Beaujolais: top-scoring St-Amour, Régnié, Juliénas and Chénas 2018 wines

See the full Beaujolais 2018 cru vintage report

Individual cru analysis and top-scoring wines for:

Morgon | Moulin-à-Vent | Fleurie | Brouilly & Côte de Brouilly

Saint-Amour, Régnié, Juliénas and Chénas 2018

There is plenty to celebrate from the 2018 vintage in Beaujolais with many of the region’s crus producing outstanding wines after a hot, dry growing season.

Andy Howard MW looks at what to expect from the 2018 wines coming from Saint-Amour, Régnié, Juliénas and Chénas, and highlights some producers to look out for.

Chénas

Size: 237ha

A very small cru which is rarely seen, Chénas is named after the forests of oak which used to dominate the land here.

Quite full-bodied, earthy wines with more tannins evident, this is balanced by pronounced floral notes of rose and iris.

Domaine Piron-Lameloise produce a wine from quartz-rich soils which is always worth seeking out.

Juliénas

Size: 568ha

Named after Julius Caesar, Juliénas is the oldest of the Beaujolais cru.

There is much less granite here – the soils are orientated towards clay, with schist and diorite playing an important role.

The wines are sturdy and ageworthy with dark cherry and cassis fruit, and spicy, peppery notes.

Régnié

Size: 400ha

Beaujolais’ newest cru (1988), with pink-granite, mineral rich soils.

Perhaps not the most complex AOP but approachable and generally earlier-drinking.

Aromatic with peach, cherry and raspberry notes and some spicy flavours.

Saint-Amour

Size: 320ha

The most northerly of the crus, St-Amour has a varied mix of soils ranging from granite, clay, schist and limestone (shared with the Côte Chalonnaise just to the north).

A lighter cru with forward, dark berry fruit flavours and appealing floral qualities (violet, peony, lavender).

The tasting revealed quite a variety of styles – often related to the soil type.

Top producers include:

• Domaine Piron-Lameloise (Chénas)
• Domaine du Clos du Fief (Juliénas)
• Guy Breton (Régnié)
• Domaine Rochette (Régnié)
• Domaine de la Pirolette (Saint-Amour)
• Domaine des Billards (Saint-Amour)

See Andy Howard MW’s top St-Amour, Régnié, Juliénas and Chénas 2018 wines

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