Fall in Love With Beaujolais

Every October we are told that fall is in the air, but for those of us in South Florida, the closest we get to feeling it is drinking a Pumpkin Spice latte in front of a car’s A/C vent. Without the chill of a crisp autumn evening, we may feel that we lose out on the full transition from our summer wine collection to our winter bottles. There is certainly no sipping our favorite fireside cabernet comfortably on the back patio when it’s still 90 degrees outside and that tropical humidity is shamelessly soaking our stemware.

Luckily, we always have Beaujolais, a perfect red wine for a Miami fall night. Wines produced in the Beaujolais district of France are made mostly with the gamay grape, in a range of styles from fun and fruity to more serious and complex. Not just the “Beaujolais Nouveau” wine released the third Thursday of each November, Beaujolais as a region is far more sophisticated, offering wines for all levels of wine lovers.

It’s easy to have a singular opinion of Beaujolais as a simple, bubblegum wine that shows up on our grocery store end caps in bulk around Thanksgiving. If you’ve ever tried Beaujolais Nouveau, you may think that this “baby wine,” at only 7 to 9 weeks old in the bottle, is made for those with a watered-down palate and no real interest in aging. However, for many around the world, Beaujolais Nouveau is only the introduction to a love affair with this premier French region.

As in many winemaking regions across France, Beaujolais, located just south of Burgundy, has a hierarchy of quality wines. From the regional “Beaujolais” wines, which are the most simple in structure and made from grapes sourced from a large area in the southern part of the region, to the coveted 10 “cru” wines of the north, many of which boast an elegant earthiness akin to some of the most prized pinot noir wines of Burgundy, it’s hard to pin just one personality to Beaujolais. Somewhere in the middle of regional and cru bottles are wines labeled “Beaujolais-Villages,” which are made from grapes sourced from 39 villages located in the rolling hills of the north and western parts of the region.

Though there are many producers and “négociants” – people who buy wine that is already vinified from growers or cooperatives – throughout Beaujolais, perhaps the most famous is Georges Duboeuf, the man who is largely responsible for the success of the annual Beaujolais Nouveau event.

On a quest to find a favorite Beaujolais, we sourced a couple of bottles of Georges Duboeuf wines from Downtown Miami’s 305wines.com. The first bottle is the traditional 2019 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais, which is by far the fruitiest of any other bottles, complete with that signature Beaujolais bubblegum flavor. Light and bright, with sweet cherry candy aromas, even some banana, and ripe raspberry on the nose, this bottle did surprise with quality beyond expectation, mild tannins and a lingering cherry finish. Totally chillable, Duboeuf Beaujolais is the quintessential red wine of a warm early fall night.

For an earthier alternative, try the 2016 Georges Duboeuf Morgon, a cru Beaujolais wine from the Morgon area, which is considered one of the premium crus where the most structured wines of Beaujolais can be found. On the nose, expect more cooked fruits like cherry and raspberry pie filling. Less bubblegum and more bold syrupy flavors intertwined with savory, earthier notes. This wine gives a full mouthfeel with soft tannins, and though it maintains a lot of red berry fruit on the palate, expect more flavors of mushroom and spice, with a long, lingering bitter cranberry finish. Morgon is complex, with structured layers that peel away with each sip.

Back in the villages for a taste of the 2018 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages, which shows more concentrated fruit than a basic Beaujolais, but still with a lighter body dominated by cherry flavors. In this bottle, a bit of minerality peeking through, perhaps a reflection of the granite soils of the villages. Fresh, but with darker undertones lurking under the surface, adding a layer of complexity not found in lesser wines. Baking spices like cinnamon and clove make an appearance in the mouth, but overall, spice takes a backseat to the blended village fruit.

Lastly, our Beaujolais exploration takes us to the cru of Côte de Brouilly with a bottle of 2016 Domaine Ruet Côte de Brouilly. Dark, bruised cherry aromas dominate, with forest floor, spiced fruit and cinnamon sticks rounding out the “holiday potpourri” of the nose. The complexity of this Brouilly comes from the fresh fruit mixed with dried components and spice. A soft wine leaves a long impression with dried cranberry and cherries lingering on the palate.

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais, $14.99; Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages, $18.99; Domaine Ruet Côte de Brouilly, $22.99; and Georges Duboeuf Morgon, $19.99; all at 305wines.com.