How can you tell which grapes are in French wines?

So I am given a glass of a light red wine, and before tasting "It's pinot noir!" I exclaim. "No, it isn't" my friend replies, with the knowledge of having chosen it for me to blind taste as practice for my WSET Advanced course.

"Oh, well what is it..." I ponder. Right, lets do this properly.
Appearance: light intensity, ruby, clear, med legs.
Nose: Clean, med+ intensity, developed.
Aromas: raspberry, cherry, plum, strawberry, rosehip, strawberry sweets, cherry jolly rancher.
Mouth: low intensity, dry, low acidity, low tannin, light body, medium alcohol
Flavours: strawberry, cherry, plum.
Quality: short length, acceptable quality, drink now not for ageing, inexpensive.

OK, so its not pinot noir... grenache? a rubbish pinotage? sangiovese? none of them make sense.

What is it? Roncier Burgundy 12.5% Vin de France. Ah! An understandable mistake - my friend doesn't realise that Burgundy is pinot noir, "it doesn't say it on the label". One of the "tricks" about French wine is that they expect you to know whats in the bottle from the minimal labelling terms they use. This is a common mistake.

As a basic rule of thumb:
Burgundy red = pinot noir
Burgundy white = chardonnay
Chablis = chardonnay
Beaujolais = gamay
Rhone red = syrah (aka Shiraz)
Bordeaux red = cabernet sauvignon and merlot
Loire white = chenin blanc or sauvignon blanc

Hope that helps!
Let me know if you need to know others and I'll put together a more comprehensive list.

Beaujolais Nouveau

This weekend I tried Beaujolais Nouveau for the first time. Ever since learning about it I have wanted to try it, but it’s only available for a short time in the year, as it is released the third week of November and should be drunk immediately (within 3mths).

Traditionally, BN was drunk by the local vineyards as a celebration of the end of harvest. The rules of the region (AOC Beaujolais) meant that historically Beaujolais were only allowed to sell their wine after 15 December of the harvest year. Then in 1951 they relaxed those rules, so the wine released before this date is called Nouveau. Georges Du Boeuf (whose Fleurie I gave tasting notes on a few months ago), and some other producers saw the potential in marketing BN. By getting these bottles out quickly they could sell table wine at a premium, and by selling it early helped with their cash-flow. It was heavily promoted in the 1970s, I’m thinking a Parisian version of Abigail’s Party, and although the celebration of the release has died down a little, the production and marketing continues with fun, novelty and celebration. It is quite popular in the US where it is promoted as a Thanksgiving wine.

The wine is very young and therefore fresh, bright and a little “un-ready”, one wine critic compared it to eating cookie-dough. I tried one from M&S (who say their sales of BN are increasing every year). I found that the texture of the wine dried out my tongue, even though it has no tannins, having the same effect as drinking black tea. It tastes of rosehip tea, Parma Violets and pear drops. It’s very thin and a little sharp, and sits at the top of your mouth. It’s bright pink-purple and you can pretty much see through it.

If you fancy trying it, which I would recommend, even if only once, look for it at the end of November, and watch for the brightly coloured labels, it’s the opportunity for the reserved French winemakers to go a little “fiesta”! 

Notes:
Beaujolais: a region in France that is AOC and produces light, fruity red wines using the Gamay grape

AOC: Appelation d'origine controlee, which means the wine has strict rules and regulations that the winemakers must abide by

Fleurie: One of the AOC villages in the Beaujolais region

Which Fleurie?

Fleurie 2009 Jean Poillard Villie-Morgon £29

Challenger wine #1 was a Georges de Boeuf Fleurie. Last night I had a different Fleurie, one that was three times the price. Although the GdB scored highly in our wine challenge (9/10), this one was outstanding, and makes me want to knock a point or two off the GdB. However, this Villie-Morgon is way out of the price range for the wine challenge so is simply non-comparable.

This wine has a much darker colour than I'm used to for a light Fleurie, but the flavour is exactly as is should be. Cherries, cooked plums, hint of pepper, and raspberry. This wine has extraordinary length, best enjoyed slowly. There is also some sediment in the bottle, which is unusual for such a light wine.

Autumn leaves on the porch, stewed plums on the stove and a candle burning in the window.

So how is it different to the GdB, I mean, after all, a Fleurie is a Fleurie? Well to start with the GdB had a kick of alcohol, the producer didn't take enough care to balance the wine. The V-M is very soft and smooth in comparison. Also, the V-M has a much longer length,  a sign of superior quality.

I'm not sure I'd say the V-M was worth three times more than the GdB, but I can tell the producer took a lot more care with this wine, and spending more will give him/her the funds to continue making great wines. If you have £30 to spend, go for the V-M rather than three GdB. If you have £10 to spend, the GdB is a good investment.

Fleurie is an appelation of Beaujolais and has quite strict rules, using the Gamay grape, so you'll know what you're getting. A Fleurie is a Fleurie, which is why often the label doesn't tell you much. The variation in quality is reflected in the price.

Challenger wine #1

Beaujolais Fleurie Georges de Boeuf 2011

A fruit explosion in your mouth - very fresh,  light, and delicious.

I would call  this a flurry of fruit rather than a Fleurie. The fruits are competing to get your attention - cherries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, plums, raisin... They certainly deserve your attention and as soon as you think you're judging a competition, you swallow and disappointingly get a kick of alcohol.

We both agreed this is a very good wine (4), it's the kick that disappoints, makes it slightly unbalanced, but this softens with your second glass. We score it a Delicious! (5) We will definitely be buying this again.

A score of 9/10 for the first wine in the competition - thankfully its one of mine!