Beaujolais at Mr Vertigo. From Nouveau Fun to Cru Complexity

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Given that this article is being written on the 21st of November, 2024, the new vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau was officially released at Beaujeu in Beaujolais at midnight last night, or this morning. I’ve never been clear on that one. Harvest festivals and festivals to celebrate the new vintage are common in the wine world, after all who wouldn’t need the let off a little steam and raise a glass after a grueling harvest producing the stuff. Few are as famous, or as divisive, as the release of Beaujolais Nouveau which has entered the collective consciousness like few others.

For a long time, Beaujolais suffered the comparison with it’s starry sister, Burgundy which has produced world class pinot noir for centuries. In the 1960’s, a local tradition of celebration to mark the release of the new vintage somehow caught the attention of some bright sparks in Paris and then further afield and it was whipped into a marketing frenzy like no other. Restaurants, shops and bars as far afield as New York would race cases across various land and sea to be able to claim the title as the first to uncork the first bottle.

Growing up in England in the 80’s and 90’s I remember that it was a thing even then and I was probably aware off the name of this specific wine before any others. The interest that the marketing frenzy created, undoubtedly gave the region more attention, and money, which in turn led to a growth in serious producers focused on producing world class wines that spoke of the region. The best of Beaujolais now stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best wine in the world and is often a fraction of the price making it doubly attractive for the wine lover who watches the wallet as well as the glass. The problem is that now the cure has become, for many, a curse. My man on the insider, or rather my brother and a group of his sophisticates, are in Beaujolais as I write and visited a serious vigneron as well as the release party for the new vintage and found two worlds that sit uneasily next to each other.

The vigneron from an appellation in the North of Beaujolais is current seeking cru status for one of their wines and sees the Beaujolais Nouveau release and festival as an anachronistic and embarrassing throwback. The nouveau release bares little resemblance to the complex wines that they are making yet for many the word Beaujolais conjures sensory images of sharp, young wines that work best, if at all, in the context of a plastic cup at a raucous festival. And speaking of that. The release of the wine more closely resembles a winter version of Ibiza then other celebrations of vintage. Lasers shout out over the town square as loud techno music drowns out anything but the shoutiest of conversation. The official branded glasses ran out early meaning that people nip back to their rented accommodation or hotel rooms to grab anything that will collect wine from the numerous stalls.

It’s well known that wine tasting is highly contextual. Wine, any wine, tastes better in good company. Every year someone tricks respected wine experts into raptures over a much cheaper wine poured from a Grand Gru bottle. And the same wine will taste different while sipped to different types of music. In light of that, techno and lasers feels potentially like a distraction rather than a context. The release at midnight has more than a hint of New Year’s celebrations about it when the faucet is opened on two barrels and people rush to fill their glass. In the end the crush is too much for many people who retreat to the open wine shops and bars to purchase bottles of Beaujolais from the very producers who are trying to distance themselves from the shackles of the Nouveau name. One drunken reveler shouted at my brother as he wandered home, “drink plenty, it takes away the taste”. Clearly unable to make it to the faucet, he clutched in his hand a 2020 from a well-known producer that would grace any fine table. And there, in miniature, is the problem.  

The best place to buy Beaujolais, and wine in general, in Athens is the Kolonaki Square legend, Mr Vertigo. Named after the Paul Auster classic rather than the feeling of having sampled one too many, the location is a place to buy wine, learn about wine, sample wine and even have a glass in the company of some refined Kolonaki cats, on the cushioned terrace outside. Long time champions of the exquisite gamays produced in Beaujolais, Mr Vertigo also carries the new release from one of their favourite producers, Chateau Cambon. Their Beaujolais Nouveau does two important jobs. Firstly it is a reminder that wine should be fun. Secondly, it serves as a gateway glass to get people into the discrete “rest of the world” room to sample some of the fine Beaujolais that they have on offer from Chateau Cambon, and brothers Antoine and Julien Sunier. So here is their Beaujolais Nouveau and then two to try afterwards. 

Beaujolais Nouveau, 2024, Château Cambon

Everything about this bottle shouts uncomplicated fun. The simple label which has a cartoon of a shoeless and sozzled drinker reclining on a vine leaf is about as far away from a serious tasting of Grand Crus as you can get. The liquid continues the party with light red grenadine blush which reminds me fondly of the exotic French cordials I was allowed to drink on Summer holiday. On the nose there’s loads of strawberries and red fruit and a hint of bubblegum. Best drunk cold, with friends and maybe even a winter BBQ.

Brouilly, Chateau Cambon, 2021

Located smack bang in the middle of Beaujolais but the Southernmost of the crus, Brouilly produces plummy, fruit-forward wines. According to Mr Vertigo’s site. “One of the region’s outstanding appellations, this is a wine with organic practices in the vineyard and “natural” winemaking with minimal intervention. Delightful immediate red fruit, nervous acidity that stimulates the palate and a velvety tannic dimension on the palate that comes to calm and balance it. Elegant, fresh with very low levels of sulphites, the definition of drinkability.” Try it with a Lyonnaise salad of bitter greens and rich, savoury lardons. 

Fleurie, Julien Sunier, 2021

Julien Sunier’s entry in Jon Bonne’s modern bible to French wine is as a “Name to Know” which goes to show that he stands out in the crowd of exceptional Beaujolais producers. Again to Mr Vertigo, “Julien Sunier has a remote, literally remote, perspective on the Beaujolais region. After all, his farm sits high up at 750m altitude in Avenas overlooking the three famous Beaujolais cru’s from which he produces his stunning wines. His Fleurie comes from 25-60 year old vines with a light and slightly more “tightly wound” approach to this particular cru. The fruit is gorgeous, glossy, clean, straightforward, with notes of violets, red berries and wild strawberries, with freshness and minerality taking over on the palate, which is quite light and with a characteristic ethereal elegance.” This is a versatile wine and can be enjoyed on it’s own at room temperature or slightly chilled. It pairs well with charcuterie and lighter chicken dishes. Just delicious.