Bonjour! Beaujolais-Villages Makes Easy Wine With A Few Bucks

2005 Louis Jadot Burgundy

Maison Louis Jadot, a respected producer of Burgundy wine in France (“Burgundy” is the equivalent of Pinot Noir) was founded by Louis Henry Denis Jadot in 1859. Although the Louis Jadot name has become synonymous with fine quality and quite expensive French Burgundies, they have branched out to create inexpensive, lighter varietals for us working-class folk.

With Beaujolais-Villages, the created wine is not technically a Burgundy and therefore not a Pinot Noir as this wine comes from the Beaujolais region in France. Wines from this area are made mostly from the Gamay grape, a hearty varietal with thick skin, yet low tannins.

To put it simply, if you want to impress some people at a party by showing them you like French wine or show that you’d like some variety outside of the US, but don’t want to break the bank, try Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages.

Nose
Mash some fresh red berries together with brown sugar, then sprinkle fresh-cracked black peppercorns all over it. Do this in a musty old barn. All that put together gives you the smell of this stuff.

Color
Dirty garnet with some dark places lurking within.

Taste
Everything in the nose is back, with a vengeance. Not overdoing it, just there. Big time. The fruit is very good, with good acidity and a nice, silky, long finish. The pepper lingers in your mouth just as the tannins kick in a bit to tighten up your tongue. We didn’t expect many tannins here since the wine is primarily Gamay (see above). Very interesting for such a popular wine.

With Food
Works well alone, so we wouldn’t exactly call this a food wine, but we could see it working with a variety of roast meats such as lamb, veal, or some peppered beef. Mild cheeses and red fruits would work as well with this Gamay type wine.