Exploring northern Beaujolais

I have to confess how excited I was about visiting Beaujolais. As I am (deceptively) mature, Beaujolais was one of the first wines I heard of and, indeed, consumed. This was shortly before the British wine market became flooded with New World wines and even when I was working at Oddbins in the early 1990s, Beaujolais Nouveau was still quite a big deal and involved some very early morning deliveries. As soon as it came off the van we'd open it – of course – and this light boiled sweet and bubblegum confection went surprisingly well with a McDonald's Big Breakfast or two (you'd be hungry at that hour). It's hardly representative of Beaujolais though and did as much for the reputation of the region as Liebfraumilch did for Germany.

We got to experience the real Beaujolais on holiday last summer, spending a couple of nights in tiny Lancié near Fleurie. We stayed in the beautiful family run maison d'hôtes Les Pasquiers (see top) where we enjoyed breakfast and evening meals, all based around local produce, even sourced from their kitchen garden. Dinner at Les Pasquiers also included local wines from Méziat down the road in Chiroubles.

We spent two nights in Beaujolais but, with our daughter in tow, didn't have too much time to devote to wine. So, after our first night at Les Pasquiers we had a relaxing morning by the pool before heading out for lunch at Domaine de la Madone in Fleurie. We spent the rest of the afternoon following the Route des Vins through northern Beaujolais – Moulin à Vent, Chénas, Juliénas and St Amour before looping back to Lancié via Romanèche-Thorins. Other than the more famous communes of Fleurie and Juliénas, these were mainly quite modest little hamlets, but the old stones and seas of vines help reveal Beaujolais' long history. Place names like Juliénas and Romanèche-Thorins hint at the region's Roman heritage.

The following day after checking out of Les Pasquiers, we headed south through Chiroubles and Villié-Morgon and Brouilly, passing extinct volcanos Mont du Py and Mont de Brouilly (see below), sources of serious, age-worthy wines. It would have been tempting to stop off in the handsome town of Brouilly with its bustling cafés and bars, but we were heading to Lyon for lunch.

Next time we'll also include southern Beaujolais, especially the scenic Pierres Dorées district, but this visit we focused on the northerly crus – the finer wines of the region. I'm so pleased we did. After a few disappointing decades, Beaujolais is now back on track producing some of France's best value and most enjoyable wines. For me, Beaujolais has graduated from perking up a dreary November to often taking top billing at Christmas. It deserves a bit more than a Big Breakfast.

(If you're planning to visit the region take a look at this useful piece by Sue Style on the Decanter website.)

Lunch at Domaine de la Madone, Fleurie

A generous plate of charcuterie and glass of Beaujolais usefully takes some beating for lunch. In Suffolk at the British Larder I memorably had their Dingley Dell tasting platter with a glass of Beaujolais-Villages (read about it here). The zippy, fruity red wine offsets the porky richness to perfection.

However, while staying in Lancié last summer our hosts recommended lunch at Domaine de la Madone in neighbouring Fleurie. To get there we drove through the pretty town of Fleurie and followed a steep road up the hill towards the chapel at the top. I knew this part of Beaujolais was quite hilly, but had no idea you'd get such spectacular sweeping views towards the Alps.

We sat at a table outside and from the short menu we selected local charcuterie, omelettes and salad and glasses of the domaine's Cuvée Vieille Vignes Madone (from vines alongside the auberge). With its bright cherry fruit, cool minerality and savoury lick of oak, it was a deliciously versatile wine, easy drinking, yet satisfying – so different to the bubblegum-like Beaujolais Nouveau you might have drunk in the past. If we hadn't been eating properly in the evening, the entrecôte steak on the menu would have been a tempting, too.

Over coffee we chatted to a British family who were staying in the gîte let out by the domaine. They had served the estate's wine at their wedding and it was their second year staying here. Highly recommended all round.

Chablis to Beaujolais: an epic journey for wine lovers

After breakfast in the sunny garden of the Hostellerie des Clos in Chablis, we returned to the car to continue our journey. Our next destination would be Lancié in Beaujolais for a two night stay before finishing our first week in France in the southern Rhône near Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe.

We headed south of Chablis to pick up the A6 autoroute for Pouilly-en-Auxois where we took the quieter A38 towards Dijon. As we approached Dijon, it got much more hilly and we turned off the motorway onto the D108 which zig zagged steeply up and over the northerly part of the Hautes Côtes de Nuits to Marsannay where we picked up the D974. This is where wine lovers (particularly Burgundy lovers) start getting very excited. The D974 (previously called the N74) runs north to south alongside the Côte d'Or, passing through a series of world famous wine villages, names you generally only see on seriously smart bottles. There is even a restaurant named after this road in San Francisco with an appropriately Burgundian wine list.

As I'd driven along the D974 a couple of times already and it was my husband's first visit to the area, I did the honours so he could sit back and admire the views. We drove through Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, passed by the walled expanse of the Clos de Vougeot, continued through Vosne-Romanée and then the busy little town of Nuits-St-Georges and on towards Beaune past the huge mound of Corton with its forested crown.

We stopped for lunch in Beaune, easily parking on the inner ring road. My classically Burgundian oeufs en meurette and my husband's steak went down beautifully with a drop of Beaune, obviously. After coffee and sunny stroll, we were back in the car continuing south.

We took the A6 autoroute briefly to Chalon before turning west to Givry to pick up the D981, an old road that runs south to Cluny. A more scenic option is to leave Beaune on the D974 and pass through Meursault and Chagny where you can pick up the D981. The Côte Chalonnaise has always appealed to me as these wines – generally lighter and more rustic than their glitzier neighbours in the Côte d'Or – were popular with French nobility during the Middle Ages. Apparently Henri IV was partial to the wines of Givry which had been popular since the 6th century. The D981 goes through the historic towns of Rully, Givry and Buxy, passing handsome old stone buildings, stately cedar trees and the occasional château.

The region looked as though it has enjoyed plenty of commercial success in the past, even if its wines are now overshadowed by neighbouring regions. Following this attractive, gently undulating old route was quite an unexpected treat and judging by the numbers of cyclists we passed coming in the other direction, it's a popular one, too. The road led to the monastic centre of Cluny, congested with coach parties when we drove through. We then picked up the main road, the N79 to Mâcon, passing vineyards and the craggy limestone Roche de Solutré, the landscape becoming much more dramatic. Finally, after a few minutes on the A6 we turned off towards Lancié near Fleurie, for two nights at maison d'hôtes Les Pasquiers, looking forward to dinner and a decent drop of Beaujolais.

Beaujolais 2011 and The Wine Society

A couple of months ago I wrote about my recently reignited passion for Beaujolais, so I was delighted when a letter arrived earlier this month from The Wine Society detailing their comprehensive selection of these wines from the delicious 2011 vintage. Decent Beaujolais can be a challenge to track down, yet The Wine Society is offering more than two dozen wines, representing all 10 crus. (Berry Bros also has a good range from this vintage, but it is about half the size.)

This offer from The Wine Society reminded me why I love the organisation so much – it is a co-operative, so owned and run by its members and able, therefore, to make some interesting things available to their well informed and enthusiastic customer base. Their mailings are a pleasure to read, in this case, explaining the differences between the 10 crus, with nuggets of information such as how Chénas's name is derived from the local oak forests and that Juliénas is named after Julius Caesar (and that it's a 'perfect steak-and-chips red').

Moulin-à-Vent and Côte de Brouilly are particularly recommended from 2011, but mixed cases will also give a memorable taste of the vintage and include wines from these crus. The offer continues until Sunday 11th November while stocks last.

If you aren't yet a member yet of The Wine Society, you should join up (it costs £40 for lifetime membership). As well as an expansive and competitively priced range of wines, the Society organises regular tastings and dinners, as well as offering other benefits to members. They also have an outlet in France, so wines can be purchased at duty-free rates – handy in the run up to Christmas!

(I have to confess, I am not actually a member myself, but had the good sense to marry someone who is!)

Beaujolais: a neglected French classic

It's not so long ago that every year in late November we were awash with Beaujolais Nouveau, whether it was the local offie, restaurant or wine bar. If you worked in wine retail Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé campaign involved grumpy, bleary-eyed early mornings. One year at Oddbins in Camden, once the cases were off the lorry and a bottle uncorked, we each devoured two Big Breakfasts from McDonald's across the road – surprisingly good with the fruity young wine. (Talking of food, charcuterie is the obvious choice for Beaujolais which is why I've included this lovely picture of saucisson instead of anything from McDonald's; a sausage McMuffin just isn't the same.)

Anyway, I digress. Despite its popularity back in the 1970s and '80s and the fact that, along with wines like Muscadet, Beaujolais helped introduce many Brits to French wine, it has lost its appeal here. Younger drinkers may not be that aware of it and older consumers perhaps view it as a bit retro (and sadly not in a cool way). I've heard people admit to disliking Beaujolais (and the Gamay grape generally) because of the sweet bubblegum flavours – often the result of whole bunch fermentation/carbonic maceration and heavy-handed use of sugar by winemakers. This is a shame. There is so much more to Beaujolais, especially from individually named villages or 'crus' in the northern part of the region (granite based in contrast to the clay in the south). Here you find more concentrated, age-worthy wines with distinct personalities, ranging from light, fragrant and youthful to dense and brooding that become earthy, gamey and burgundian with age. Low-yielding old bush vines (maybe 70 years old) generally produce the best results.

But maybe it's time for a reappraisal. Beaujolais is enjoying a run of good vintages and there are a number of great value, delicious wines available in the UK. The recent Beaujolais trade tasting in London offered great examples from 2011 and 2010 as well as interesting older wines (especially beautifully mellow Moulin à Vent Grand Clos de Rochegrès 2000 and 1999 from Jadot). What's more, with Bastille Day coming up at the weekend, I can't think of anything more suitable. Here are few favourites:

Beaujolais-Villages, Combe aux Jacques, Louis Jadot 2011
Juicy, aromatic, fresh and tasty. Lovely summer drinking, especially served cool.
(£9.99 Waitrose, Tesco, Budgens, Spar, Booths) 

Chiroubles, Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois 2011
Pretty name, pretty wine: juicy, fresh and fragrant. A charming example of lighter style Beaujolais, yet with plenty of personality.
(£11.25 Stone, Vine and Sun) 

Brouilly, Henry Fessy 2011
Lively fragrant fruit with satisfying depth and stern dry finish. A great choice for charcuterie.
(£9.99 Waitrose)

Chénas, Les Carrières, Paul-Henri Thillardon 2011
Complex and concentrated, appetising and juicy with an interesting savoury finish.
(£14.25 Christopher Piper Wines)

Moulin à Vent, Cave du Château de Chénas 2010 (enjoyed recently at home)
Tasty, succulent and quite sturdy – fabulous with our sausages, mash and caramelised onions.
(£10.99 Waitrose)

Moulin à Vent, Clos de Rochegrès, Château des Jacques 2011
Lots going on here: juicy, perfumed, deliciously satisfying and complex. Seriously good (and the price reflects this). Another great Beaujolais from Jadot.
(£23 The Wine Society)

Morgon, Côte du Py, Jean Foillard 2010
Lots happening here as well: fresh and pretty, yet slightly rustic and farmyardy and with an elegant mineral finish. Beautifully crafted, completely enjoyable wine from one of the region's leading producers and best sites.
(£22 Les Caves de Pyrène, The Sampler)

Visiting Beaujolais
If you're travelling to France this summer, it's worth noting that the Beaujolais region takes some beating for its relaxing bucolic charm. Densely vined rolling hills are punctuated by pretty villages and, if you're a city-dwelling Francophile, it'll tick a lot of boxes. There is also a clearly sign-posted Route des Vins and many producers welcome visitors. A helpful Guide de l'oenotourism is published by the generic promotional body Inter Beaujolais.

Saucisson image copyright bbc.co.uk and many thanks to Inter Beaujolais for supplying the other three images.

J Lohr Wildflower: a summery red from California

I used to have quite a soft-spot for this wine and recently had the chance of tasting it for the first time in nearly two decades. In May I was representing some Californians at the London Wine Fair and just along from us was the J Lohr stand. It was great to have a chat and be reacquainted with a wine I'd enjoyed selling at Oddbins in the early 1990s. Back then it was called Wildflower Gamay and was a Californian alternative to decent quality or 'cru' Beaujolais.

It's a distinctively juicy wine with soft gentle tannins, but it's not made from the Gamay we know from Beaujolais, but a grape called Valdiguié or Gros Auxerrois (originally from southwest France) that used to be referred to as Napa Gamay. To avoid any confusion (it's not made from Gamay and it doesn't come from Napa) the wine is now labelled Wildflower Monterey County Valdiguié.

Anyway, I was thrilled to see it again and last week we enjoyed the bottle I was given at the fair with some sausages, mash and sauce diable from Rachel Khoo's Little Paris Kitchen cookery book (more about which another time). The wine's generous ripe aromatic fruit was delicious with the hot cayenne pepper in the sauce. Chilled briefly, with its refreshing acidity and fairly moderate alcohol (12.5 abv), it turned out to be an ideal choice on a warm summer evening. Time does fly, however, I look forward to enjoying Wildflower again soon.

Enotria is the UK importer and it is available for about £11.50 from Great Western Wine and various other independent merchants.