It was long my understanding (perhaps incorrect) that the beauty of Beaujolais was that they were so appealing and approachable at release. Get 'em, drink 'em. More and more now, however, it seems to me that there’s a trend in these houses making wines with more structure that will seriously benefit from ageing.
Brandon - I think your understanding is incorrect. There has been Beaujolais - I’m assuming you mean Gamay, that aged well as long as there has been Pinot Noir that aged well. In times past most wines were consumed young in part because they didn’t have bottles. So you keep tapping the barrel and by next vintage, your wine was pretty oxidized. But the Romans planted grapes there and some of the place names reflect their Roman origins.
In the early 1900s, a few French chemists were playing around with carbonic fermentation and eventually, someone in Beaujolais realized that it would be perfect for the abundant grapes that grew in the low-lying areas and that produced a lighter wine that was historically sent to nearby Lyon for consumption in the various bistros and cafés. Historically, Lyon was the market for much of the wine from Beaujolais because it had a big population that was based on the silk trade and was consequently relatively wealthy, in addition to being close by. But the wines from the various crus had been respected for centuries. Those are in the hills, whereas the cheaper wines come from the valley floor. France instituted the AOC system and I believe they awarded the first designation to Roquefort cheese, but when they added wine in 1936, Beaujolais was one of the first to be designated.
The idea that Beaujolais is to be consumed young came about only because the fashion for carbonic maceration in the late 1900a allowed the producers to create friendly, light, fruity, inexpensive wines that could be consumed very soon. The great négociant Duboeuf was able to create enough interest in the nouveau wines that it became a world wide fad to get them as soon as they were released.
But that’s never been the basis for the reputation of the region.
Wines from the region in the south are just called Beaujolais. But in the northern areas there are wines named after various villages, called Beaujolais-Villages, and those have always been respected.The ten villages in the north that are reputed to make the best Beaujolais can classify their wines as Grands Crus. Those have been age-worthy as long as such wines existed. Partly as a reaction to the fame that the region got for the young wines, and to make sure people knew that there was more than nouveau, in the 1980s the so-called “Gang of Four” began to promote their wines as “natural” “traditional” etc. But that didn’t mean they all eschew carbonic maceration. Just that they had a reputation that went back centuries.
Remember that in virtually every wine making region, there are wines that are produced for immediate consumption. I know people in Pic St Loup who make expensive Syrah but they also do a bit via carbonic maceration because they like the freshness it gives their wine. Many producers in Beaujolais do a combination and in fact, it’s sometimes difficult not to because while the top grapes are fermenting internally, those on the bottom of the tank get crushed and commence fermentation via yeast, rather than intracellular breakdown. And then some also combine whole cluster, partial whole cluster, etc.
Producers to look for include Brun, Chermette, Lapierre, Lapalu, Thévenet, Foillard, Breton, and Duboeuf. Domaine de Fa is a project of Alain Graillot, but I haven’t had the wine.