Why 2023 is a must-have vintage for Beaujolais lovers

‘The world of wine is in crisis because of a lack of pleasure,’ says Fabien Duperray of Domaine Jules Desjourneys. This is hardly a problem for drinkers of the Beaujolais 2023 vintage, however.

The year has produced wines of rare balance and elegance. It is a vintage to buy both for current drinking and to lay down for the future. The top wines from 2023 will stand the test of time, but there is also enough hedonistic fruit to ensure immediate pleasure.

Beaujolais’ top producers are today turning out ageworthy gems that are well worth discovering at prices that make even the top wines an affordable splurge.

Our expert’s picks of 2023 Beaujolais listed below

So why 2023?

Compared with the preceding year, 2023 was a cooler vintage and the grapes kept a bit more acidity.

Picking in 2023 began in the last week of August (as it did in 2022), but there was plenty of rain during the season so the wines have more freshness, even though both harvests were picked at a moderate 13.5% alcohol.

Despite tremendous heat during harvest in 2023, the phenolic maturity was not as great, and winemakers tended to use a slightly shorter time in tank.

‘One could make great wine in 2023 if the yields didn’t get ahead of you,’ says Philippe Pascal of Domaine Mont Bessay in Juliénas.

Frédéric Jametton, the partner of Côte de Nuits superstar Guillaume Rouget at the Domaine de Vernus in Régnié, says: ‘I’d drink the 2023s before the 2022s, but it will be a great vintage’.

Maxime-Henri Lafarge, Michel Lafarge’s grandson, splits his time between Volnay and the family estate in Fleurie.

‘You can enjoy these wines now, or lay them down for the future,’ he says, ‘it’s always a good moment to open them, since they do not seem to be shutting down as some hotter vintages will do.’

The 2023 growing season

A warm winter in 2023 was followed by cooler, rainy weather, but flowering took place under ideal conditions, guaranteeing a generous yield.

July and August saw alternating periods of hot and dry balanced by cool and wet. This contrasted sharply with 2022 and other ‘global warming’ vintages that had more heat spikes and less water, ensuring moderate accumulation of sugar.

The first two weeks of August were rainy, with hail on 13 August, but the sun came out to finish ripening the grapes.

The making of a classic Beaujolais

In addition to Morgon, Fleurie and Juliénas, the most successful Beaujolais crus in 2023 include Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, St-Amour and Moulin-à-Vent, all of which produced wines that we can enjoy today and for years to come.

Many of the most complex and compelling wines come from the single-village Beaujolais crus in the northern part of Beaujolais, near the border with the southern reaches of Burgundy.

Wines here are made principally with two techniques, either semi-carbonic maceration or destemming.

In semi-carbonic maceration, winemakers who use a short maceration are looking for a fruity, forward style for easy drinking, but prolonging the maceration can deliver wines worthy of ageing in bottle.

Domaine Marcel Lapierre, for example, has macerations that last anywhere from nine to 35 days according to the desired style.

Jean-Marc Burgaud, macerates his grapes for about two weeks – depending on the vintage – before finishing the fermentation and ageing in tank to preserve a bit of reduction.

Burgaud is a great believer in the capacity of his wines to age, and believes that reduction lets them open slowly in bottle.

Burgundian influence

A very different style of wine is made by destemming some or all of the grapes prior to fermentation.

Destemming commonly gives wines that are more deeply coloured, with more prominent tannins and notable purity of fruit. This technique is often used by winemakers from Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, where the practice is common.

This is the case at Domaine Lafarge-Vial in Fleurie, founded by Frédéric Lafarge and his wife Chantal (née Vial) of Volnay. The grapes here are completely destemmed, either by hand or machine.

The fruit is given a maceration of two weeks before pressing in a vertical press and ageing in large oak uprights and used barrels of 228L and 350L for 14 months before bottling.

A hybrid technique is used by Guillaume Marko, technical director of Domaine du Cellier aux Moines in Givry and partner (with Philippe Pascal) in Domaine Mont Bessay in Juliénas.

At Domaine Mont Bessay the grapes from old vines are fermented largely as whole bunches and those from the younger vines are partially destemmed.

Pascal also believes in the ageability of Beaujolais: ‘Great Gamay needs long ageing, just like great Burgundy’.

Savvy wine lovers should without doubt snap up some of the top Beaujolais from 2023. The wines are delicious now and will hold for the future, too.

What’s more, much less wine was produced in 2024, so now’s your chance to stock up while the 2023s are still on the market.

Three Beaujolais 2023 drinking well now

Domaine des Pierres Roses, Vieilles Vignes, Moulin à Vent 2023 – 92 points

Pierre Roses is the Beaujolais project of Nuits-St-Georges superstar Thibault Liger-Belair. His ‘entry-level’ bottling is truly superb, boasting ripe, fleshy black plum and fig fruit enlivened by hints of earth and a salty minerality. The texture is dense but approachable. The wine is produced from old vines from the north-facing slopes, giving a wine with structure and freshness, with enough bright fruit to reward immediate drinking.

Domaine Laurent Gauthier, Beaujolais Villages 2023 – 91 points

Morgon-based Laurent Gauthier produces a beguiling Beaujolais Villages by blending fruit from two Beaujolais crus: 80% Morgon and 20% Chiroubles. The result has a lovely, lilting raspberry fruit aroma with a floral edge and a hint of spice. The texture is approachable and fresh but not overly fruity. This is a perfect wine to pair with traditional French bistrot classics, any night of the week.

Bret Brothers, Poncié, Fleurie 2023 – 92 points

The approachable, plummy fruit aromas of this single-vineyard Fleurie are accented with notes of fresh flowers and liquorice. The texture has a plump density but there is enough finesse to give this a moreish balance that calls for a second glass. The grapes are from the steep, southwest-facing slopes and pink granite soils of Poncié; they are fermented as whole bunches and given a fairly short maceration before ageing in used barrels.

Top picks from Beaujolais 2023:

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