2015 Beaujolais Preview: Atypically Brawny
but Often Excellent 

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | AUGUST 25, 2016&nbsp;While Beaujolais has been on as strong a roll as any wine
region in France over most of the last decade, the 2015 vintage in Beaujolais has
been receiving more attention than any I can recall, including the outstanding 2014 and 2013. But do the ‘15s justify the hype, especially for veteran fans of
these wines? <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1472026886783-beaujolais+2015+Rock+copy.JPG"> Blue and pink granite, two of the great soils of Beaujolais, collide, quite literally, on the hilltops of Morgon Clearly, 2015 stands out from the two preceding vintages
for the sheer heft and power of the wines, not to mention their full, even extreme
ripeness. The ’15 growing season featured steady warmth and a series of heat
spikes, with nighttime temperatures remaining mostly moderate. The harvest
began on August 24, as the last days of that month brought another heat wave. While
a classic cru Beaujolais can be expected to tip the scales at around 13% alcohol,
give or take half a percent, a number of 2015s approach or even surpass 15%,
with the majority around 14%, which is heady territory for the Gamay variety.
The fruit in many of these wines runs distinctly to the dark side rather than
red, à la the 2009s, and the wines,
not surprisingly, tend to be hefty and chewy. In that sense, as a group they
are probably not going to appeal to devotees of racy old-school Beaujolais, and
neither did most 2009s. 

When Ripeness
Comes with Vivacity

That said, I’ve found most of the finished 2015s—as well
as barrel samples I tasted during my trip to Beaujolais in June—to have more energy
than the 2009s, as well as relatively firm structures. Yes, the wines are decidedly
rich, but the best examples—and there are plenty—also have the requisite brightness
and energy to ensure at least mid-term ageability. That’s because, unlike in
2009, the 2015 growing season featured relatively cool nights during the weeks
leading up to the harvest, which helped to preserve acidity and thus freshness
in the wines. Of course cool nights couldn’t always cancel out all of the
effects of hot, dry weather throughout the Beaujolais region, but beneficial diurnal
shifts have imbued the best ‘15s with a vivacity that one might not typically
expect from a hot year.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1472026850615-Rodent+control+in+the+cellar+of+Cha%CC%82teau+Grange-Cochard+copy.JPG"> Rodent control in the cellar of Château Grange-Cochard 

Even so, my inclination would be to err on the side of
youth when deciding when to pull corks on most 2015s, and to give serious thought
to how many—and which—of these wines I’d want to stash in my cellar. Many
people contend that Beaujolais from ripe vintages are wines to age, as they can
live on their sheer richness and concentration. But while that may be true for
a handful of the best-balanced examples, my experience is that the fruit
character begins to veer toward the roasted side and the wines lose their
verve, which, at least in my view, is what make Beaujolais such a singular and
refreshing drink. The question for me is whether the 2015s will gain with
bottle age or simply endure.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1472133882979-beaujolais+2015+Vineyard+-+NEW.JPG"> Lush early summer in Vaux-en-Beaujolais, also known as Clochemerle and one of the most storied and scenic villages of France 

The wines featured in this report were tasted in finished
form in Beaujolais in June and, subsequently, in New York in July and
August. Note that many of the best producers are not represented in this
article because their wines were either still in tank or in barrel this summer
or had only recently been bottled. I have begun tasting these later releases
and plan to publish a second report on them later this fall.You Might Also Enjoy Article:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/2014-beaujolais-another-dream-vintage-aug-2016">2014 Beaujolais: Another&nbsp;Dream Vintage</a>,&nbsp;Josh Raynolds August 2016Multimedia:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/multimedia/recent-vintages-in-beaujolais-with-josh-raynolds-aug-2016">On Recent Beaujolais Vintages</a>, Josh Raynolds&nbsp;August 2016Article:&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/articles/a-lucky-13-for-beaujolais-lovers-jul-2016">A Lucky ‘13 for Beaujolais Lovers</a>,&nbsp;Josh Raynolds July 2016 

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