($30):  Chénas, the smallest of the 10 Crus (named villages) of the Beaujolais region, is known for producing robust wines.  Laura Lardy is one of Beaujolais’ top producers.  Put the two together and you get this deeply rich wine with a balancing tarriness and uplifting freshness. … Read more

($35, Quintessential Wines):  The Côte du Py, a blue-stone slope, is the best-known subregion within the Morgon appellation.  Gamay grown here takes on a firm and distinct mineral-like character, which often takes a couple of years to soften.  However, the warmth of the 2019 vintage brought out a ripe bright dark cherry-like fruit in this Côte du Py. … Read more

($23, Quintessential Wines):  Juliénas is one of the 10 crus, or named villages, of Beaujolais that labels the wine with the village name, omitting Beaujolais entirely.  In addition to his “flower label” bottlings of Beaujolais, DuBoeuf produces or commercializes a bevy of notable ones, such as this one. … Read more

($26, Kobrand Wine & Spirits):  Beaujolais is still trying to remind people it produces real, top-notch wine, not just “nouveau.”  Well, Jadot’s Château des Jacques is a convincing exhibit.  For over 20 years, Château des Jacques has been instrumental in showing the diversity of wines from within the crus of Beaujolais, those ten named villages, such as Moulin-à-Vent, whose wines are so distinctive that they may not even carry the name Beaujolais on the label. … Read more

($17):  Saint-Amour is the most northern Beaujolais cru and the second smallest, after Chénas.  Clay in the granitic soil here adds an oomph to the wines, according to growers to whom I spoke.  Ferraud’s is wonderfully fragrant and immediately enticing.  After its floral allure, its power comes as a surprise, but a welcome one because it is not overdone. … Read more

($30):  Though Ferraud’s wines have been in the U.S. market in the past, they currently have no importer, which is a shame because they consistently make distinctive Beaujolais.  (The prices I quote come from a world-wide averages.)   My experience with their wines comes from decades ago when they were imported and, more recently, drinking them in Paris bistros. … Read more

($25):  Ferraud has had presence on the U.S. market for decades, but currently lacks an importer.  That’s a shame because their wines are distinctive and unique.  Take this one — a classic Moulin-à-Vent with fruit-infused charm, minerality, and a lovely fleshiness. … Read more

($25, Schatzi Wines):  Consumers can select anything that Domaine Ruet makes and be happy with it.  This Morgon, from the climat (or vineyard) Douby, is sensational.  It has the firmness for which Morgon is known, but with a charming fruitiness and haunting minerality. … Read more

($14):  Beaujolais-Villages is a wine that comes from any one or a combination of 38 specified villages, and the category is thought to have the potential for more interesting wines compared to those labeled Beaujolais.  This one is juicy, with good weight and concentration, yet not heavy or overly fruity. … Read more

($25):  Growers in Moulin-à-Vent, the most robust of the 10 crus of Beaujolais, have embraced the concept of making wines from specific sites, just as in the Côte d’Or, their more famous neighbor in Burgundy to the north.  En Mortperay is one such site, situated on the edge of the appellation, bordering Fleurie. … Read more

($30):  The Côte du Py is arguably the most famous climat or vineyard in Morgon and possibly all of Beaujolais.  Composed of back stone, it can be home to power and dense wines that need considerable age before revealing their charms. … Read more

($20):  Ferraud, though lacking a U.S. importer now, had been in this market for decades and is a well-established name with a proven track record.  Yves-Dominique Ferraud told me he thought the 2018 vintage in Beaujolais was a combination of the ripeness of 2015 and the raciness of 2016.… Read more

($23, Schatzi Wines):  I recently tasted six Beaujolais from this producer, one made without added sulfur, from three different vintages, 2016, 2017 and 2018.  They were stunning across the board and demonstrated the enormous talent at the domaine. They have just under 3 acres on the slopes of Côte de Brouilly, one of the 10 crus of Beaujolais. … Read more

($23):  The Lameloise family, whose name is synonymous with fine dining because of their Michelin 3-star restaurant in nearby Chagny, owns the vineyard in Chénas, the smallest of the 10 crus of Beaujolais, while Dominique Piron makes the wines.  Floral and elegant, it’s a graceful wine that dances on the palate. … Read more

($15):  Côte de Brouilly, one of the 10 crus, or named villages of Beaujolais, is really a small mountain that emerges from Brouilly, another of the named villages.  It has many lieux-dits (place names) on its slope.  More and more, Beaujolais producers are identifying specific sites within the cru because they believe the wines are distinctive and reflect the site, just as in the rest of Burgundy. … Read more

($32, Savio Soares Selections): It’s hard to determine from the importer’s website whether Le Clos de Lys is actually a single vineyard or a proprietary name for a wine that comes from several parcels in Morgon.  No matter, the wine is excellent and reinforces my opinion that the cru of Beaujolais will be the next hot area for French wine. … Read more

($20): I only became acquainted with Frédéric Berne’s Beaujolais during my annual trip to Burgundy last November.  Based on my tasting of his 2014s, I would try anything he makes.  He, like many of the top producers in Beaujolais, is raising the bar in that region by identifying vineyards within the cru (the 10 towns that produce the most distinctive wines) that have unique terroir and are capable of making superior wines. … Read more

($25, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.): Beaujolais is clearly a hot area.  Major Beaune-based Burgundy négociants are investing there, either by buying properties, such as Jadot with Château des Jacques, or, as with Drouhin, collaborating with the Domaine des Hospices de Belleville to produce and market their wines. … Read more

($20): Wines from Chiroubles, another one of the ten cru of Beaujolais, are typically fruitier and less firm than those from Morgon. Berne’s 2015 Chiroubles from Les Terrasses, one of the top spots in that village, is exuberant without being over the top. … Read more

($24, Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd.): There’s no better way to learn about the differences between the cru of Beaujolais than by tasting the wines of Stéphane Aviron, one of the appellation’s top producers.  The house characteristics — precision and harmony — are apparent in all of them, but each reflects the specific terroir of the region. … Read more

($18, Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd.): If your tastes run to firmer rather than floral Beaujolais, turn to Aviron’s 2013 Côte de Brouilly.  Also made from old vine fruit, it’s stonier — you can almost taste the granite soil — than his Fleurie, but equally attractive.  … Read more

($20, Henriot, Inc): Fleurie, similar to the other nine named villages or cru of the Beaujolais region, carries its own appellation.  Indeed, there’s no reference to Beaujolais on Villa Ponciago’s label.  And that’s probably just as well because this wine is as far away from the typical, slightly pejorative, image of Beaujolais. … Read more

($21, Henriot, Inc): Beaujolais gets a bad rap.  It’s partially deserved because of all of the slightly sweet and vapid swill labeled Beaujolais on the market.  But there are a few producers who are trying desperately — they must sometimes feel it’s like pushing a rock up a hill — to change the image with their wines from the cru, or named villages, such as Fleurie, of the region. … Read more