Don’t make the mistake of thinking of all Beaujolais as light and frothy, or of Gamay as a second-rate grape variety. This serious, substantial wine demonstrates that both are capable of much more. Filled with seductive flavors echoing red fruits, leather, savory spice, and more, it has the sort of nuanced complexity one associates with red Burgundy or northern Rhône wines — which makes sense, as the region sits right between these two more celebrated ones. More and more artisanal winemakers are fashioning Beaujolais like this, a development well worth celebrating as you toast the advent of 2019.
Chateau Grange Cochard, Morgon (Beaujolais, Burgundy, France) 2015
By Paul Lukacs