Do you know the way to Beaujolais?

Early in 2020, I took my list of wine topics for the three wine writing groups I’m in as well as the various wine variety days and started looking for bottles at Grocery Outlet, WineHouse LA, and from my contacts. I was excited to find wines for several topics at Grocery Outlet, for example, Brachetto d’Acqui last month and Beaujolais today, plus Sue picked up three bottles for Moscato Day.

For the Beaujolais, Grocery Outlet actually had bottles by Louis Tete from seven or eight of the ten Beaujolais crus, so I had to decide which ones to choose. As I stood in the store I brought up Wikipedia on my phone and read the thumbnail descriptions to decide on what to purchase. While I was tempted to buy one of each (!), I decided to choose two that I thought would contrast the most and be the most interesting to taste: the light bodied Brouilly in the south and the fuller bodied Morgan to the north in the middle fo the region. These are also two of the largest producers.

Located east of Bordeaux, and just north of Lyon and south of Burgundy, Beaujolais is is the home to Gamay aka Gamay Beaujolais. Wines are light, bright, fragrant, and fruity, and typically enjoyed when young as they don’t usually gain much in complexity with age. The prolific grape produces less fruit on stony, granitic soils of the crus.  Grapes traditionally were pruned in a gobelet shape, not trained onto wires, but this is changing for increased mechanization. To produce this shape, the vines are head trained and then the vines are gathered up to hold them vertically in the shape of a goblet.

Glass shape is also a large open goblet similar to pinot noir but it flips out on the lip. This concentrates the fruit flavors.

According to the Vintner’s Alliance website, “The Domaine Louis Tête has been a reference in the Beaujolais region for 3 generations. The wine-growers family has been established since the beginning of the 19th century in “Les Dépôts”, a few kilometers from Beaujeu the historical capital of Beaujolais. Today Jean Tête and his daughter Justine are rejuvenating the domaine while remaining faithful to the family’s past, experience and roots.”

MENU

• Cheese Plate with two kinds of brie and pate
• Fresh baked bread
• Green salad with dijon dressing and hard boiled egg
• Mushroom Marsala on pasta
• Chicken Marsala on pasta

2016 Louis Tete Brouilly
13% alcohol SRP $18
I purchased at Grocery Outlet for $10.

Color: Medium density, Carmine, jewel toned, ruby all the way to pale pink rim.

Nose: Very perfumey raspberry and rose petals, vanilla ice cream with a cherry on top. Raspberry cheesecake, violet and iris, I found milk chocolate, but Sue could not get there

Palate: From the nose, it is much more tart that you would expect. It is very clean, tart, raspberry. Balanced acidity and tannins. This is a very mouthwatering wine. Very long lingering finish, saline, river washed granitic gravel soil. (PS We tasted this before I researched the soils to discover that’s what they are grown on!)

Pairing: The tart in the wine loves the Florette bringing out the fruit in the wine and a lovely cheese bloom in the food. The wine loves the earthen qualities of the mushroom brie making it a perfect pairing. The wine elevates the food and the food elevates the wine. The bright acidity cuts through the richness of the food. One of my favorite pairings is pate with Pinot Noir, but it is just as incredible with the Beaujolais. The salad goes well with the wine the dijon and the egg are a perfect accompaniment to the wine. This wine loves the spicy greens in the salad. The flavor explodes when paired with arugula. Fantastic with chicken marsala. The sweet and savory of this chicken dish is so wonderful with this wine.

2016 Louis Tete Morgon
13% alcohol SRP $18
I purchased at Grocery Outlet for $10.

Color: Medium density ruby red with a mauve pink rim.

Nose: Rhubarb, mulberry; this is a rich heady wine, earthen.

Palate: Surprising on the palate, tart cherry, red cherry, walnut finish, dry mineral finish.

Pairing: For me the Florette cheese was not a fantastic pairing with this wine. I felt they both fought with each other, however The Champignon and the wine were fantastic together, the earthy notes in the cheese bring out nice. Spice in the salad goes so well with the spice in the wine, (which by the way is not that present in the wine without the salad greens. Fantastic with this rich robust chicken marsala dish.

Join the French Winophiles for our twitter chat this Saturday at 8am Pacific where we will be discussing the topic of Beaujolais.

• • Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm experiences A Casual COVID-19 Visit with Charcuterie and Chateau de Poncie Le Pre Roi Fleurie.
  • Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla pairs Tuna Pâté + Joseph Drouhin Hospices De Belleville Brouilly 2016.
  • Jill at L’Occasion explores Soil + Wind: Tasting Cru Beaujolais with Château du Moulin-à-Vent.
  • Payal of Keep the Peas is Welcoming Summer with a Berry Delicious Brouilly.
  • Lynn at Savor the Harvest honors Fleurie – The Queen of Beaujolais Crus.
  • Jane at Always Ravenous explores Cru Beaujolais: Tasting and Food Pairings.
  • Jeff at Food Wine Click! enjoys Cru Beaujolais at the Grill.
  • Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares Flowers for Julien –Beaujolais in May.
  • Linda at My Full Wine Glass discovers Gamay and Granite – A Beaujolais Love Story.
  • Susannah Gold at Avvinare finds Cru Beaujolais – An Endless Discovery.
  • Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairing discovers Cru Beaujolais –Cedric Lathuiliere Fleurie Paired with Frog Legs.
  • Nicole at Somms Table explains Julien Sunier Régnié and a Focaccia Fail.
  • Lauren at The Swirling Dervish meets Morgon de Jean-Pau Thévenet, One of the Beaujolais Gang of Four.
  • Kat at The Corkscrew Concierge is Exploring the Differences & Pairing Versatility of Cru Beaujolais.
  • Martin at Enofylz Wine Blog considers A Taste of Chénas, Beaujolais’ Rarest Cru.
  • Terri of Our Good Life pairs Cru Beaujolais with Rustic Foods.
  • Gwendolyn at Wine Predator is Comparing Louis Tete’s 2016 Brouilly and Morgan Gamay from Beaujolais With Pairings.
  • Over at Grape Experiences, host Cindy is loving The Wines of Fleurie – An Enchanting Introduction to Cru Beaujolais.

For the twitter chat we will discuss the following pro Saturday May 16 starting at 8am Pacific:

• :00 Welcome to #Winophiles and our chat about #CruBeaujolais! Please introduce yourself! Where are you tweeting from? Share a link to your blog. #Winophiles
• :05 How familiar were you with #CruBeaujolais before this #Winophiles experience?
• 10 Have you ever tasted wines of #CruBeaujolais prior to the #Winophiles opportunity? Why or why not? Can you find the wines at a restaurant?
• :15 In your research about #CruBeaujolais, what did you discover about the land, people, traditions? Any “ah-ha!” moments? Share thoughts and a special photo if you can. #ItalianFWT
• :20 Have you ever traveled to #Beaujolais? If so, what was the most memorable takeaway from that experience? Share a photo! #CruBeaujolais #Winophiles
• :25 Did you have a difficult time finding a bottle of #CruBeaujolais? Where did you ultimately find it – wine shop, online ordering…? #Winophiles
• :30 Which cru was your wine from? Is this a wine you would pour on a regular basis? Share a few tasting notes and a link to your blog post. #Winophiles
• :35 If you paired your #CruBeaujolais with a recipe, share the story of the dish. Why did you choose it? #Winophiles
• :40 Will you make the recipe again and pair with #CruBeaujolais? What other foods could you consider? Share a photo of your dish. #ItalianFWT
• :45 Why do you think #CruBeaujolais is so fascinating? #Winophiles
• :50 At #Winophiles we try to inspire others to learn about a new variety or region and try a new recipe for pairing. What would you say to a #CruBeaujolais newbie?
• :55 Thank you @GrapeExp_Cindy for hosting our chat about #CruBeaujolais. Join us on June 20 when we discover the unexpected pleasures in Champagne- with Gwendolyn Alley @artpredator #Winophiles https://wp.me/pj3XZ-5Gq