & fresh acidity. Well-suited to cellaring at cru level.
2010		Drink	Poor flowering, small crop. Small berries, concentrated reds with typical red fruits. Higher acidities than ‘09 though less homogeneous overall. Many crus need bottle age to show their best
2009		Drink	Atypical in best sense. Consistently ripe reds display rich dark fruit, sometimes verging on jam, uncommon generosity. Delicious early, best crus will age well.
2008		Past peak	Rainy year, widespread hailstorms, rot & mildew. Success hinged on skill of vigneron. Nearly all to be consumed now except for a handful of top crus.
2007		Past peak	Lack of sunshine. Mildew problems. Crus show their superiority, fare far better than regionals.
2006		Past peak	Alternating extremes of climate, heterogeneous results. Better end of season. Southern Beaujolais more consistent than northern zone.
2005		Past peak	Hot, dry year with water stress. Fully mature, healthy grapes with excellent phenolic ripeness & overall equilibrium. A few may still improve.
2004		Past peak	Light Beaujolais for early drinking. At its best in Moulin à Vent & Morgon.
2003		Past peak	Extremely dry season stresses vines. Heterogeneous wines, most successful are dense, full-bodied & tannic.
2002		Past peak	Typical wines though uneven; many picked in rainy period. Best have appealing fruit & charm but are meant for early consumption.
2001		Past peak	Large harvest. Healthy, ripe grapes crafting wines meant to be drunk young.
2000		Past peak	Charming wines; drink early.

Quality	Poor	Poor to Fair	Fair	Fair to Good	Good	Good to Excellent	Excellent	Excellent to Exceptional	Exceptional
Chart Legend

These vintage notes have been prepared by Andrew Jefford, Academic Advisor to the Wine Scholar Guild. New vintage information, and any revisions of previous vintage drinking suggestions, are made each autumn.  Use the chart as a guide only; in every vintage there will be outperforming and underperforming wines.

Back to French Vintage Chart