Nick Dobson Wines Beaujolais & Beaujolais Villages

Beaujolais & Beaujolais Villages

Classic Beaujolais is a simple light red wine made from the Gamay noir à jus blanc grape (more simply Gamay), and is vibrant purple in colour, with plenty of fresh soft fruit and fruity floral aromas. It is a refreshing thirst-quenching wine best drunk young. It is made mainly in the southern part of the region, by a mixture of co-operatives and small Domaines. The predominance of the co-operative means that Beaujolais selection requires some care; however it is quite surprising just how good some Beaujolais can be. Though the wines are simpler and lighter than the Crus in the north, the humble Gamay grape can, on the right terroir, and in the right hands, produce some stunning results. Terroir is particularly important; soils here tend to be sandier and have less granitic composition than further north, yet there are some granitic outcrops where excellent wines can be produced, with much body and character. Beaujolais Villages is the appellation located principally in the northern half of the region, or Haut Beaujolais, outside of the Cru villages, where the soil is lighter and sandier, and the terrain more hilly, than in the Beaujolais appelation to the south. These factors conspire to produce wines with more fruit and body than ordinary Beaujolais. They are predominantly still wines to drink young, although some producers, including our chosen suppliers, make wines which will keep several years. Because the Beaujolais Villages appellation covers a wide area, the style of wines available also varies, from light, fruity, and aromatic, through to heavier full-bodied examples. We believe that the wines from the Beaujolais Villages appellation represent particularly good value for money, and we are proud to offer a superb range of Beaujolais Villages wines from a number of excellent producers, who strive to make wines of great quality and character. Whilst most Beaujolais wine is red, limited quantities of white (made from Chardonnay) and Rosé (from the Gamay) are also made - these may come from either the Beaujolais or Beaujolais Villages appellations.

Knarled 80-year-old vine in Vincent Lacondemine's "Les Larmoïses" Vineyard

Chateau nestling in a valley in the southern Beaujolais, near Oingt

Beaujolais Villages in winter, near to Vaux-en-Beaujolais

Les Larmoïses vines, Beaujeu in the valley below

Beaujolais Villages Blanc 2010 Domaine Matray
Ref: 3332174

This wine is made from the Chardonnay grape, and has a golden yellow colour and is fruity on both nose and palate. Quite dry. It goes well with fish and seafood dishes, snails, and frogs legs. Perfect also for raclette and fondue. Also makes a good apéritif. Serve at 8-10 deg. C.

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Price: £9.90 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages Rosé 2010 Domaine Matray
Ref: 3332160

Another Beaujolais Villages rosé from the Gamay grape, this one from the excellent Domaine Matray in the north of the region, from a vineyard near Juliénas. It has an elegant nose, and a lively fruity taste. This is a great summer wine, very refreshing when served chilled to 8 to 10°. Great for the barbecue, also with charcuterie or just on its own as an apéritif.

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Price: £9.30 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages Blanc 2009 "Chantemerle" Vincent Lacondemine Beaujeu
Ref: 3332150

**(*) ££

This is one of those real finds - not only a wine which is perhaps one of a dozen or so in my entire list that falls quite clearly in the "something very special" category, but which is also one which surprises in the sense that it is not at all what you expect from it. White Beaujolais, made from the Chardonnay grape, is a very pleasant wine if well chosen. The 2009 is the fourth commercial vintage of this wine, made in slightly larger but still modest quantities. Like earlier vintages the 2009 is nothing short of excellent, being made in the style of a moderately oaked white Burgundy from more northerly climes - perhaps a good Côte Chalonnaise white, with it's pale golden color, it's nose of vanilla and toasty oak, acacia, and honey, and it's quite bold and punchy palate, with a core of orchard fruits, and a weighty texture. It has good acidity, with well-judged oak and a hint of tannin adding weight to the long finish. The '09 is very similar in style to the '07 - and rates as a **(*) wine.

When we first listed this wine (2006 vintage), only a couple of small barrels were made, and I was allocated a miniscule quantity - all of which has long since gone. M.Lacondemine has increased production slightly - but it's still tiny - and although we were lucky enough to get rather more of the 2009 than in earlier vintages, we don't exactly have a lot, and I do have to impose a limit of 12 bottles per customer.

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Price: £14.40 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages Rosé 2009 Vincent Lacondemine
Ref: 3332154

Another great wine from Vincent Lacondemine is his charming light, fresh fruity rosé, with its beautiful pale cherry-red colour, vibrant aromas of strawberries and red berries, and a lively mouth-filling refreshing taste. Made in very small quantities, this is an excellent all-year round wine, but comes into its own in the summer - ideal for barbecues - drink chilled (about 11°) with grilled meats, salads, or seafood dishes such as fruits de mer. Also makes a fine aperitif. I cannot overstate just how lovely this wine is - there is none of the weight often associated with Rosé - this one is truly elegant and will not disappoint. Drink now to end 2012.

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Price: £10.20 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages Tradition 2008 Vincent Lacondemine
Ref: 3332134

Vincent Lacondemine's Tradition is an absolutely classic Beaujolais Villages par excellence. A lovely ruby-red, with granite tinges, and great clarity. A complex nose of ripe blackberry and prune fruits, with fruit exploding in the mouth and soft gentle tannins providing structure. Bottled after 6 months in vat, this will last several years. Drink at about 13°.

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Price: £9.90 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages Tradition 2009 Vincent Lacondemine
Ref: 3332151

Vincent Lacondemine's Tradition is an absolutely classic Beaujolais Villages par excellence. A lovely ruby-red, with granite tinges, and great clarity. A complex nose of ripe blackberry and prune fruits, with fruit exploding in the mouth and soft gentle tannins providing structure. Bottled after 6 months in vat, this will last several years. Drink at about 13°.

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Price: £11.10 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages Tradition 2010 Vincent Lacondemine
Ref: 3332176

Vincent Lacondemine's Tradition is an absolutely classic Beaujolais Villages par excellence. A lovely ruby-red, with granite tinges, and great clarity. A complex nose of ripe blackberry and prune fruits, with fruit exploding in the mouth and soft gentle tannins providing structure. Bottled after 6 months in vat, this will last several years. Drink at about 13°.

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Price: £11.10 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages "Le Chapital" 2009 Vincent Lacondemine
Ref: 3332152

The vineyard "Le Chapital" comprises vines aged about 60 years, and it is located on south-facing slopes near Beaujeu. What makes "Le Chapital" so unusual is its soil - a mixture of clay and granite soils - with much higher clay content higher than the other plots typical of the region. Also the presence of blue granite mixed with clay is quite unusual. The granite takes the form of surface rocks and boulders below ground. You can see in the vineyard in several places "heads" of rock (see photo) - these are granite protrusions from large sub-ground-level boulders sticking up through the soil. The roots of the vines here go deep into the rocky soil between the rocks in search of water, and summer droughts are not problematic here. The high degree of contact between the roots and the rock imparts a mineral character to the wine.

Tasting note - A deep ruby color, nose of candied black fruits (blackberries, blackcurrants), minerat notes, mouth-filling,with supple tannins, persistent fruity attack, and a long mineral finish. Harmonious wine with aging potential of 5+ years.

To see a photo of the rocky protrusions in "Le Chapital", click on MORE.

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Price: £12.00 (Including VAT at 20%)

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Beaujolais Villages 2009 Les Larmoïses Vincent Lacondemine
Ref: 3332153

The 2009 vintage is the last one that M. Lacondemine will make of "Les Larmoïses". The vineyard is rented, and for contractual reasons M. Lacondemine has elected not to renew the lease, but to switch to a different vineyard, "Le Chapital" (see other entry here). And what a way to go out! The 2009 Larmoïses is a stunner, as you might expect from this fabulous vintage.

Vincent Lacondemine's flagship wine; the low yields from the 80+ year-old vines used to produce "Les Larmoïses", and long carbonic maceration, has produced a big wine of great concentration.The tannins are already softening, allowing full enjoyment of this wine from now and over the next 4-5 years. A perfumed nose with iris, violets and kirsch, with good depth of flavour and a velvety texture.

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Price: £13.80 (Including VAT at 20%)

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