Can we age Beaujolais? Let’s check out a 10 year old Beaujolais to find out.
I’m continuing to explore aging different varieties and regions to see if they improve with age and/or can maintain their quality over time. I often like to wait until at least the 10 year mark from the vintage to check in on wines I’m aging.
This time I’m exploring Beaujolais reds, made from the Gamay grape. Beaujolais doesn’t have a strong reputation for aging because of its association with Beaujolais Nouveau, which are wines meant for immediate consumption. Plus, it’s generally a light, easy-drinking wine. However, wine geeks will tell you that Beaujolais Cru wines, which are ones with a specific village designation, are more serious reds capable of showing more complexity and ageability. I gave an overview of Beaujolais Cru in a previous post.
Despite Beaujolais Cru from top producers and top appellations like Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie and Brouilly being known for ageability, I’ve never actually tried one more than 5-7 years old. However, the best I’ve had at that age still showed young with enough structure to age longer and still develop. Let’s taste this 10 year old Beaujolais to see how it’s evolving.
Tasting Notes
2015 Domaine du Vissoux Pierre-Marie Chermette Moulin-a-Vent “Les Trois Roches”
100% Gamay from 45+ year old vines. 100% granite soil, which is typical of Beaujolais. Semi-carbonic with remontage 2 times a day. Native yeasts. Minimal sulfites used. Dark fruit, fig and plum. Medium acid. Medium-bodied. A bit of dry fruit. A bit of leather. Shows some age. It’s structured but with smooth tannins. One of the favorite wines of the night. Some people thought it was Grenache. It was a riper vintage. Although it shows a bit of aging, it’s still mostly primary. If you like tertiary notes, then a few more years might help. There definitely was enough structure and fruit to consider aging this longer. 92
Conclusion
Like I say in all my posts about aging wines, it really depends on your palate and pairing if it’s in your sweet spot or not. Some may want more fresh fruit while others may want less tannins and more tertiary notes. Right now there’s some of both, so for me it’d be a great wine to open up now and see how it evolves over several hours with a nice meal.
*I’ll be in France for the next few weeks, so I’ll be back blogging in August.
