In the second half of the 1970s, when I joined the wine trade and was studying for my WSET wine exams, Beaujolais was one of the first wines I was able to pin-point fairly confidently when I tasted it blind. It was some years later that Beaujolais Nouveau began to dominate Beaujolais sales, much to the delight of the producers, who saw the return on their vintage costs before they could blink. As the years went by, I became more and more disillusioned by the quality of Beaujolais. The wines just did not reflect the appealing, juicy, raspberry fruit of the Gamay grape and, that aside, did not even represent good value for money. The reason: overcropping.
Despite some good, recent vintages, I have not really changed my opinion, so it is with relief that I hear that the yields for the 2010 vintage are being drastically reduced to between 32 and 25 hectolitres per hectare. This is a progress indeed, considering that the average authorised yield in the region has approached 52hl/ha. The reasons behind the decision lie in the fact that the French have at last realised that the bottom has dropped out of the Beaujolais Nouveau market (last year the
en primeur production was 360,000hl, but only 275,000hl shifted).
Thank goodness some action is at last being taken, which will hopefully mean that Beaujolais will once more taste as if it is actually made from the Gamay grape.
