£15.80, Haynes, Hanson & Clark
I’m very keen on the wines of the Beaujolais Crus (no secret there), so I was delighted to see at the autumn tasting of The Bunch that these Gamay wines from Beaujolais’ top 10 individual appellations, seem to be having a moment, at least with this group of independent wine merchants.
Four of the seven-strong Bunch members showed a Beaujolais Cru – not a bad tally out of 17 French reds and 32 red wines from nine countries all told. There was a Morgon (Adnams), a Côte de Brouilly (Tanners) and two Moulin-à-Vent (Lea & Sandeman and Haynes, Hanson & Clark), including one from Domaine de Forétal, and they were all extremely good.
Instead of one of those, though, I’ve chosen a Juliénas, a Cru that tends to get overshadowed by the likes of Fleurie, Brouilly, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent, all of which are larger – and further south.
Juliénas, along with Saint-Amour, is the northernmost Cru of the northernmost part of Beaujolais where the Crus cluster, so perhaps it’s a bit off the mainstream. I’ve also seen the wines described as slightly rustic. Don’t you believe it.
Jean-Yves, fifth generation of the Perraud family at Domaine de Forétal, makes Juliénas of unalloyed purity and charm up in the hills in Vauxrenard.
The 2023 has a luminous raspberry fragrance, succulent, fleshy, red fruit, rock-pool minerality and coolness and very light, chalk-dust fine tannins.
It's vinified traditionally, in cement, and Jean-Yves works the densely planted vines, traditionally and sustainably. The Juliénas vines have an average age of 45 years (the Moulin-à-Vent vines are even older) and the nine-hectare estate is Terra Vitis and HVE3 certified.
One of the things I love about Gamay in general, and the Beaujolais Crus above all, is how well they go with food. It’s quite hard to go wrong, although you could kill Forétal Juliénas, as you could most wines, with an injudicious curry, chilli or kimchi or an aggressive barbecue sauce.
You could also diminish it by serving it heavily chilled or too warm. Aim for cool – around 15–16ºC.
Just a few pairing ideas: roast chicken, coq au vin, quail, young lamb; seared tuna, salmon; smoked duck breast salad, rillettes, paté, bresaola and other air-dried and cured meats; hummus, spanakopita, vegetarian stuffed red peppers; or let it cut through heavier or fattier dishes such as cassoulet and pork belly. 13.5%. Empty bottle weight: 570g.
Domaine de Forétal Juliénas 2023, Juliénas, Beaujolais, France
£15.80 (or £14.05 if you buy 12), Haynes, Hanson & Clark
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