While waiting for the Beaujolais Nouveau to flow into glasses around the world, on the night of Wednesday November 20 to Thursday November 21, the Agamy cellar, the largest Beaujolais cooperative which brings together the cellars of Bully, Sain-Bel, Quincié and Trelins ( Loire) offered a tasting of the different vintages, eight days before the official release of the primeurs.
“Supple, delicious wines that are pleasant to drink”
And one thing is already certain: the 2024 vintage presents a very different profile from the vintages of the last two years which were a little richer and more concentrated. “We find a very early vintage, a bit like in time,” summarized the cellar master, Didier Michallet. These Beaujolais Nouveau are delicious, supple and pleasant to drink. »
We thus find balanced wines often with a taste of small red fruits, such as blueberries and crushed strawberries. “Simple wines, which will not have any vegetal elements,” he continues. This is also the case for the Coteau du Lyonnais, the cellar’s smallest appellation with 1,000 bottles produced, “which is more full-bodied” and the Beaujolais-Villages “a little richer and with more persistence in the mouth, with a rather rough tannin. »
“The English will love it”
The fact remains that these are light and fruity wines, easy to drink, which should appeal to consumers. “These are counter wines where there is no need to come to the table to drink them,” describes the cellar master. The English should also love this vintage suitable as an aperitif. In any case, this corresponds well to consumer expectations.”
Still, this vintage was trying for winegrowers. “It has been a difficult year from a meteorological point of view,” explained Sébastien Coquard, president of Agamy. But the rains before the harvest did some good. In the end, we managed to have a good harvest, even if it was a race against time.”
Following the late harvest, the wines were bottled around ten days ago. “This was a vintage that took a little longer to develop than in recent years,” acknowledged Didier Michallet. The grapes were less rich, so the maceration period lasted six days, with slightly less black colors than last year. But it remains the usual color of gamay. »
A declining harvest
The harvest declined with 43,000 hectoliters (compared to 47,000 last year), far from the cellar’s potential of 60,000 hectoliters. “If the harvest is not complete, 12,000 hectoliters of Beaujolais Nouveau and 13,000 for Crémants have found buyers; half of the production is therefore contractualized, welcomes Sébastien Coquard. With a declining volume market, it was less easy than in recent years, but we are satisfied. In terms of sales, we are on the usual trend with prices which have remained stable. The work carried out daily with traders or professional clients has borne fruit. »
It is now up to consumers to taste this precious nectar. Many events are planned in the region from Wednesday November 20.
