Beaujolais Villages

Beaujolais Village wines lie somewhere between the fruity freshness of Beaujolais Nouveau and the darker complexity of Beaujolais Crus. The appellation has been granted to 38 villages of the Northern Beaujolais and stretches along the foothills of the granite mounds from which the Crus are made.

While there are variations from one village to the next, the Village wines are usually fruity and easy to like, and not meant for years of cellaring. Like most Beaujolais reds, they pair well with roasted and cured meats. But with high acidity and low tannin content, they are best served slightly chilled (55°F).

Their appealing fruit owes in part to carbonic maceration, the typical Beaujolais practice of letting fermentation begin inside intact grapes, which extracts unique flavors from the berries. Unlike Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released only two months after the harvest, Beaujolais Village wines undergo longer vinification and élevage, and are only released in the following Spring.