Beaujolais 2015 – feel the heat

The scorching summer weather in 2015 has driven some Beaujolais wines to previously unknown alcoholic heights, but many producers are not overly bothered.

Like the rest of France Beaujolais experienced an extremely warm few months in the summer which pushed alcohol levels in some wines up as high as 14% and even 15% – levels normally unknown for Gamay which sometimes stretches to 13% in a warm year but usually manages a comfortable 11% to 12%.

Although the year was certainly an ‘année solaire‘ as many producers have called it, this led to great concentration in the fruit while cool nights and some rain in August meant the grapes and the resulting wine kept a good level of acidity and freshness.

Indeed many producers appear happier with their 2015s than they were even with their 2009s.

The warm weather also kept the crop in good health and most producers reported hardly if any rot at all which was a relief following the 2014 harvest which, despite producing very good wines as well, required more sorting and work in the winery.

“The 2015s are in the same stable as the 2014s,” Grange Cochard’s Sarah Wilding told the drinks business. “The ’14s are elegant, the ’15s are too but they’re much bigger.”

She added though that while the 2015s were ‘big’ wines they were “calmer” than the ’09s, “which were enormous”.

“The 2015s are very ripe and sunny,” agreed Domaine Labruyère’s commercial director, Nicolas Mielly, “but they have a good acidity which the ’09s sometimes lack.”

Claude Geoffroy of Château Thivin added: “You can sense the sun, the wines have more volume but still have fresh red fruit aromas.”

Emma Nielsen of Le Grappin told db she thought that, like the 2009s were touted, it was a good vintage to “convert non-Gamay drinkers.”

One downside to the heat is a rather drastic reduction in volume compared to 2014. At 600,000 hectolitre the vintage is over 100,000hl smaller than the 2014 which realized 756,000hl.

The vintage will no likely split opinion too with many stating a preference for the more “classic” 2014s