Changing Perspectives in Beaujolais

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | AUGUST 24, 2021

Two-thousand nineteen provides a somewhat welcome return to a mostly classic style of Beaujolais following the often weighty, ripe, and dark-fruited wines of 2018 and 2017. Compared to 2016, 2014 and 2011, most of the 2019s are definitely on the richer side, but I ran across few examples that approached the weight, much less the warmth, of their 2018 and 2017 siblings.

Because of COVID restrictions I could not get to Beaujolais this year, but my colleague, Neal Martin, was able to get to France in June, which gave us an opportunity to provide Vinous readers with two independent perspectives on Beaujolais and its wines. Neal’s report will follow mine shortly. While I was able to sample some 2020s here in New York, the vast majority of wines will start arriving this fall and then proceed at least into next spring. Neal, on the other hand, tasted mostly recently bottled 2020s and 2019 and 2018 late releases. I hope to get to Beaujolais this winter to check out the 2020s in person, but it is hard to know when that will be possible. 

2019: A Step Back to Normal, Relatively Speaking

Two-thousand nineteen started off cold, with frosts occurring across the region in the first week of April and subsequent crop loss. The weather was generally clement until the warmth cranked up, often significantly, in late June. Rainfall was sparse, which also kept yields down. The last weeks of August saw abundant rainfall, invigorating the vines as they headed toward a harvest that was much later than those of the previous two years. Picking commenced on September 10 and hurried along until the last week of the month in most crus. The fruit was ripe, but with good buffering acidity. That shows in the wines, a number of which I found to be truly outstanding and, in many cases, age-worthy.

Mont Brouilly, which rose up over 35 million years ago, dominates the Beaujolais landscape and is home to some of the region's most prized vineyards.