You’ve seen them: those loud, flashy bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau that line grocery store shelves this time of year. Made from this year’s harvest, the wines are produced and bottled quickly and usually fermented with industrial yeast, making them fresh and young—but likely lacking much depth.
This year, skip the nouveau and head back a few vintages to bottles of Beaujolais Cru. Made from 100-percent gamay grapes, Beaujolais is versatile—especially during big-flavor holiday season—and a good deal.
“Beaujolais as a region is undervalued for the quality you can find there. You’d be hard pressed to spend more than $50 for the top wines from the very best producers,” says Will Motley of Woodland Wine Merchant.
Plus, Morgon, one of the ten Crus of Beaujolais, was one of the first regions to embrace the most recent revival of natural winemaking methods (i.e.: low intervention; organic methods; made without additives).
“Back in the ’70s, everyone was using industrial winemaking methods, so this was sort of a reaction to that. As a result, it’s still a region of natural producers. It’s become the new traditional method,” Motley says.
In the bottle, gamay takes on a range of profiles, from earthy with balanced fruit and spice to bright with berry flavors.
“It’s a wine that can bring together so many different flavors on the table and make them all work together. There’s not a ton of grapes you can say that about,” Motley says.
Here, he offers three picks worth popping open this holiday season.
Heather Hauser
Pierre-Marie Chermette “Origine” 2017 | $20
“Well established in the region, Chermette is fifth generation. With this particular cuvée, he takes all of his oldest vines, some of which are 80 to 85 years old, and he bottles them separately.”
Damien Coquelet “Les Bourrons” 2017 | $22
“Damien Coquelet is a young winemaker, still in his early 30s, who just had his first vintage. He’s the stepson of Georges Descombes, who is one of these figures in Beaujolais who is particularly known for his more traditional-slash-natural approach. Now, he’s passed along those principles and philosophies to his stepson. I think it’s a great value, and Chiroubles is one of the Crus of Beaujolais that you see a little less frequently.”
Lapierre Morgon 2017 | $37
“Marcel Lapierre passed away a few years back but his son and daughter picked up right where he left off. Marcel took from the teachings of [scientist and winemaker] Jules Chauvet and was really out in front of the natural movement. Five years ago, this bottle was probably $28, so it’s starting to creep up. But it’s still in a lot of ways undervalued. Again, that’s why I like these wines. You can get such good wines for a reasonable amount of money.”
Available at Woodland Wine Merchant; woodlandwinemerchant.com