A 6 year old Beaujolais

A six year old Beaujolais. These are words I never thought I'd put together in the same sentence. Isn't Beaujolais young fresh and fruity? Yes of course it is but it can also age and have richness and intensity.

The proof for me was at a tasting organised by The Secret Cellar my local independent wine shop when we finished with a 2006 Cote de Brouilly from Chateau Thivin. This had a meaty leathery nose that led to ripe fruit on the palate but with a noticeable savoury edge to it. Soft rounded spicy and with a fair degree of complexity it was a real pleasure to experience and opened my eyes to the ageing potential of Beaujolais.

The evening started with a rose which is slightly unusual for the region but not as unusual as white Beaujolais. You could be forgiven for thinking that this came from the Cotes de Provence as it was light, fruity, refreshing and drinkable and very much in that region's style.

None of the wines we tasted had that bubble gum nose that can so often be associated with very young and inexpensive Beaujolais. As the evening went on and we tasted through wines from the "crus" of Chenas, Moulin-a-Vent, Julienas and Fleurie it was clear that Beaujolais can be serious wines but at a decent price. The '06 cost £18.99 a steal for a wine of that age and complexity and a bargain when you compare it to similar quality Burgundies for example.

The Chenas Vielles Vignes 2010 from Hubert Lapierre was one of my favourites with lots of ripe black fruit - intensely satisfying. The Domaine du Niagara Fleurie 2009 from Arnaud Despres was by contrast spicier with a savoury edge and some graphite. This was a wine that had the fruit, tannins and acid to last. Beaujolais producers have of course been blessed with several outstanding vintages in a row starting with 2009, followed by 2010 and then  2011 but the quality on offer across the region is very good.   

Thanks to Rob MacCulloch of Domaine Direct for the tutored tasting and for supplying the wines and ,of course, to The Secret Cellar for hosting the event, one of many on their varied and interesting events calendar.