The Beaujolais 2009 vintage – the grape harvest finished around the 20th September. In terms of quantity, as expected, the yield was low at 843032 hl. However, the high quality of the grapes this year will go down in the record books. The excellent health of the vineyard, thanks to ideal weather conditions, allowed the grapes to reach both peak physiological and sugar ripeness (information from Inter Beaujolais). The buzz surrounding this vintage is already reaching fever pitch!
With this in mind, Adam Russell (our London Sales Executive) attended a Beaujolais 2009 Trade and Press tasting on July 1st in London. There were 55 wines to taste, covering the 12 Beaujolais appellations. One of Adam’s highlights of the event was Fleurie Vieilles Vignes Madone 2009, Domaine de la Madone. His tasting note for the wine was “This has structure and dimension. Real depth. Brilliant grainy finish. Very good. Very long term.” We are pleased to say we are the agents for this domaine and we will be shipping this wine in 2009 (we currently have in stock the 2008 vintage in bottles and magnums).
This tasting was a showcase for what Beaujolais can offer in 2009. As Inter Beaujolais states – There are the same intense fruit aromas on the nose as those to be found on the palate; including raspberry, balckberry, vine peach and even violet. 2009 has produced a perfectly balanced vintage with surprisingly complexity, backed up with great, flavourful length on the palate. Silky tannins that blend in perrfectly, an almost unheard of intensity of aromas and flavours and perfect acidity combine to make these cellaring wines, that will stand the test of time.