Beaujolais Visit, October 2008

Vincent Lacondemine

We turned up at Vincent Lacondemine's house late in the morning during our whirlwind trip to Beaujolais. He emerged into the late October sunshine to greet us, and we proceeded to the cellar to begin our tasting session. We worked our way through the latest white, now labelled "Chantemerle", after the parcel of Chardonnay vines used for it, the rosé, and his 2 different Beaujolais Villages, then it was on to the Nouveaux. I say Nouveaux rather than Nouveau because as yet the assemblage had not yet been made, and we were presented with 3 different cuvée samples, 2 different cuvées from one site, and a third sample from a different site. It's quite an interesting exercise tasting these "raw" wines - tasting extremely young wines such as these is hard enough anyway, but the contrasting characters of the different samples makes the process that much more intriguing. One is trying to ascertain what the wines will taste like in the near term future, when they have stabilised, not as individual wines, but as blends of varying proportions. The first 2 samples, both labelled "#3" unsurprisingly tasted very similar. Both had a powerful nose of bubble gum and bananas, and a highly vibrant fruity body. The third, "#50", was quite different - very restrained on the nose, but much more fruit on the again vibrant body than the first samples. Youthful Beaujolais needs a big fruity nose, so it was clear that the #3 wines had to dominate in the blend. We experimented with 2 parts of #3 to 1 part of #50, and the results were startling. Both the individual wines had big vibrant characters which in the blend had become softer and rounder, and the nose had become much more like that I remembered from the 2007 wine. The final assemblage would be made, and bottling undertaken, a couple of days later.

Grower's own assessments of the vintage:-

Beaujolais Villages Nouveau 2008 - Vincent Lacondemine

"2008 was a notable year because of the weather. Indeed from the first budding in early May right through until September 13, we experienced quite a bit of rain. Nevertheless, several positive factors have played in our favour. First, Beaujeu was lucky in that it was spared from the hailstorms that hit nearly 4,000 hectares of vineyards further north. Also, thanks to their good exposure on hillsides, on light soils, my vines have been less susceptible to attacks by mildew and botrytis. Finally when la bise* arrived, we were happy! From September 14 the north wind blew without interruption throughout the harvest, drying grapes and thereby ensuring the final days of maturation went well. The harvest took place from September 21 to October 7 .... This is a relatively long period to harvest 6 hectares, but the plots are scattered, have different characteristics, and I wanted to take maximum advantage of the good autumn weather to take each plot to optimal maturity. Today, I think my efforts have borne fruit. The first wines reveal beautiful intensity of color, a nose with red berry aromas with floral notes, a nice roundness in the mouth, with fruit and spice on the palate, reflecting the expression of terroir. As tradition dictates, I selected a vintage of Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2008, for its first wine. This new wine will bring sunshine at the end of November!"

* A northerly wind

Beaujolais Nouveau 2008 - Jean-Paul Devay

"The year 2008 was a difficult year for making wine. The spring and summer were quite wet, raising the risk of mildew. However, thanks to rigorous work in the vineyard, strict grape selection, and perfect weather before and during the September harvest, 2008 will be a vintage of quality rather than quantity. The end result is superb. My Beaujolais Nouveau 2008 has an intense red colour, with purple tinges, and has aromas of very ripe red and black fruits (raspberries, blackberries). On the palate, the wine is bold and full-bodied, with lots of fruit and good structure. Although made to be drunk young, I think the wines from this vintage will last a long time and there is no great rush to drink them."