Cru Beaujolais: A Far Cry from Beaujolais Nouveau!

Show Notes

Episode #235: Cru Beaujolais: A Far Cry from Beaujolais Nouveau!  00:00

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KEY QUESTIONS

• What's the difference between Cru Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau?
• What are Beaujolais's 10 crus, and why don't their labels always say "Beaujolais"?
• Should Cru Beaujolais be served chilled, like Beaujolais Nouveau is?
• Does Cru Beaujolais age well, and can it start to taste like Pinot Noir?
• What's the difference between Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent, two of the top Cru Beaujolais crus?
• What food pairs well with Cru Beaujolais?
• Is Cru Beaujolais expensive, and where can you find i

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Episode Overview and First Thoughts on Cru Beaujolais  00:33
Hello fellow wine wonderfuls! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

If you're new to our podcast, here's what we do: Every week we buy wines under $25 with our own money, taste them, and give you our brutally honest opinion on whether they're worth buying. Nobody pays us to review specific wines, we don't accept free bottles from wineries, and we're not afraid to call out a bad wine when we taste one. Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining - so if that sounds like your vibe, welcome to our tribe of wine lovers.

Carmela, today we are going to go back to one of our favorite wine areas, Burgundy, but we are not going to be talking about Pinot Noir. No. We are heading to a southern sub-region of Burgundy called Beaujolais where some of our favorite wine comes from, which may be surprising for some people because of how some people think about Beaujolais. 

Beaujolais is made from the grape Gamay. Now, those of you out there in listening land will know this about us, that we love our medium-bodied red wines from the Burgundy region, but some of you may not be as familiar with Beaujolais and Gamay, and others of you may be unimpressed because what you associate with Beaujolais is that wine that comes out near the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. called Beaujolais Nouveau.

Today, we are going to talk about the best of the best Beaujolais, in other words Cru Beaujolais, and we are going to focus on two of the top areas, namely Morgon (more-goh) and Moulin-à-Vent (moo lan ah vahn). That’s right, there is Cru Beaujolais. In fact, there are 10 Cru designations in Beaujolais, and we are going to chat about them just a bit so you can get familiar with them, but before we do that, I want to just express the difference between Cru Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau. As we always say, we are not here to yuck your yum, so if you love Beaujolais Nouveau we say peace and you do you, but it is not our favorite wine, and we think it gives Gamay and Beaujolais a bit of a questionable reputation. 

So, let’s talk about how “serious” Cru Beaujolais is different from the wine Beaujolais Nouveau:

• Terroir
  • Cru Beaujolais comes from ten specific, prestigious villages in the northern, hillier part of the region, and its vineyards are on poor, stony soils which help with water stress, which is good for wine grapes. Beaujolais Nouveau, on the other hand, primarily comes from the flat lands of southern Beaujolais, where the soils are richer.
• Harvest and Release Timing
  • Cru Beaujolais follows typical traditional maturation and is generally released one to two years after harvest. Beaujolais Nouveau is what the French call a vin de primeur (early-release wine) harvested, fermented, and quickly released on the third Thursday of November, just six to eight weeks after the grapes are picked. That’s fast!
• Winemaking Methods
  • Cru Beaujolais winemakers follow more traditional methods used in Burgundy, focusing on crushed-fruit fermentation, partial destemming, and aging in oak barrels or large vats to build color and depth. Beaujolais Nouveau is produced quickly via carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration, which is where uncrushed grapes are placed in a sealed tank filled with carbon dioxide, which causes them to ferment from the inside out to create a softer, extra-fruity, sometimes almost candy-like wine
• Flavor Profile
  •  Cru Beaujolais is considered more serious and structured, with fine tannins, dark cherry and dark berry fruits, and some spice, earth, minerality, and tea. Beaujolais Nouveau is again known for its light-body and very juicy, fruity flavors with soft to no tannins. The carbonic maceration, again, has a big impact on flavor
• Aging Potential
  • Cru Beaujolais can age for 5, 10, or even more years, and as they age, can come to more and more resemble a Pinot Noir. Beaujolais Nouveau is made in a "drink-now" style, meant to be served lightly chilled and consumed in the first 6 months. You don’t want no old Nouveau!

If you want something a bit more in-between, you can find fantastic Beaujolais-Villages wines that are fruity but a little more serious, can be chilled or not, and don’t have to be drunk quite so young. But, clearly, you should choose whatever style of Gamay that fits either your style, the occasion, and/or the food you are eating.

On that note, Carmela, we need to dig into just what make Cru Beaujolais Cru Beaujolais, and we have two Cru Beaujolias wines to drink this week that are very reasonably priced and we are going to rate and review them to let you know if we think they are worth running out to buy . . .

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and, as you know, we buy all of the wine we taste and review every week so that we can give you real and honest reviews. If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a five star rating and review so we can grow listeners.

We also love to hear from you and we always respond so you can follow us on Instagram and Bluesky and TikTok at thewinepairpodcast. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also send us a note at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and let us know about wines your want us to review or just shoot the breeze, we love chatting it up.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who thinks that all Beaujolais is that fruity Thanksgiving wine or who loves Pinot Noir but is unfamiliar with Gamay and Cru Beaujolais, because they may dig this wine.


Topic: WTF is Cru Beaujolais? 11:19

Carmela, let’s find out just what the eff Cru Beaujolais is, shall we?

Again, Cru Beaujolais has to come from one of the ten Cru villages, and each Cru is its own officially recognized AOC. In fact, each of the Cru villages is said to create a specific style of wine, and to make it even more confusing, the name Beaujolais is often left off the label so you may only find just the name of the specific village on the label. Which means, you kind of have to know what the names of the villages are to understand if you are getting Cru Beaujolais.

We will go through each of the Cru villages very quickly to give you a sense of the wine they make. You do not have to memorize these. There is no quiz. But you can use the show notes from this episode, if you go to our website and look for this episode and click on it. I will likely also do a social post on it. 

• Saint-Amour (sen-ta-moor) is the northernmost Cru, known for light, elegant, and aromatic wines. A
• Juliénas (jool yeh nah) is planted on steep slopes and its wines are said to be robust, sturdy, and rugged with deeper red fruit flavors and spices.
• Chénas (shay-nah) is the smallest and rarest Cru. The wine is called “quietly powerful”, and the wines are said to be full-bodied, mineral, floral, and earthy. 
• Moulin-à-Vent (moo lan ah vahn) where one of our wines is from today, is centered around a historic windmill monument. The wine is often called the King of Beaujolais, and is considered the most powerful, concentrated, and long-lived Cru.
• Fleurie (flur-ee) is located on dramatic, steep hills and the wine is often called the "Queen of Beaujolais.” The wines are said to be elegant, silky, and fresh red fruit
• Chiroubles (shee-roob) is the highest-altitude Cru, and the wines are said to be delicate and light, with racy acidity and crunchy red fruits (berries)
• Morgon (more-goh) is the second-largest Cru, and its legendary *Côte du Py* vineyard sits on an extinct volcano. This is the other wine we are going to drink today, and is known for being fleshy, meaty, and very structured. This wine is said to start to mimic fine Burgundy as it ages
• Régnié (Ren-yay) is the newest Cru (established in 1988). The wines are called supple and fresh, medium-bodied, with bright fruits and some spice
• Côte de Brouilly (koht duh broo yee) is on the steep slopes of Mont Brouilly. The wine is described as robust and meaty, and has flavors of fresh grape juice and firm tannins. 
• Brouilly (broo-yee) (just plain old Brouilly) is the southernmost and largest Cru, and also is near Mont Brouilly. The wines are called generous, bright, and approachable, very fruit forward and easy drinking. Some say it is the definitive Parisian "bistro" wine.

“Some Japanese Canadians Marry French Canadians Making Really Beautiful Children”

So, that’s some stuff to know, and now I really, really want to travel to Beaujolais and visit these villages!

For a bit of history about winemaking in Beaujolais, viticulture goes back to Roman times, and the Romans really thought highly of the area for winemaking. In fact, many of the Cru villages still bear names that trace directly back to the Roman soldiers and officers who settled here including Juliénas (jool nyeh nah) from Julius Caesar and Brouilly (Broo-yee) from Brulius, who was a Roman lieutenant.

During the Middle Ages, winemaking took off under the monks, and we’ve heard that story a lot before, so what’s new?!? And some rulers really loved Beaujolais wine, including King Louis XIII who would only serve Beaujolais at his dinner table, and the Cru of Chénas was famously a favorite of his.

In a funny bit of history, in 1395, Philip the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, issued a decree where he banished the Gamay grape from Burgundy proper, and called it a “bad and disloyal grape.” Sheesh. Lighten up, Phil. He said that because Gamay can be a fast growing, high yield grape, and he thought it threatened the reputation of the delicate Pinot Noir.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Beaujolais was a local favorite in Lyon, France, and also became a favorite in Paris bistros as we mentioned before. In the early 20th century, Cru Beaujolais was actually considered on par with Burgundy, which we bet you did not know, and the 20th century was also when the Cru designations were recognized in Beaujolais. The broader or “general” Beaujolais AOC was recognized in 1937, and in 1951 Beaujolais Nouveau became a thing and gained popularity. However, by the 1980s and 1990s, in a tale we have heard before, a bunch of cheap, badly produced Beaujolais Nouveau flooded the market and damaged the reputation for Beaujolais, probably to this day in many places like the US.

The resurgence of the wine has been pretty recent, brought on by producers who focused on more natural wine making and high quality, and then when the market crashed in 2008 and 2009, wine lovers looking for less expensive but high quality wines rediscovered Beaujolais, and especially Cru Beaujolais.

And, for one more thing to put in your brain box, in 2018, Beaujolais was officially recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark which, and I had not idea what a Global Geopark meant, but according to the interwebs it means:
It is a single, unified geographical area where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education, and sustainable development

But that’s enough information. I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?

Cru Beaujolais Wines We Chose for This Episode 22:22

As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are under or at $25, which is fantastic deal for a Cru level wine, and at least one of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought one at wine.com, and then another at a local grocery store called Town and Country. Beaujolais will be relatively easy to find, and you will likely be able to find wines labeled Gamay more easily now than in the past as well. If you want to find a Cru Beaujolais, however, you will have to do a bit more hunting, and so look for a good wine shop or a store, like Town and Country, with a good wine selection, or, as always, go to your local wine shop and ask the owner to help you out and they will be more than happy to do so. 

The first wine we are going to drink is the 2023 Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon (more-goh), and this wine got a 92 from both Wilfred Wong of wine.com and sucky James Suckling. That’s right, not a 90!

This wine is obviously from Morgon, and you can tell that from the name on the label, and note, as we mentioned, that they do not put Beaujolais on the label, just to make you work a bit harder. 

The winery is certified Terra Vitis, which is a French national certification and association for sustainable and eco-responsible winegrowing. It was actually founded in 1988 by winemakers in Beaujolais, and they are focused on 

• Environmental protection: preserving biodiversity, managing natural resources carefully, and limiting chemicals.
• Social responsibility: Ensuring the well-being and safety of winegrowers, employees, and local communities.
• Economic viability: Balances ecological practices with the long-term business success of vineyards

The grapes are harvested by hand and go under a 17-day semi-carbonic whole bunch maceration with temperature control. So, this winery does use carbonic maceration, although many others in the Cru villages do not. Then they age the wine for 6 to 10 months in concrete vats before bottling. They also say that this is a wine that should be served around 59 degrees F, or 15 degrees C. So, remember, this is a red wine that you can, and should, serve chilled. 

The second wine we are going to drink is the 2024 Moulin-a-Vent (moo lan ah vahn) Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons, and I could not find any professional reviews for this particular vintage, but previous vintages have gotten some nice scores. 

It was hard to find out too much about this wine, and I looked for a tech sheet but had trouble finding it, so here is what I could find. 100% hand harvested Gamay. Whole cluster. Carbonic maceration, indigenous yeast, no additives. Aged for 10 months in oak barrels and casks.

And that’s about it. 

So, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!

LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES

• https://domainegillescoperet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MORGON-FT-en.pdf
• https://thewineemporium.com.au/yohan-lardy-moulin-a-vent-michelons-beaujolais-2024 
• https://www.yohan-lardy.com/  

2023 Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon, 2024 Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 27:12

Wine: Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: France, Beaujolais
Vintage: 2023
Price: $20.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Gamay
Professional Rating: WW 92, JS 92 Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon: 

• Color: Ruby red, deeper than expected
• On the nose: Dark cherry, match stick, strawberry alcohol, a bit astringent, cherry cough syrup, herb, rosemary 
• In the mouth: Tangy, thin, might be a bad bottle, lemon, tart, acidic, pomegranate, cranberry, tight?

Food to pair with this Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon: Cheeseburger, meat pizza, macho nachos
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

 Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 5/10
• Carmela: 5/10

Wine: Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons
Region: France, Beaujolais
Vintage: 2024
Price: $25.99 
Retailer: Town and Country
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Gamay
Professional Rating: Vivino 3.9

What we tasted and smelled in this Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons: 

• Color: Ruby red, 
• On the nose: Meaty, earthy, gamey, cherry, plum, black currant
• In the mouth: Juicy, medium bodied, dark fruits, supple tannins, balance, Italian plum, a bit thin or watery, chalky, cherry Tums

Food to pair with this Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons: French dip, French onion soup, bready foods, sandwich, picnic wine, comfort food, mac n cheese, caprese salad with bread, spaghetti with breadcrumbs


Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 6/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons
• Joe: Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons

The Test: Did we nail the taste profiles expected from Cru Beaujolais?  40:36

• General 
  • Medium-light to medium body, good acidity, low to moderate tannins, a smooth and silky mouthfeel
  • Primary Fruit Flavors: Tart red berries like cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and red currant.
  • Secondary Notes: Distinct floral aromas (like violet and iris) alongside savory, earthy, and mineral undertones.
• Domaine Gilles Coperet Morgon
  • Winery: Deep garnet red color. Aromas of ripe stone fruit such as cherry. Full-bodied, this wine is rich, powerful and fleshy.
  • WW: showcases aromas and flavors of fragrant spices, ripe red and black fruits, and a hint of chalk.
  • JS: Ripe cherries, raspberries and hints of chocolate and mild spices on the nose. Vivid and juicy on the palate, it has a medium body with supple but crunchy tannins and bright acidity. A lot of life and energy that make the wine bright and delicious.
• Moulin-a-Vent Cru Beaujolais Les Michelons
  • Winery: Dark berry fruit, graphite and floral spice layered over firm mineral tension and fine tannins.
  • Esquin: Cherry and plum fruits intermix with notes of earth, tobacco and garrigue.

What is our verdict on Cru Beaujolais? 42:29
We feel like we need to drink more, we feel like we had a bad bottle for the first wine, and neither wine really knocked us out. There’s more to learn and more to try.


And now it is time to head over to our news desk so that we can cover our wine in the news this week segment.

Wine in the news this week: Heat forces French Champagne makers to increase alcohol content 43:18

• https://www.thelocal.com/20260909/heat-forces-french-champagne-makers-to-increase-alcohol-content

Our wine in the news this week comes from AFP, via The Local, and the article is called "Heat forces French Champagne makers to increase alcohol content." Interesting, huh? Links are in the show notes as always.

French authorities just gave Champagne producers permission to raise the alcohol content of their wine this year, up to 15 percent instead of the usual 13 percent cap. And, the question is why?

Well, as the weather gets hotter via climate change, yes, it is real folks, the grapes are getting riper and riper and more full of sugar. As a result, growers are having to pick their grapes earlier and earlier. This past year, the first grapes were harvested on August 6th, and most of the region was harvesting by August 17th, about two weeks ahead of last year, which was already considered an early year.

As a result, the Comité Champagne requested an exception on the alcohol level requirement, and they received a temporary allowance from the INAO, France's appellation authority, to allow the alcohol cap to rise for the 2026 harvest only. It's not a permanent rule change, and the association has been explicit that it's a one-year allowance, not a new standard.

One of the group's co-chairs, Maxime Toubart, said this kind of harvest will probably become normal within the next ten to fifteen years if things keep going this way. The other co-chair, David Chatillon, pointed out that most growers will not actually get anywhere near 15 percent. The average after harvest usually sits under 12 percent, so this is not going to turn every bottle of Champagne into something stronger.

Still, this is happening in a year when France is expecting its lowest wine harvest in seventy years, and Champagne specifically could see production drop by as much as half.

You may wonder why this is a big deal, but the truth is, higher alcohol has an impact on our experience of a wine. Higher alcohol makes Champagne feel fuller and rounder in the mouth, and it tends to soften the acidity and freshness, sometimes leaving a warmer, almost hot sensation on the finish. It also usually comes paired with riper fruit flavors and less citrus, and that citrus is a signature of Champagne. So, while the wine may taste “stronger,” the bigger concern is if it actually tastes like what people expect from Champagne.

And, given what we learned last week in the British Bubbly episode, maybe the Sparkling wine from England will start to taste like the sparkling wine expected from Champagne.

So Carmela, what do you think? Do you think the wine makers will need a more permanent exception, or should they strive to keep Champagne more traditional in terms of alcohol content?



Listener Shoutouts 47:35

• Christine, Tips2Liveby reached out to let us know she liked the short minisode format we did a few weeks ago on sugar free wine, and she likes Mabel’s background noises
• Chef Paul - shared a recipe from his cooking page on Instagrm “pauls_cooking_page” where he had a beautiful dish of Not Quite Pasta Nerano and he said it was an awesome pairing with a wine we have never had called La Crescent which is a cold-climate hybrid grape grown in the Upper Mississippi River Valley from a winery called Elmaro. Said it was as good as Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc
• Jessica on Spotify commented she like the minisode on the truth behind sugar free wine marketing
• Dale reached out to let us know we might need to work on our Greek pronunciation a bit more! Which we are totally good with
• Adrienne AKA Artmetalgirl on Insta commented on our latest video that Mabel wants treats

Wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us 49:04

• Decoy wines: 2023 Decoy California Cabernet Sauvignon, 2025 Decoy Sauvignon Blanc
• Loire Crémant: Gratien Meyer Cremant de Loire Brut, Langlois Cremant de Loire Brut Rose
• Sylvaner: Domaine Mann Mouton Bleu Sylvaner 2022, Hans Wirsching Iphofer Silvaner 2023
• Valdiguie: Cruse Wine Co. Rancho Chimiles Vineyard Valdiguie 2023, Optik French Camp Valdiguie 2022

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 49:43

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and remember, we buy all of our own wine and we do all of the writing and recording and editing to bring you a show every week because we absolutely love doing it, and our small little ask for you is that you please follow or subscribe to our podcast and also please leave us a nice rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have done so already! 

You can also follow us on Instagram and Bluesky and TikTok at thewinepairpodcast. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also visit our “Shop Wine” section where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode.  I will also note that on our website, if you are curious about a wine we have covered in the past, we do have a pretty good search functionality, so you can use that find wines you want to know more about. 

And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com 

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. What's the difference between Cru Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau?
A. Cru Beaujolais comes from 10 officially recognized crus in the hillier north, on poorer, stonier soils that produce structured wine with real tannin and aging potential. Beaujolais Nouveau primarily comes from richer flatland soils farther south, rushed to release just 6 to 8 weeks after harvest in a lighter, fruitier, drink-now style.

Q. What are Beaujolais's 10 crus, and why don't their labels always say "Beaujolais"?
A. The 10 are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Côte de Brouilly, and Brouilly, each its own recognized AOC (Moulin-à-Vent's appellation actually spans two communes, not one village). A wine made entirely within a single cru is often labeled with just that cru's name, since the name alone signals cru-level quality without needing "Beaujolais" on the bottle.

Q. Should Cru Beaujolais be served chilled, like Beaujolais Nouveau is?
A. Yes, just not as cold. Cru Beaujolais is typically served around 59°F (15°C), noticeably cooler than room temperature, while Beaujolais Nouveau is served colder, closer to 54°F (12°C). Both benefit from a chill, Cru just gets a lighter one.

Q. Does Cru Beaujolais age well, and can it start to taste like Pinot Noir?
A. Yes. Cru Beaujolais can age 5, 10, or more years, developing more complexity along the way. Morgon in particular is known for aging into something that starts to mimic fine Burgundy, taking on the earth, spice, and structure more typical of a mature Pinot Noir.

Q. What's the difference between Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent, two of the top Cru Beaujolais crus?
A. Morgon, the region's second-largest cru, is known for its Côte du Py vineyard, a hill of rare blue schist, producing fleshy, structured wine said to mimic fine Burgundy with age. Moulin-à-Vent, named for a historic windmill and spanning two communes, is often called the "King of Beaujolais" for its structured, ageworthy wine.

Q. What food pairs well with Cru Beaujolais?
A. Cru Beaujolais suits hearty, savory food: cheeseburgers, pizza, loaded nachos, French dip sandwiches, French onion soup, mac and cheese, and a charcuterie board with crusty bread are all good matches. Cru Beaujolais covers a range of styles, so let the specific bottle guide your pairing.

Q. Is Cru Beaujolais expensive, and where can you find it?
A. Not necessarily. Cru-level bottles can be found for around $25, real value for that quality tier. Availability is the bigger hurdle: regular Beaujolais and Gamay are easy to find, but Cru Beaujolais takes more searching. A solid wine shop is your best bet, and it's worth asking the owner directly if they carry any cru-labeled bottles.

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RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE

• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/abcs-of-cru-beaujolais
• https://flatiron-wines.com/blogs/the-latest/a-guide-to-the-10-crus-of-beaujolais
• https://www.thevintageclub.my/blogs/news/cru-beaujolais-guide-why-morgon-and-moulin-a-vent-deserve-a-second-look?srsltid=AfmBOoq56ZXzlwRVrtJNWwyQmLDPVvh4HkbwxdrrQNpNeKtgrJy0YCL7 
• https://flatiron-wines.com/blogs/the-latest/what-is-the-difference-between-beaujolais-beaujolais-village-and-the-beaujolais-crus
• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/how-is-serious-beaujolais-different-from-beaujolais-nouveau-46123
• https://www.winescholarghttps://vinepair.com/articles/somms-love-cru-beaujolais/uild.com/blog/regions-and-producers/the-10-crus-of-beaujolais-what-do-they-share-how-do-they-differ
• https://pariswinecompany.com/the-10-crus-of-beaujolais-explained-and-then-some/
• https://vavril.fr/en/beaujolais-cru-wines-morgon-moulin-a-vent/
• https://www.winetraveler.com/france/guide-to-beaujolais-wine-region-10-crus-aocs/
• https://armchairsommelier.com/wine-regions/cru-beaujolais/
• https://armchairsommelier.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/cru-beaujolais-it-only-sounds-like-a-french-gang/
• https://notastingnotes.com/en/difference-beaujolais-villages/
• https://www.victoriadaskal.com/post/understanding-beaujolais-from-gamay-to-the-crus-and-nouveau
• https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/beaujolais-wine-region-map/
• https://www.winecompass.com.au/blog/what-is-beaujolais-wine-a-complete-guide-to-its-grapes-styles-and-crus/
• https://vinepair.com/articles/somms-love-cru-beaujolais/
• https://rockinredblog.com/2017/11/17/exploring-cru-beaujolais-with-winophiles/
• https://wickhamwine.co.uk/blog/a-guide-to-beaujolais-wine?srsltid=AfmBOooAu3icV6I3Gg6jDBZuT-txDzmGvP9GdAJO04vfNlJJ_3p_OsqI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YcoX4EEmcE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8wuGPqVVag
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkfGzptxBk8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD9aX2CQUes
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2MQHylihR8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or3E95x5MqM
• https://lastbottlewines.com/blogs/learn-wine/burgundy?campaignid=23793049909&adgroupid=&adid=&utm_campaign={campaignname}&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23788471892&gbraid=0AAAAADnW8wBRHLybSxh2HZDdNXLbfqvT2&gclid=CjwKCAjwnvTUBhBoEiwAZNDxZ3c6BZ7YskGPQRA0c5OYgy0k4r4cEDRzBDxq2BQ3QP_QJx7D75uTExoC2AEQAvD_BwE
• https://flatiron-wines.com/blogs/the-latest/introduction-to-beaujolais-wine

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Joe: 00:00
Carmela, you may think of Beaujolais as Beaujolais Nouveau, but did you know there's more to Beaujolais than that?

Carmela: 00:06
I think you're gonna tell us.

Joe: 00:08
I'm gonna tell ya, here's the thing. There is crew Beaujolais, and it is a good deal if you can find it. Lot as expensive as you would expect a crew wine to be, but don't think of it as Beaujolais Nouveau. It is a different, more serious, more sophisticated wine, and we're gonna tell you all about it.

Carmela: 00:27
Perfect.

Joe: 00:34
Hello, fellow wine wonderfuls, and welcome to the Wine Paired Podcast. I'm Joe, your Simon of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela.

Carmela: 00:44
Hi there.

Joe: 00:45
And we are the wine pair.

Carmela: 00:46
Boy, all the creativity just went right out the window.

Joe: 00:49
Wow, that's starting out on a good note.

Carmela: 00:51
It had to be you, right? Had to be me. And I'm not I I'm sorry. I it's cute. You're cute.

Joe: 00:58
Thank you. Well, if you're new to our podcast, here's what you need to know. First of all, I'm cute. And then every week we buy wines under $25 with our own money. We taste them and then we give you our brutally honest opinion on whether they're worth buying. And nobody pays us to review specific wines. We don't accept free bottles from wineries, and we're not afraid to call out a bad wine when we taste one. And Decanter magazine calls us fun, irreverent, and entertaining. So if that sounds like your vibe, welcome to our tribe of wine wonderfuls. Woo! You don't like wine wonderful.

Carmela: 01:30
I think it's super cute. I just there were so many clever ones early on. And now we're just really trying to come up with anything that works.

Joe: 01:39
Well, Chef Paul came up with a name, and so we're gonna interview him, and and maybe by next week he'll we'll have one from actually another tribe name from a listener. And you can always send us your ideas. We always take them, and we'll ask you if you want to be interviewed and all that stuff.

Carmela: 01:52
And look, I'm not one to judge. I haven't given one.

Joe: 01:54
No, you haven't.

Carmela: 01:56
Not one.

Joe: 01:56
And so you it's not fair that you judge me.

Carmela: 01:58
I should never, but I am waiting every time. I'm like, what is it gonna be?

Joe: 02:02
Yeah. With anticipation. Right. Okay, Carmela, today we're gonna go back to one of our favorite wine areas, Burgundy, but we're not gonna be talking about Pinot Noir, no.

Carmela: 02:11
Oh my.

Joe: 02:12
We are heading to a southern sub region of Burgundy called Beaujolais.

Carmela: 02:17
Okay.

Joe: 02:17
And that's where some of our favorite wine comes from, which may be surprising for some people because of how some people think about Beaujoulais. Sure. Now, Bo we'll talk about that in a second, but Beaujoulais is a good idea.

Carmela: 02:30
But you just like to say that. I do Beaujolais Beaujolais. Yeah, exactly.

Joe: 02:34
It's made from the grape Gamay. Now, those of you out there in listening land will know this about us, but we love our medium-bodied red wines from the Burgundy region. But some of you may not be as familiar with Beaujolais and Gamay like you are with Pinot Noir, and others of you may be unimpressed because you what you associate with Beaujolais is that wine that comes out near the Thanksgiving holiday in the US called Beaujoulais Nouveau.

Carmela: 03:02
Ah.

Joe: 03:02
Now, today we're gonna talk about the best of the best of the best Beaujolais. In other words, Crew Beaujolais.

Carmela: 03:10
Wait, still under $25?

Joe: 03:12
Yes, ma'am. Wow! I know, which is one of the cool things about it. And we're gonna focus on two of the top areas, namely Maugo and Moulin en bon. I've been rolling on these pronunciations. They're probably still terrible.

Speaker 1: 03:25
No, no.

Joe: 03:26
But there are crew beaujolais. And in fact, there are 10 crew designations in Beaujoulais, and we're gonna chat about them in just a bit so you can get familiar with them.

Speaker 1: 03:34
Ten of them? Totally count.

Joe: 03:36
We're gonna talk about all of them at length. No, it's gonna go fast.

Speaker 1: 03:39
Okay.

Joe: 03:39
You do have to know them, and we'll tell you why, but it's it's gonna go fast, don't worry. Okay. And we're gonna try and give you a mnemonic device if we can, but I don't I don't know if we're gonna be able to do it.

Carmela: 03:47
Okay. I love that.

Joe: 03:48
But be but before we do that, I just want to express the difference between crew Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau. And as we always say, we're not here to yuck your yum. We're not here to love Beaujolais Nouveau, we say peace and you be you.

Carmela: 04:04
Right.

Joe: 04:05
But it's wait, is it kind of like new age Beaujolais? It's just, well, we're gonna talk about it in a second. Okay, I'm just so curious. Well, you're gonna love this. But we will say that Beaujolais Nouveau is not our favorite wine.

Carmela: 04:19
No.

Joe: 04:20
Especially among Beaujolais. Um, and we think maybe it gives Gimay and Beaujolais in general kind of a bad taste in your mouth. A little bit. A little bit, but again, we're not here to yuck your yum.

Carmela: 04:30
If you love it, let us know.

Joe: 04:32
Tell us we're full of bunk.

Carmela: 04:33
Right. Wow. Well, again, don't yuck our yum, though.

Joe: 04:36
Right. That's true. That's true. That's true as well. We wouldn't.

Carmela: 04:42
Except that we do sometimes.

Joe: 04:43
Yeah, we do. Shoot. So we're totally liars.

Carmela: 04:45
I know.

Joe: 04:46
And we're silently judging. No, it's okay. Let's talk about Carmela, how serious Crew Beaujolais is different from the wine Beaujolais Nouveau. What you say.

Carmela: 04:56
Let's do it.

Joe: 04:56
Okay, first is Tewa. So Crew Beaujolais comes from 10 specific, prestigious villages in the northern, hillier part of the region. Its vineyards are on poor, stony soils, which help with water stress, which we have mentioned many times. Water stress is actually good for wine grapes. Beaujolais Nouveau, on the other hand, primarily comes from the flatlands of southern Beaujolais where the soils are richer. So they don't stress the grapes out as much.

Speaker 1: 05:21
Oh.

Joe: 05:22
Now harvest and release timing is where there's some differences. Creux Beaujolais follows typical traditional maturation timing. It's generally released one to two years after it's harvested. Beaujolais Nouveau is what the French call a vent de Pi Meu. I don't know if I'm saying that right. Or an early release wine. And so it's harvested, fermented, and released on the third Thursday of November, just six to eight weeks after it's been picked.

Carmela: 05:48
So every time it has to be released on that third Thursday of November.

Joe: 05:52
That's right. That's right.

Carmela: 05:53
So just okay.

Joe: 05:55
Don't even say it. Five weeks, not acceptable. Twelve weeks, not acceptable.

Carmela: 05:59
Who decided on that? The French. Okay. The French did. Okay, then I'm, you know, so be it. So be so.

Joe: 06:06
I don't know what you say in French, but au revoir. I don't know what you say. Goodbye. I don't know.

Carmela: 06:11
Thank you. What does that mean?

Joe: 06:12
Yes, goodbye. Go go with God. I don't know what it means. I'm not French. Okay, let's talk about winemaking methods. Crew Beaujolais winemakers follow more traditional methods like those used in Burgundy, focusing on crushed fruit fermentation, partial destemming, aging in oak barrels, or large vats. But Beaujolais Nouveau is quickly produced via carbonic or semicarbonic maceration, which is it sounds dirty, but it's not. It's where uncrushed grapes are placed in a sealed tank filled with carbon dioxide, which causes them to ferment from the inside out. And that sounds gross, but it creates a softer, fruity, sometimes even a candy-like taste in the wine. So there you go. The flavor profile itself, Crew Beaujolais is considered more serious and more structured. Oh boy. With fine tannins and dark cherry or and berry fruits, maybe some spice, some earth, some minerality, but Beaujolais Nouveau is known for its light body, being super juicy, super fruity, almost no tannins.

Carmela: 07:12
Definitely selling it.

Joe: 07:13
Yeah, but I just don't I think it's too fruity. Oh I think it almost tastes like a fruit juice. Okay. So I don't, I don't, I don't love it. But again, if you love it, let us know. It's fine. We love you. And then aging potential is the last difference between serious Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau. Cruel Beaujolais can age for five or ten or even more years. And as they age, they can come to more and more resemble Pinot Noir.

Carmela: 07:37
Okay.

Joe: 07:37
But Beaujolais Nouveau is a drink now wine. Like which is nice.

Carmela: 07:42
It's convenient then.

Joe: 07:43
Totally. You're meant it's meant to be served chilled and consumed in the first six months.

Carmela: 07:47
Holy cow.

Joe: 07:48
So here's the deal: do not sell her your Beaujolais Nouveau.

Carmela: 07:52
Right.

Joe: 07:52
Because it's gonna taste like a da caca.

Carmela: 07:54
Okay, so it will just turn bad.

Joe: 07:56
Yeah, you don't want no old Nouveau. It's it's Nouveau, it's new. You gotta drink it new.

Carmela: 08:00
I like that then. Okay. That's good to know.

Joe: 08:02
Now, if you want something more in between, you can find really fantastic, and we've we've done an episode on this, Beaujoulet Villages. They're fruity, but maybe a little more serious. They can be chilled or not, they don't have to be drunk quite so young. But you know what? You do you. Choose whatever style of game you like. You like young and fruity, you like old and stodgy and and darker. Like me.

Carmela: 08:25
People don't settle.

Joe: 08:26
Do what you want to do, but you know what we say is try your game.

Carmela: 08:29
Right.

Joe: 08:30
Try your Beaujoulet.

Carmela: 08:31
Okay, okay. But if you don't like it, you know what? We just had this conversation with our daughter.

Joe: 08:35
We did?

Carmela: 08:36
Yeah, because she got she purchased a beer, she ordered a new one. Oh, you're right.

Joe: 08:40
It was a rattler.

Carmela: 08:41
Yeah, and she was super like not happy with it. And I was like, girl, just forfeit it, get a new one. And she was like, I'm halfway through. Oh, and her dad was pressuring her to finish it. Plug your nose, finish it, go. And I was like, no. And you know what? Halfway through, she was like, I'm not gonna settle. She got another beer and forfeited that. And I was like, You got it.

Joe: 09:03
I didn't know whether to be proud of her or be disappointed. You shouldn't waste beer. You shouldn't waste beer.

Carmela: 09:08
You sure should. If you don't like it, throw it out.

Joe: 09:11
Okay.

Carmela: 09:11
But we're not here to talk about no beer.

Joe: 09:14
Rattler or beer. We're here to talk about Beaujoulais, but not just any Beaujoulais. We're talking about Crew Beaujolais. And we have two crew Beaujoulais wines to drink this week that are very reasonably priced. And we're gonna rate them and review them to let you know if we think you should run out and buy them. But first, you gotta do our shameless plug. That is so right. So thank you for listening to us and supporting our show. And as you know, we buy all the wine we taste and review every week so that we can give you real and honest reviews. And if you like what you're hearing, please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a five-star rating and review so we can grow listeners and and in appreciation for us not charging you any money for this. How about that? Got it. Okay. We also love to hear from you, and we always respond so you can follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky and TikTok at the WinePair Podcast. Contact us on our website, thewinepairpodcast.com. Sign up for our email newsletter there, send us a note at Joe at the Winepairpodcast.com, and let us know if there's wines you want us to do or just you know what you're doing. Do you have a puppy named Mabel? Oh no, that's us. Mabel's not in the room today. I know that's gonna disappoint some people, but she may be later.

Carmela: 10:20
The good thing is this is progress, guys.

Joe: 10:22
This is progress.

Carmela: 10:23
The fact that she doesn't have to be in the room means we're I don't know if we're doing something right, or maybe she's doing something right.

Joe: 10:28
I don't know, but all I can say is we're gonna have to take a break midway through recording so we can take her out to go pee-pee.

Carmela: 10:33
That's right.

Joe: 10:34
Because she hasn't quite figured out the house training and her bladder is about the size of a pee. Ah, and I that's a funny word to use. Maybe a legume. It's a legume, a lentil. Anyway, as we do every week, we'll tell you someone we think you should recommend the wine pair podcast to because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us. And this week we want you to recommend us to anyone who thinks that all Beaujolais is that fruity Thanksgiving Beaujolais Nouveau wine, or who loves Pinot Noir but is unfamiliar with Gamet and Crew Beaujolais, because they may dig this wine.

Carmela: 11:09
They may.

Joe: 11:09
Okay, thanks for I I appreciate your your validation. I appreciate your validation. Thank you. I that's meaningful to me. Really? Okay, yeah, it's so meaningful.

Speaker 1: 11:18
It's so nice. Oh god.

Joe: 11:20
Carmela, let's find out just what the f Crew Beaujolais is, shall we?

Speaker 1: 11:24
Let's go.

Joe: 11:26
Okay. Again, crew Beaujolais has to come from one of the ten crew villages, and each crew is actually its own officially recognized AOC. Oh, that's that's that's the truth, Ruth. Yeah, exactly. In fact, each of the crew villages is said to create a specific style of wine, and to make it even more confusing, Carmella, the name Beaujoulet is often left off the label.

Carmela: 11:49
Why?

Joe: 11:50
I don't know. So you may only just find the name of the specific village.

Carmela: 11:53
It's too hard to spell.

Joe: 11:54
It it no, I mean I couldn't spell it. Okay, okay, but I don't think so. I don't think that's what I think they know how to spell it. Okay. I think they're just trying to be special. Special. If you don't know what the name of the village is on the label, like that it comes from a Crew Beaujolais village, you may not, you may be like, I don't know what that is.

Carmela: 12:12
Right. You may not even care, actually.

Joe: 12:14
You may not, but we're gonna tell you you have to care. And so you have to know the names of the villages to understand if you're getting Crew Beaujolais. So we're gonna go through each of the crew villages very quickly to give you a sense of the wine they make. It is. You don't have to memorize them. Right.

Carmela: 12:29
And you're gonna do that. Except for Carmela. Carmela has to memorize them. Because we all know that that will not happen.

Joe: 12:34
That's right. There's no quiz, but you can use the show notes from this episode. And if you go to our website and look for this episode and click on it, you'll have them there. So the next time you go to your wine shop, you can be like, yeah, hey, here it is. Well, and I've got some mnemonic devices that may help for the villages. So we'll we'll go through those at the end. There, there's a lot of really bad ones, and I'm trying to Did you make them up? That's I did some, ChatGPT did some. They're horrible. They're horrible.

Carmela: 12:59
You're collaborating.

Joe: 13:00
Oh boy, it's just uh it's bad. Like all I can say is like I'm I feel no worry that AI will take over my job of writing scripts because it's so sh at it. Oh shoot. Okay, anyway. The first one is Saint Amour. It's the northernmost crew. It's known for light, elegant, and aromatic wines. Then there's Juliana, and it's planted on steep slopes, and its wines are said to be robust and sturdy like me and rugged with deeper red fruit flavors and spices. Then there's Chenae, that's the smallest and rarest crew, kind of like Mabel.

Carmela: 13:36
Why do you like always identify with something?

Joe: 13:38
You know, because it helps people remember things. I don't think that's true. But anyway, now this one's what I'll think of you when they exactly. But this one is very much Mabel. It's called Quietly Powerful.

Carmela: 13:48
Oh, and not really. She's hardly quiet anymore.

Joe: 13:52
That's true.

Carmela: 13:53
Powerful, yes.

Joe: 13:54
Yes. And the wines are said to be full-bodied, mineral, floral, and earthy. Then there's Moulin envant, where one of our wines is from today. It's centered around the historical windmill monument. It's named after a windmill of all things. And the wine is often called the King of Beaujolais. And it's considered the most powerful, concentrated, and long-lived crew, which I hope is what I am as well long-lived. The next one is Fleury, and it's located on dramatic steep hills, and the wine is often called the Queen of Beaujolais.

Carmela: 14:27
I love this one.

Joe: 14:28
Yes. So the wines are said to be elegant and silky and have fresh powerful. And like you, and have fresh red fruit flavors. Then there's Chirube, and it's the highest altitude crew, and the wines are said to be fine.

Carmela: 14:40
Is anybody keeping up here?

Joe: 14:41
No, I absolutely not. The wines are said to be delicate and light with racy acidity and crunchy red fruits.

Speaker 1: 14:48
Wow.

Joe: 14:48
Then there's Mogot, and it's the second largest crew, and it has the legendary Cote Pie. Not kidding. Vineyard, uh, which is on a volcano. And this is the other wine we're gonna drink today, is from this area, and it's known for being fleshy and meaty, which doesn't sound great for a wine, but very structured. And it's said to start to mimic Pinot Noir as it ages. Okay. Uh then we have Reigner, it's the newest crew. It was established in 1988. The wines are called supple and fresh with bright fruits and some spice. There's Caux du Bruyis, it's on the steep slopes of Mount Bruyi, and the wine is also described as robust and meaty, and has flavors of fresh grape juice.

Carmela: 15:29
Meaty and fleshy.

Joe: 15:30
You don't want that, do you?

Carmela: 15:32
Not really.

Joe: 15:32
And then there's just plain old brujis, which is the last one. It's the southernmost and largest crew, also near Mount Bruyi, as you would expect. Then the wines are called generous, bright and approachable, which often you are really? Yeah, you're you're called that.

Carmela: 15:48
Okay, I can do that one.

Joe: 15:49
Very fruit forward and easy drinking, also Carmela.

Carmela: 15:52
Really?

Joe: 15:53
Yes, and some say it is the definitive Parisian bistro wine. So you go to a bistro in Paris. And they'll be like, hey, and do you want some brought? And you'll be like, uh-huh, I do want it. Give me that wine. I will drink it. Okay.

Carmela: 16:09
It's so approachable.

Joe: 16:10
So, okay, so I'm gonna go through some of these terrible mnemonic devices that uh that me and ChatGP came up with. Okay, you ready?

Carmela: 16:18
Let's do this.

Joe: 16:19
James Bond chugged champagne after M and Money Penny recovered stolen classified files.

Carmela: 16:27
Oh, forget it.

Joe: 16:28
Okay. How about this one? I would never remember that. I know. That's why I'm like, these are terrible. How about Sound Garden jammed with Chicago, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Cheap Trick, Muse, REM, Coldplay, and the Beatles at the world's most impossible concert. That's terrible. That's a terrible. Exactly. These are so.

Carmela: 16:46
I don't think you can do 10 things.

Joe: 16:48
I I do I agree. How about this one? Mount Shasta's famous climber chased bears, running, jumping, cursing miserably.

Carmela: 16:55
Did you make up one? No, I I it was just all collaboration.

Joe: 16:58
I mean, I call it collaboration, but I I don't really You don't want to take any credit. I don't want to take any credit or blame for any of these. These are just horrible. So maybe we'll have a mnemonic device. Okay, here's the last one. Actually.

Carmela: 17:12
You just need to bring your cheat sheet with you.

Joe: 17:14
How about this? Marty McFly chased Biff when he chucked the future sports almanac off the clock tower, ruining Jennifer's plans.

Carmela: 17:21
That's probably the best, but you lost me after like the fourth word. I don't even remember what it was.

Joe: 17:27
I know. It doesn't matter. Just go to our website and take a photo.

Carmela: 17:31
Right.

Joe: 17:32
Screenshot the list so you know when you're looking for it. Okay, back to some more stuff about crew beaujolais. For a bit of history about winemaking and beaujolais, viticulture goes back to Roman times, and the Romans really thought highly of this area for winemaking. And in fact, many of the crew villages still bear names that trace directly back to Roman soldiers and officers. So for instance, Juliania is from Julius Caesar. So there you go. And then during the Middle Ages, winemaking took off there under the monks.

Carmela: 18:02
If you want to find the wine, follow the monks.

Joe: 18:06
That's right. And some rulers really loved Beaujolais, including King Louis XIII, who's my favorite of the King Louis. Really? Oh no, I don't know. I don't know the difference between anyone.

Carmela: 18:16
Do you have a like a mnemonic thing for all the Louis?

Joe: 18:19
No, they're all L. So it's Looney Louis laughing. Yeah. Anyway, and he would only serve Beaujolais at the dinner table.

Carmela: 18:26
That's ambiguous. That's it? No food?

Joe: 18:29
Yeah, no, just Beaujolais. And Shenon was his favorite. Oh, okay. In a fun and funny bit of history, I think it's funny, in 1395, Philip the Bold, who was the Duke of Burgundy, he issued a decree where he banished the Gamay grape from Burgundy. Why? The proper air because he called it a bad and disloyal grape.

Carmela: 18:50
What did it ever do to him?

Joe: 18:51
Well, I this is why he said because Gamay can be fast growing and high yielding, he thought it threatened the reputation of the delicate Pinot Noir.

Carmela: 19:02
Oh, so it was just defending.

Joe: 19:04
Yes, old Phil Pinot Noir. Phil the Bold, he didn't like it so much. Now, during the 18th and 19th centuries, Beaujolais was a local favorite in Lyon, France, and also became, as we talked about, a favorite in Paris Bistros. And then in the early 20th century, Crew Beaujolais was actually considered on par with Burgundy.

Speaker 1: 19:23
Okay.

Joe: 19:24
So it's in this, you know, in the recent history that Beaujolais and Burgundy were like duking it out. Now Burgundy's won, I guess. But Beaujolais is making a comeback. Yeah. And then in the 20th century is when the crew designations were recognized in Beaujolais. The broader or general Beaujolais AOC was recognized in 1937. In 1951, is when Beaujolais Nouveau became a thing and gained popularity. However, by the 1980s and 1990s, in a tale we have heard before, a bunch of tale as old as time. A tale as old as time. A bunch of cheap, badly produced Beaujolais Nouveau flooded the market and damaged the reputation for Beaujolais, probably to this day in many countries like the United States. It ruined it.

Carmela: 20:06
Wow. We're not yucking your young, but we are saying well, you gotta give a second chance. Everybody deserves a second chance.

Joe: 20:12
It's so true. Even in the middle of the night, when you open up the door, the crate door for your dog, and it comes out and you don't see it because it's dark, and she pees in the bathroom, which was an appropriate place for her to pee. But it really was my fault because I let her out and I didn't know, and I actually shut the door because I thought it was shutting her in, and I shut her out.

Carmela: 20:31
It was really funny, actually.

Joe: 20:34
Yeah, but I was more mad at I was mad at myself. I wasn't mad at the dog, of course. But I gave her a second chance.

Carmela: 20:39
You what did you give myself a second chance? Yeah, I guess you kind of took her outside. You had to forgive yourself.

Joe: 20:43
I had to forgive yourself.

Carmela: 20:44
You have to say, you know what? There's no use beating yourself up over a little bit of pee.

Joe: 20:48
It starts with forgiving yourself.

Carmela: 20:50
But you've got to love yourself first before you can love Mabel.

Joe: 20:53
Well, let's talk about loving something and giving it a second chance because the resurgence is such a good segue, Carmella. The resurgence of Beaujolais has been pretty recent, and it's been brought on by producers who are focusing more on natural wine and high-quality wine. And when the market crashed in 2008 and 2001 and 9, wine lovers looking for less expensive but but high quality wines rediscovered Beaujolais.

Carmela: 21:19
Looking for love.

Joe: 21:20
Yes, and especially crew Beaujolais. Okay. Now here's one more thing to put in your brain box. Okay. Okay. In 2018, Beaujolais was officially recognized as a UNESCO global geopark. Wow. But I don't know what a geopark is. Oh. So here's what it is. According to the interwebs, this is what it is. It's a single, unified geographical area where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education, and sustainable development.

Carmela: 21:51
Wait, can you repeat that?

Joe: 21:52
Nope, I won't do it. But you can go to our show notes, which I don't give to Carmella, and see all this information.

Carmela: 21:58
Yeah, so I will never hear that again.

Joe: 22:00
You know, I haven't said this for a while, but we always have links to all of the research. If you want to know more, there's links.

Carmela: 22:05
Are you telling that to me? I feel like it's a little that was a little directed at me.

Joe: 22:08
You know what? If you feel like you need that to be directed towards you, that's a you thing, not a me thing, because I didn't say that. Okay. Okay, but that's enough information. I think it's time to learn a little bit more about the wines we're drinking today. What do you say? Let's do it. Okay. As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are either at or under $25, which is a fantastic deal for a crew wine. And at least one of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought it at wine.com. And then the other I bought at a local grocery store that we really love called Town and Country. Yeah. Town and Country. Beaujolais will be relatively easy to find, and you will be able to find wines labeled Gamay more easily now than in the past as well. But if you want to find a crew beaujolais, you'll have to do a little bit more hunting. You'll have to memorize that list, and you'll have to look for a good wine shop or a store like Town and Country with a good wine selection. But as always, go to your local wine shop, ask the proprietor there to find you a crew beaujolet, and they'll be like, Mon Dieu, I would be most happy to do so. Oh my. That was a terrible one. Okay. The first wine we're gonna drink is the 2023 Domain Gilles Court Morgan. And this wine got a 92 from Wilfred Wong of wine.com and a 92 from Sucky James Suckling.

Carmela: 23:23
Oh, wow. What is up with it?

Joe: 23:25
Not a 90. I don't know. I don't know.

Carmela: 23:27
Amazing.

Joe: 23:28
I know. This wine is obviously from Mogot, and you can tell that from the name on the label. And again, often they don't put Beaujolais on the label just to make you work a little bit harder. You just need to you have to memorize all of them, whatever it was, like you know, those mnemonic devices that we had. Do you remember any of them? James Bond? No. Okay, good.

Carmela: 23:47
The winery is something about um Back to the Future.

Joe: 23:51
Okay, I like it.

Carmela: 23:52
That was the one I liked the most.

Joe: 23:53
Oh, okay. I'm gonna remember that one. This winery is certified TerraVitis, which is a French national certification and association for sustainable and eco-responsible wine growing. It was founded in 1988 by winemakers in Beaujolais. And they are focused on environmental protection, social responsibility, and economic viability. Three things that we support as well. Right. The grapes are harvested by hand and undergo a 17-day semi-carbonic whole bunch maceration.

Carmela: 24:29
Whole bunch?

Joe: 24:30
Yeah, they macerate for 17 days. The whole bunch of them. The whole bunch of them together, I guess. And temperature controlled. So the winery does actually use carbonic maceration, which we said sometimes she's shocking look, I mean, because it sounds dirty, which we said is more often used in Beaujolais Nouveau, but they also use it in other places in Beaujolais, depending on what kind of wine they're trying to make. Sure. Then they age the wine for six to ten months in concrete vats before bottling. Remember, concrete is porous, so it lets some oxygen in without allowing oak flavors like you would in a barrel. They also say that the wine should be served around 59 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 degrees Celsius. Sweet. Sweet. So that's chilled. It's a little chilled. Oh, served.

Carmela: 25:12
Yes. Okay, got it. What did you think?

Joe: 25:13
I don't know what I yeah. I don't know what that was.

Carmela: 25:15
I don't know, but yes, served at 50. I was like thinking I didn't.

Joe: 25:20
I want to know what kind of. I'm really curious about what you were actually thinking. She's a little tired.

Carmela: 25:24
We have to be in 59 degrees.

Joe: 25:26
I thought like you have to be in a room that's 59 degrees. Where a coat.

Carmela: 25:32
That's so specific, and I'm not drinking it and not 59 degrees.

Joe: 25:36
Carmela does not like cold temperatures. No, no, not in a house. But she does like cold wine.

Carmela: 25:41
Yes. I don't know why that was confusing. Of course it was the wine.

Joe: 25:45
I just like someday we're gonna drink something in 59 degree weather and just see what happens.

Carmela: 25:50
I mean, that's fine. Why not? We've done it. I'm sure we've had wine in 59 degrees before. I'm sure we have as well. Outdoor bar, whatever.

Joe: 25:58
Totally. And it just so happens that our wine fridge is at about 59 degrees. So these wines are gonna be perfect temperature. Okay. The second wine we're gonna drink is the 2024 Moulin en vent Cru Beaujoulet Le Michelin. And I couldn't find any professional reviews for this wine, but previous vintages have gotten some really nice scores. So I'm hoping this one does too. It was really hard to find out much about this wine, and I looked for a tech sheet, but had trouble finding it. So here's what I could find, I think. 100% hand harvested, whole cluster, carbonic maceration. So again, they're doing that maceration thing again. Indigenous yeast, no additives, aged for 10 months in oak barrels and casks. So this one's gonna have a little oak on it, might have a little more tannin, but and and a little bit oxygen on it because it's in the in the oak. But that's about it. And so I think that's enough information. I think we're gonna get drinking. We're gonna let Mabel out to go pee-pee. And while we're doing that, why don't you guys grab a game or a Beaujolais or a Crude Beaujolais, but not a Beaujolais Nouveau. We don't want well, I mean, if you really want to. Yeah, I mean, we would whatever you want to do, and drink along with us and see if you agree with our tasty notes, and we'll be right back. And we'll let you know how the pee goes. Okay, we're back. And uh first of all, the pee pee went great.

Carmela: 27:17
It was easy peasy.

Joe: 27:19
Easy peasy now. We have filled her snuffle ball with kibble, and she's for a little enrichment for dinner. And so she's stops, she doesn't bother us. And then third, there is a mnemonic device that's popular for the crew baucholet villages, and I'm I'm just gonna say it. And maybe you like this, maybe you'll hate it. You ready? Yes. Some Japanese Canadians marry French Canadians making really beautiful children.

Carmela: 27:44
Okay, that's better. But are you gonna remember that? Did you get that?

Joe: 27:46
That's off the interwebs.

Carmela: 27:48
Oh, I think that works. I mean, I don't know if I'm gonna remember it, but I just feel like that's doable.

Joe: 27:53
Okay, good. All right, we're gonna talk about our first wine, which is the Domain Gilles Corporé Meron. It's from Beaujolais, France. I have the you know, if you just mumble enough, it sounds almost authentic. Uh, it's a 2023 vintage, it was $20.99 at wine.com. That's a really good price. 13% alcohol, 100% game. Wilfred Wong gave it a 92, Sucky James Suckling gave it a 92, Vivino gave it a 3.9. But Carmela, let's talk about the color. It's nice. It's a little darker, actually, than I would have expected. It's not it's very pretty. It's a pretty, like almost cherry red, almost burgundy red, I guess. But it's darker, like sometimes Pinot Noir and Game can be very kind of light red.

Carmela: 28:35
And this is a little bit darker, a little darker, but it doesn't look like um, I mean, it's it's very much like a red color. Yeah, you know, there's no ruby. Yeah, it doesn't it looks kind of young, fresh.

Joe: 28:47
It does, it does. Like, I'm not gonna say what it's like. Okay, let's smell it and see what we smell.

Carmela: 28:53
Hmm. I'm getting some cherry for sure. Um, maybe a little like matchstick too.

Joe: 29:00
Yeah, I feel like I'm getting almost like an alcohol-y strawberry.

Carmela: 29:04
Oh, yeah, a little strawberry on it.

Joe: 29:06
Maybe alcohol, like astringent, a little astringent.

Carmela: 29:09
Okay, okay. Are you getting cherry too?

Joe: 29:12
Yeah, cherry. But it's like again, it's like a cherry cough syrup.

Carmela: 29:15
Oh, okay.

Joe: 29:16
You know, I think I'm getting a little herb on it, maybe a little rosemary or something. What do you think?

Carmela: 29:22
Well, I can't un unsmell the alcohol. Okay. It's a little bit hot. And um Yeah. So I'm not, I mean, it's not like heavy, heavy fruit.

Joe: 29:30
No, it's it's it's not lifted. You know, sometimes they talk about a wine that's gonna be.

Carmela: 29:34
I feel like I'm putting my whole schnazzole in there.

Joe: 29:37
Right.

Carmela: 29:37
Like the whole the lip is even going in. Yeah, you just gotta like the eyeballs.

Joe: 29:41
It's like you can see it. It's almost like we're stuffing our faces in it.

Carmela: 29:44
Right, right.

Joe: 29:44
Okay, well, let's taste it because maybe it'll just come out in the taste.

Carmela: 29:47
Okay. Perfect 59 degrees.

Joe: 29:49
Yes, in this room.

Carmela: 29:51
Oh, it's tangy.

Joe: 29:52
It's tangy. It's it doesn't actually have a lot of flavor. I wonder if this is not a perfect bottle because it's kind of not it's a little one note, and I don't, I'm not getting it's almost like I'm getting a lemon. It's kind of tart and acidic.

Carmela: 30:06
Yeah. Or like maybe like a almost like a pomegranate.

Joe: 30:10
Yeah.

Carmela: 30:11
Or cranberry. You know, it's definitely like uh it feels underripe.

Joe: 30:15
I agree. I'm I'm feeling like this is either not a great bottle, like something happened to the bottle, or it's really young, like way too young, and it needs some time and breath in it, but it's super tight. Like it's really tight, yeah, it's really tart. Like maybe it needs to just air out a little bit. I mean, we just opened it up. People need to air out. You know, so does wine. Breathe a little, breathe. Right. You know what? Just let it loose. Don't be so tight all the time. That could be it.

Carmela: 30:45
I mean, it's acidic, so it's gonna go well with food. Which I think you want to have it with food, but I just don't know how much it's gonna compliment. Yeah, I feel like it's almost like like lemon concentrate. I don't know why.

Joe: 30:58
You're really getting a lot of lemon. I mean, it's acidy. It is acid.

Carmela: 31:01
Yeah, almost like yeah, it's just almost like you're a concentrate of something.

Joe: 31:06
Yeah, I I don't know. I kind of feel like it's not a great, like, I don't know if this I mean it's got a 92 for I mean, I know James Suckling doesn't count, but like Wilfred Wong, uh, you know, he's got a 92.

Speaker 1: 31:16
What the heck?

Joe: 31:17
I don't know. So I just kind of feel like maybe this is an off-bottle, but like let's go with it and let's talk about the food that we pair with this Domain Giles Coperay Merrone.

Carmela: 31:26
I think you want something big. Like, I do think you want because it's just saying cheeseburger. That's the first thing. And I'm not even a cheeseburger or a big old meat pizza. Yeah, yeah. It's something oily, like you know, I think I can see pepperoni pizza.

Joe: 31:41
Nachos.

Carmela: 31:42
Oh, nachos would be. Right, like the big macho nachos.

Joe: 31:48
Yeah, with like the beans and the beef.

Carmela: 31:50
Oh my god.

Joe: 31:51
When you guys get nacho macho, when you guys get macho nachos, what do you get on it?

Carmela: 31:56
What do you envision? What does that bring to mind?

Joe: 31:59
Do you like because Carmela doesn't like fresh onions and she's not a big jello jalapeno fan? So you do I like that stuff, but do you like it? And how do you like if you guys you're and your SO have different flavors, how do you handle your nacho?

Carmela: 32:14
Right. But the thing is, is I'm okay with like I actually like onion flavor and jalapeno flavor. So if it's sitting on top of it, I have no problem just like knocking it off. And then more for you, no, knock at all. More for you, but I don't mind a little hint of it. I just can't do a full-on, like, I'm gonna have some onion today.

Joe: 32:35
Okay, so here's the big question, and this is gonna be very controversial. Are you an oven or microwave nacho person?

Carmela: 32:41
Right. I mean, do you really look I'm 100% microwave by the way? This is hilarious because I like nachos any way, shape, or form. But if I'm going to have a She's a nacho girl. I'm a nacho girl. I'm nacho girl. Oh no, I guess I am, but anyway, I I I think I thought you were, but keep going. No, but the deal is if if I have a preference or if I'm like, hey, I'm making nachos for a group, I'm not microwaving those.

Joe: 33:06
Oh, I am.

Carmela: 33:07
I'm putting them in the oven. Get a little char on it.

Joe: 33:10
I just don't I don't want the char, man. I just want that nice melt. Okay, we're gonna rate this wine as a reminder. Let us know what you think. I mean, I know I'm probably gonna lose this one. Like Carmelo will win this one, but I just want to know if anybody out there likes a good microwave nacho.

Carmela: 33:24
But like I said, I will eat them any shape or form. I think green eggs and ham. I will eat them here or there. I will eat them.

Joe: 33:30
Well, you eat them in a snuffle ball.

Carmela: 33:32
Absolutely not.

Joe: 33:34
Oh, okay. Now, as a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of one to ten. We don't give half points. Seven and above means we'd buy it. Four below means we'd likely pour it down the sink. Five or six means we'll drink it. Thanks for serving it to us, but we're not gonna buy it. What rating, and I'm gonna keep this wine out because I'm wondering if it's gonna get better over time, but right now, based on the tasting, what rating are you gonna give it?

Carmela: 33:55
I feel kind of harsh, but I right now I'm giving it a five.

Joe: 33:58
I think I'm with you. It's not like here's what I'd say it's not offensive. No, but it's like there's not not really much going on.

Carmela: 34:05
Yeah, I just would, it's not that I wouldn't drink it, but I don't even I think six might just be giving it too much credit.

Joe: 34:11
I agree. So I'm gonna I'm gonna leave it out. We're gonna uh take a break and we're gonna open our next wine. We'll be right back and let you know what we think.

Speaker 1: 34:19
Okay.

Joe: 34:24
Okay, we're back and we're gonna try our next wine. This is the Moulin en vent Cru Beaujolais Le Michelon. It's from Beaujolais France. It's the 2024 vintage, it was $25.99 at town and country. Well, it's a little over the cut, Carmela, but you know what? If technically still in the 25, 25 is in the in the number.

Carmela: 34:45
It's around 25.

Joe: 34:46
Right. 13% alcohol on percent.

Carmela: 34:48
Wait, was it $25.99?

Joe: 34:50
$25.99.

Carmela: 34:51
Oh, it didn't make the cut then.

Joe: 34:52
Yeah, it's not under $25. It's at.

Carmela: 34:55
Right. But at above. Okay. God.

Joe: 34:58
Okay, anyway, 100% Gamay. No professional ratings that I could find, but Vivino added a 3.9. But let's talk about the color. What do you think of the color?

Carmela: 35:06
Well, I first thought it was a little lighter, but looking at your glass, which has a little bit more, it looks a it looks the same.

Joe: 35:13
Yeah, I mean it's it's ruby red, it's pretty, it's uh it's kind of flat. Yeah, I mean, but matte. I would say matte.

Carmela: 35:21
Right. That's what I was cut trying to come up with. Yeah. Oh, maybe it's got the carpet. Redecorating.

Joe: 35:27
Okay. All right, let's smell it and see if this one smells any different.

Carmela: 35:30
Okay, so this one is meatier.

Joe: 35:32
It is meatier. Definitely not a meteor, but meteor.

Carmela: 35:36
No, it's medior and earthy, yeah. Oh yeah. I totally agree with that.

Joe: 35:42
A little gamey. It does like taste a little or smell a little gamey. A little like I'm getting fruit. Like this one, actually, I don't have to put my whole nose in the glass. No. So I don't, I just don't think that bottle was a very good bottle. Uh, but I'm getting like cherry, plum, like rich red, richer red fruits, which I'm actually kind of surprised by, like a black cherry or uh cassis, right? Like you know, a currant, like a black currant. Right. But it's uh rich, kind of rich. It's richer than I would expect. Like I think of Gamay like kind of a fruity lighter wine, and this one's got a little bit more, you know, gusto to it.

Carmela: 36:18
Yeah, but definitely the meat is coming through more than anything.

Joe: 36:22
I agree. Okay, well, let's taste it and see what we think.

Carmela: 36:25
Okay.

Joe: 36:26
Oh, yeah. Now this wine has more going on. It's got more going on, it's got fruit on it. It's actually pretty juicy. Like it's it's got a little bit more um, I think, girth on it than I would expect. I'm just I just want to say that Mabel almost chewed through one of our cords. I don't know, it's like a headphone cord. We should go to look electrocuted herself. But anyway, no, this has got more fruit, darker fruits. It's a little bit different than I want to expect, but it's got nice, it's it's got nice, like kind of what I would call supple tannins.

Carmela: 36:54
Right.

Joe: 36:55
Like they're not firm, but they're there.

Carmela: 36:56
No, it's a little more, it's more balanced.

Joe: 36:58
More balanced, got some mouthfeel, but good acidity.

Carmela: 37:01
Yeah, but the I'm in terms of fruit, it's it's definitely tastes plummy too. Yeah, I mean nice rich Italian plum.

Joe: 37:08
Yeah, but it is on the thin side, almost a little watery. Actually, you know what? I'm getting a little bit too in my mouth now, a little chalk. Oh like like I'm this is gonna sound weird. A little like a Tums.

Carmela: 37:21
Okay. What flavor?

Joe: 37:24
Like a cherry flavored Tums. I don't know. I'm gonna say the the pink flavor, I guess.

Carmela: 37:29
I like the pink flavor best.

Joe: 37:31
Okay, well, what are you tasting in this wine?

Carmela: 37:33
Well, I mean, a lot of the same. The chalk thing hadn't come through.

Joe: 37:37
Um, let me well taste it again and see if you get the Tums. You get a little bit of that?

Carmela: 37:41
Maybe, maybe I do. But yes, I I can see what you mean about it not being that it's a little thinner.

Joe: 37:47
Do you get that chalkiness or something around that, maybe?

Carmela: 37:50
Maybe. I don't know.

Joe: 37:52
I'm trying to convince her, ladies and gentlemen, that there's chalk. Come on.

Carmela: 37:55
Is there chalk in this wine?

Joe: 37:56
Come on. Do they put chalk in it?

Carmela: 37:58
But I'm not, yeah, but I I think it's I don't know why it tastes like plum to me.

Joe: 38:02
It does, it's very plummy. Um Mabel's scratching at the carpet. What food would you drink with this wine? Well, I'm sorry, what food would you eat with this wine? You would drink the wine with this.

Carmela: 38:10
I have a smoothie.

Joe: 38:11
Yeah.

Carmela: 38:12
I would have. I don't think you need anything quite as big as we were saying with you. So I kind of this is gonna sound so funny, but I feel like something like a French dip. Ooh. Really good with this.

Joe: 38:23
I like that.

Carmela: 38:24
I mean, I like the idea of having a French dip. That's what I mean.

Joe: 38:27
That's what I have in France, you know.

Carmela: 38:28
I mean, all the time. That's French bistro food. France, for sure. Um, or even like a French onion soup.

Joe: 38:35
Oh, you like a French onion.

Carmela: 38:37
I do. Something kind of bready, though, you know, it would be good with this wine. Um, but I like the idea of like a sandwich.

Joe: 38:44
A little baguette.

Carmela: 38:45
Right, even that sandwich we had last night, the hot marco. Hot marco was really good. And that had like a lot of meat and cheese and it was something hot on that.

Joe: 38:53
You know, this wine doesn't taste as meaty as it smells.

Carmela: 38:56
No.

Joe: 38:57
I think I think it's the fleshiness of the fruit almost, like the plum flesh that's coming through.

Carmela: 39:03
I agree. But I'm just not getting a lot of like diversity around it or variety, but it's nice, it's just sort of simple.

Joe: 39:10
It is. Uh, I think it's a great, I agree, like it's a great sandwich wine, picnic wine. I think it's for like simple foods or common foods, comfort foods would be great. Mac and cheese, great, you know, like with a little bread crumb on top or something. It'd be wonderful.

Carmela: 39:27
You know, something with just like a praise salad with bread and maybe a little chiccuterie on the side.

Joe: 39:33
Yeah, nothing fancy. You don't have to have anything fancy, but still delicious.

Carmela: 39:36
Yep.

Joe: 39:37
Little pasta, you know what we like a little pasta. A laya oleo, or my mom used to make, and we haven't done this in a long time, just pasta and breadcrumbs, like spaghetti and breadcrumbs. Kind of get those toasted to be perfect with this. Okay, well, let's rate this wine. What rating are you gonna give this wine?

Carmela: 39:53
Well, I'm still not like you know, fully on board. I mean, I'm enjoying it, but I'm having a hard time deciding if I would buy it. So I'm gonna give it a six.

Joe: 40:02
I like it. I'm gonna give it a seven. It's not like a it's not gonna blow you out of the water. It's a very nice, pleasant wine. I like it. I don't think that it's gonna hold up to a good Pinot Noir, but you know what? These are just like a couple wines we bought off the street, you know? Like, so we haven't tried every Crow Crew Beau Jolet in the world. So, you know.

Carmela: 40:23
I think it's a good start. I think I'd want to explore it.

Joe: 40:26
Well, let's talk about that more in a second, but which of these are you gonna finish tonight? That should be easy.

Carmela: 40:30
The second one for sure.

Joe: 40:32
Yeah, the moon au bon Cru Baujolet Le Michelon.

Carmela: 40:36
Nice.

Joe: 40:36
I agree. Okay, let's talk about the taste profiles expected from Crew Beaujolais and see if we nailed any of it. Uh the in general, it's medium light to medium bodied, good acidity, low to moderate tannin, smooth and silky mouthfeel. Primary fruit flavors are tart, red berries like cherry, strawberry, raspberry, and red currant. Secondary are distinct floral aromas like violet and iris, alongside savory, earthy, and mineral undertones. We were getting some of the savory for sure. And it didn't really have plum, but we were getting some cherry and strawberry. Yes. Yeah. Okay, the Domain Jails Copray Morgan. The winery says deep garnet red color, aromas of ripe stone fruit such as cherry, full-bodied. This wine is powerful and fleshy. I see. I think we got a bad bottle. I think we got a bad bottle. Might have. Because Wilfred Wong says showcases aromas and flavors of fragrant spices, ripe red and black fruits, and a hint of chalk. Like oh, wow. But that was for the first one. Oh, we didn't get that in the first one. All you were getting is lemon.

Carmela: 41:34
I know that was weird.

Joe: 41:35
Yeah, and James Suckey said ripe cherries, raspberries, and hints of chocolate and mild spices, vivid and juicy on the palate. Like I think we just got a bad bottle. We must have. I really think so. It's too bad, too, because I I really wish we had a better tasting. And it's we had it a little chilled and you know, correctly done. Yeah, exactly. The moulin envent, the winery says dark berry fruit, definitely. Graphite. That's like pencil. Like pencil. And floral spice labored, layered over firm mineral tension and fine tannins. Do you think it had fine tannins? Uh Esquin says cherry and plum fruits. Okay. Nice. Intermixed with notes of earth, tobacco, and garig. Okay, tobacco we didn't get. Garig is herbs, like French herbs like tarragon and that kind of stuff. I don't, I didn't get it. I actually got a little bit more of that on the first one, maybe, but you know, they didn't talk about chalk in this one, but I was definitely getting the chalk. But Carmela, what's the verdict so far on Crew Beaujolais?

Carmela: 42:33
Oh, well, I'm always up for trying more. And I feel like that's one of these bottles. Like we need to go.

Joe: 42:39
I agree.

Carmela: 42:40
We need to try more. I think we I think we can find some good ones.

Joe: 42:43
Yeah, I'm actually a little bit disappointed in this tasting because I just don't think we got a great representation of what Crew Beaujolais can be. I mean, I really love Beaujolais in general and Game. I think it's a great wine. And I just don't think these were great. I don't, I think we got a bad bottle with the first one. I really do, based on the ratings and the descriptions. The second one was good. Like, anyway, I I think there's more. I think there's more to learn, and I think you're right. Like, good starting point, but I need to try some more crew beaujolais.

Carmela: 43:12
Down with it.

Joe: 43:13
Okay, now it's time to head over to our news desk so that we can cover our wine in the news this week segment. Wine in the news this week. Our wine in the news this week comes from AFP via the local, and the article is called Heat Forces French Champagne Makers to Increase Alcohol Content. That's interesting, huh? Yeah. So the links are in the show notes as always. But French authorities just gave champagne producers permission to raise the alcohol content of their wine this year up to 15%.

Carmela: 43:48
I don't think that's necessary.

Joe: 43:50
Well, and the cap is usually 13%, and most of them try to stay well below that at like 12%. Right. But the question is why?

Carmela: 43:57
Exactly.

Joe: 43:58
Well, Carmela, as the web Gets hotter via climate change, and yes, I'm sorry to tell you, climate change is real. The grapes are getting riper and riper and more full of sugar, and as a result, growers are having to pick their grapes earlier and earlier. This past year, the first grapes were harvested on August 6th, and most of the region was already harvesting by August 17th. Wow. That's about two weeks earlier than last year, and last year was an early year. Oh no. So they're picking really early. So this was a special year, but I think we're gonna see this more often. So as a result, the Comite Champagne requested an exception on the alcohol level requirement, and they received a temporary allowance from the INAO, which is France's appellation authority, to allow the alcohol cap to rise for the 2026 harvest only. So it's not a permanent rule change.

Carmela: 44:52
Oh well, they're gonna have to revisit that.

Joe: 44:54
Yeah, the association has been explicit it's a one-year allowance. Yeah, the climate change is going right back to normal after next year. One of the group's co-chairs, Maxime Toubal, she said this kind of harvest will become normal probably within the next 10 to 15 years if things keep going this way. And the other co-chair, David Chatillon, he pointed out that most growers will not actually get anywhere near the 15%. The average after harvest usually sits at under 12%. So it's not like every bottle that comes out this year, this next year, is going to be super high in alcohol. They're just allowed to go higher if they have to. But this is also happening in a year when France is expecting its lowest wine harvest in 70 years.

Speaker 1: 45:36
Oh wow.

Joe: 45:36
And Champagne specifically could see production drop by as much as half.

unknown: 45:42
Oh my goodness.

Joe: 45:42
So this is not good for wine producers. Yeah, exactly. Which, you know, on the heels of our English bubbly episode may explain why English bubbly is starting to grow too, right? Because as we said, it's kind of the climate in southern England, is the way champagne used to be 50 years ago. So thanks, climate change. You may wonder why this is a big deal, but the truth is higher alcohol content has an impact on our experience of a wine. So higher alcohol makes champagne feel fuller and rounder in the mouth, and it tends to soften the acidity and freshness. And sometimes it's a warmer, almost hot sensation on the finish, but that's pretty different from what you want in a good sparkling wine or a champagne. You really want that crispness, you know, you want that racy kind of acidity. And so we're gonna get less citrus in the wine, and you're also gonna have stronger tasting wines. And so I think part of the problem is it's not gonna be the experience that people expect out of champagne.

Carmela: 46:41
Right.

Joe: 46:41
Or at least have traditionally expected out of champagne.

Carmela: 46:43
You think they'll drink less.

Joe: 46:45
Well, I think that's a good question. I don't know. I mean, there's a lot of prestige with champagne, which we'll probably stick around for a while, and we'll see if this year was an oddity or if it's a trend. But I think Carmelo, the bigger question I have is do you think they'll need to make a more permanent exception? Or should they try and keep it the same in terms of alcohol content as they've, you know, always done over the over the decades and centuries that they've been making wine and champagne?

Carmela: 47:09
Well, time t time will tell. But I think that we're already seeing that that is the case. So I yeah, one year oddity thing, I'm not so sure. What do you think?

Joe: 47:20
Yeah, I agree. I think my expectation is it's gonna be difficult for these winemakers to continue to make exactly the same kind of wine they've been making. I think they'll make beautiful wines, but it may just be that we have to get used to a little bit of a different kind of style of wine after a while. Who knows?

Speaker 1: 47:34
Yeah, who knows? We'll see. We'll see.

Joe: 47:36
Okay, we got some listener shout-outs. Remember, it's been a little while since we've actually recorded an episode. It's been a little over a week. Uh, we we did a mini sode. I did some things out of sequence. So we have a few shout-outs that are saved up. So we have Christine Tips to live by, also known as, and she reached out to us to let us know she liked the short mini-sode format we did. Uh-huh. And she likes Mabel's background noises, which she can hear right now. Chef Paul, I mentioned this, he's gonna have a little bit of a name for us, but he also shared a rep a recipe from his cooking page on Instagram, which is Paul's Cooking Page. And he had a beautiful dish of not quite pasta Nerano, and he said it was an awesome pairing with a wine that we've never had called La Crescent or Crescent, and it's a cold climate hybrid grape grown in the upper Mississippi Valley. And he said it was as good as Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

Carmela: 48:24
Oh, I love that. We're gonna have to try that.

Joe: 48:26
Totally. Jessica on Spotify commented that she liked the mini sode and the truth behind sugar-free wine marketing, which we are very honest about. Dale reached out to us to let us know that we might need to work on our Greek pronunciations a bit. Oh. So, Dale, you know what? We're never worried about getting critiqued. We are good with it. Thank you for sending that.

Carmela: 48:45
We don't mind feedback at all.

Joe: 48:46
That's right. And Adrian, aka Art Metal Girl on Instagram, commented on our latest video that Mabel wants treats. And she does. Right now, Carmela is doing a little tug toy with that's right. Because you know what? You've got to play with your dog, people. And that's not a euphemism. That's that's real. Okay, wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us. We're gonna do decoy wines. And and remember, if you go to our show notes, you can see the vintages, the actual wines, and links if you're interested in that. We're also gonna do Lois Cremont, so another sparkling. We're gonna do Sylvanor, and I again, I'm not sure if I'm saying this right, but Valdiget. And, you know, we've got room for wines uh to do if you have ideas. Even if it's a wine we've already done before, it's okay. Let us know if you really want us to revisit a wine. We're happy to do that because there's some wines we've done, you know, we did three or four years ago, and maybe it's time to revisit and see what we think if we say the same things. But with that, we want to thank you for listening to us and supporting our show. And remember, we buy all of our own wine and we do all of the writing and recording and editing to bring you a show every week because we love doing it. And our small little ask for you, almost your even maybe like a payment. Like we don't ask for payment, but maybe this is the payment is you follow or subscribe to our podcast and leave us a five-star rating and review to help us grow listeners. And we do want to say just a huge thank you to everybody who's taken the time to do that. And if you haven't, you know, feel it's okay to feel a little guilt and then do it, right? Right. Am I right? Okay, you can also follow us on Instagram at Blue Sky and TikTok at the WinePair Podcast. Contact us on our website, thewinepairpodcast.com, sign up for our email newsletter there. You can visit our shop wine section where you can find links to buy the wines that Rebrate is buys in each episode. And we want to make content that you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us, give us some feedback like Dale did about our pronunciation that was, I guess. And let us know if there's wines you want us to try or winemaking areas of the world that you're curious about, and we'd love to take care of it. Joe at the winepairpodcast.com. And with that, we're gonna sign off. So thank you once again. We'll see you next time. And as we like to say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine. Out of water,