The Future Is Beaujolais: 2020-2022 Releases

BY NEAL MARTIN | MAY 04, 2023

Introduction

The future is Beaujolais.

Those contentious four words were not from my lips. They were uttered by a respected and seasoned winemaker when discussing what lies ahead for Beaujolais. Uttered without intent to inflame, nevertheless, uttered as a statement of fact, with palpable conviction behind each syllable. From where he stands, the gilded Domaines up in the Côte d’Or face a predicament: few mortals can afford to think about the wines, let alone drink them. Just down the autoroute, conveniently tucked between Mâconnais and Lyon, nestles a region for whom expensive is a bottle selling for more than single figure euros. I’m not being facetious.

On my first day, a vigneron tells how an importer would only take their Beaujolais-Villages because their Village Crus are too pricey. Glancing at their tariff list, I see that their Fleurie sells for the princely sum of 12 Euros. I make a mental note to adjust my mindset to an entirely different economic reality, one that foregrounds affordability. The conundrum is being knowingly under-priced. How do you persuade consumers, many just awakening to Beaujolais’s virtues, to accept rising prices without losing them? Let’s park that discussion elsewhere for the moment - I will return to that later.

In the meantime, let’s examine what Beaujolais has to offer in two contrasting consecutive growing seasons: 2020 and 2021 since they comprise a majority of tasting notes, augmented by dozens of early-bottled 2022s that augur what is coming down the line.

The famous moulin of Moulin-à-Vent. For fellow children of the 1970s, there was no sign of Windy Miller.

The Growing Seasons