It was so great to head to Atrium des Grands Ballets, a beautiful space in the historic Wilder Building downtown Montreal, on June 13, for a rendez-vous with Beaujolais wines. Beaujolais is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) red wine generally made of the Gamay grape.
As I walked into the tasting room I immediately spotted something different – white wines. As I approached the tables, I noticed the white wines were Chardonnay. Curious with this discovery, I ended up focusing my attention to the Chardonnays available at the event.
The first I tried was from Domaine Lathuilière Gravallon. I then tried the one from Les Vins JM Aujoux. The third Chardonnay I tried was from Vinescence. And the last Chardonnay I tried was from Domaine de Boischampt.
The Beaujolais official website mentions: “On Beaujolais terroirs, Chardonnay grapes reveal lovely expressions, ” and I must agree given my experience at the tasting event in Montreal.
An article in Forbes in October 2021 - Beaujolais Blanc: An Unexpected Way To Drink Chardonnay – helped me understand it better:
“Beaujolais is a wine region cultivated — almost exclusively — with a single grape variety: Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, or simply, Gamay. Employed to craft the iconic regional, Village, and Cru Beaujolais red wines and also an increasing portion of rosé, one might think that if a white wine were to come from this region, it would also be made from Gamay. But no. A familiar but unexpected grape is the only one allowed in the making of Beaujolais Blanc, and that is Chardonnay.”
I was also pleased to try a rosé. The only one available at this event was from Vinescence – very pleasant with fruity aromas and flavours.
What is your favourite Beaujolais wine?
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