If you're a Burghead, do you also regularly drink Beaujolais?

Burgheads, do you regularly drink Beaujolais? Check what applies to you.

In annother post of mine about cellar distribution by Burgundy village, a couple guys said “well if you count Beaujolais”. I have a lot of respect for certain beaujolais producers like; Dupeuble, Thivin and Nicole Chanrion of Domaine De La Voutes. I’m not saying I love every Beaujolais I’ve tried as many commonly admired producers like Jean Paul Brun don’t float my boat but, selectively I find Beaujolais very intriguing and admire my favorite Beaujolais producers alongside my favorite Cote D Nuit/ Beaune producers. I was surprised about a month ago to learn that a big local Burghead I drink with occassional never pops any Beaujolais. For me, great Beaujolais, especially Cru Beaujolais, is one of those great little wine joys no one should ever miss. I’m often pretty pleased with Jadots basic Beaujolais Village. Many Beaujolais treasures can be enjoyed for sub $20. How about you?

I buy a lot of Beaujolais as it’s

1. Cheap for the most part
2. Drinks well early
3. Has a good short to mid-term aging window that works well for me
4. the wife loves it!

I mean, the most expensive one I’ve ever seen is $50. It’s like Chianti in a lot of ways. Lots of small, high quality producers and most of the really good ones are under $35.
It’s certainly about find the ones that fit your pallet for sure, but I’m always willing to try anything once.

Not for me, my hands are already full with Burgundy, Alsace, Germany, Piedmont…

I agree, whole heartedly. I do like finding a new producer to try. I rarely see much Moulin A Vent on the local shelves or even hear much buzz about that village here. Back in the 60s/70s that was the village to buy. I recently tried a couple vintages of a Kermit Lynch producer, Domaine Diochon, from Moulin a Vent and found even the 09 a bit rustic, which surprised me. So I’m still on the hunt for an interesting Moulin A Vent that nots heavy and has a silkier texture.

Mike, you’ve tried at least 3 or 4 producers and not for you? It’s like any region, producers can turn lights on or off for me.

I have long been a Beaujolais fan for many of the reasons already mentioned. Craig, you need to add Georges Descombes to your list of producers. I’ll open one for you sometime soon.

Edited to add: I like Burgundy, but would not be considered a Burghead. Hope it was okay for me to play anyway.

No. I must have 20 bottles of it in the cellar and don’t drink it regularly.
Represents several years of consumption. So will be aging
I try to drink one bottle of beaujolais nouveau every year. Quite refreshing if not earth shattering

I sometimes suggest the Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages to someone who is not into red wine and more inclined to drink sweet white wines. It is generally fruity enough to satisfy the “sweet spot” while still being a dry red wine.
I like Beaujolais Cru wines but don’t cellar for long. I do have some 2009s that I am cellaring mid-term but other vintages I usually drink within three years of release.

I knew I was getting serious about Cru Beujolais when I started dedicating spots in my two wine cabinetts to Beaujolais. Space being very limited, not much gets in my cabinetts that I don’t think deserves some aging and perfect storage conditions.

Of course, if you are drinking Beaujoulais already, then you ARE drinking Burgundy! But you knew that, didn’t you?

Yep but, there is enough geographical separation and variatal difference, for many to not consider it truely “Burgundy”.

Yeah, certain Beaujolais is fantastic. I’m sure I this will get me kicked out of the club but I like the bet Beaujolais almost as much as the best cote d’or reds. And they are teeny bit less expensive…

I’ve tried A LOT of them and don’t care for them but I am still trying. Her Royal Highness hates it so I’d rather buy from farther north

In the past I’ve bought an occasional Beaujolais to drink immediately. I also had good experience with a six-pack or so of 1985 Morgon Jean Descombes that I drank up through sometime in the late 90s, however I never made a point to cellar anything else. I now have an experimental set of bottles from 2009, mostly Ch. des Jacques Moulin a Vent and Ch. Thivin Cote de Brouilly, that I will try with longer aging. I picked the Thivin and Jacques because of the 09s I had they seemed to be most structured for aging. It’s somewhat pointless since by the time I know if I like them, it may be too late to cellar more. I did the same thing with some 95/96 Chinon and it took ten years to know that they were great with cellar time - but that came just in time to get some mid-00s. Unfortunately now I’m 15 years older. Anyway I like cellar experiments like this and they usually have interesting results.

Beaujolais may lack the grandeur of the best of Burgundy, but they have a delicious charm!!!

As I write this, I am drinking side by side the 2009 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon & the 2009 Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py Javernières …

In cellar; mostly 2009 Morgon, some 2007 Moulin-à-Vent, a 1928 negociant Leroy Moulin-à-Vent and a very special Gamay from Bernard van Berg (Meursault) …

You might try grabbing some of the 09 Desvignes Morgon Javernieres as well. And some of the '10 as well. This is regularly a cellarworthy wine.

I was thinking it was a little early in the day but, not in Rotterdan

You won’t get kicked out of my club!

Sounds like a plan!

I actually went through quite a bit - more than a case - of 2009 Jadot Beaujolais (not Villages) last year as Safeway and Trader Joes had it around $9-10. I like it quite a bit and sometimes you need something you can open with chili or pizza and not worry about matching. That is, if you are not drinking DRC with your chili.