The celebration of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau kicked off this week in Lyon. A new generation of winemakers has made remarkable improvements to this "young wine" in recent years – but, in a surprise twist, so has climate change.
This annual event marks the official release of the Beaujolais Nouveau, the region’s famed first wine of the season.
Once dismissed for its often subpar quality, Beaujolais has become the second most recognised wine globally, trailing only Champagne.
According to Inter Beaujolais, Beaujolais Nouveau now accounts for 30 percent of the global Beaujolais production, with 15 million bottles exported to 110 countries each year, including 2 million bottles to Japan.
Once known for prioritising volume over quality, the region’s reputation has suffered. But now, a new generation of winemakers is changing the game, focusing on quality and sustainability rather than quantity.
Enhancing the soil
One such winemaker is Marine Descombe, who took over her family's estate in Saint-Étienne-des-Oullières near Lyon.
She has transformed her vineyard by planting cover crops to enhance the soil's fertility. "The sun is great, but we also need freshness, and that's something we’re lucky to have in Beaujolais," she told franceinfo.
Descombe has introduced clover to the vineyard to help restore nitrogen to the soil, retain water and regenerate the organic matter beneath the surface.
"Maintaining vegetation on the plots, such as hedges and fruit trees, also helps keep the vineyard cool," she added.
Climate change
While climate change has had a negative impact on many wine regions, Beaujolais has in fact seen benefits.
Arnaud Aucœur, a winemaker in Villié-Morgon, suggests that global warming may actually be an advantage for the region.
"We are now seeing vintages with consistently high quality, thanks to sun-soaked grapes and fewer problems with fungal diseases, like mildew and oidium " he explained. "Global warming is a problem, but it’s also a discovery for us."
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Sales of Beaujolais are on the rise, especially among younger generations.
"They would say they didn’t want Beaujolais anymore, that it was a 'small' wine," said Évelyne Roy, a wine merchant in Lyon. "But the younger generations are rediscovering it. They like it for its easy-drinking qualities, its freshness and its fruity notes."
2024 vintage
This growing popularity is reflected in the 2024 vintage, which boasts aromas of red fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and morello cherry.
According to Bertrand Chatelet, director of the Sicarex Beaujolais, a research institute for viticulture and oenology, this year's vintage promises "fresh and light Gamay wines that meet the expectations of modern consumers".
However, despite its promising quality, the 2024 harvest is expected to be slightly smaller – after a year in which winemakers had to cope with rainy weather – with a projected yield of 14 million bottles, down from 15.6 million in 2023.
(with newswires)
