Beaujolais, while technically a part of Burgundy, is a place of such individuality that it is often considered as a separate region. Its wide planting of Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc makes it one of the few regions in the world to rely almost solely on the production of a single grape variety. A small amount of Chardonnay and Aligote is grown in the region, and made into Beaujolais Blanc.
Beaujolais wines are broken down into three key categories: Beaujolais Cru, Beaujolais Villages and Beaujolais Superieur.
Situated to the south of the Burgundian region of Maconnais, Beaujolais has a borderline continental climate that is tempered by the Massif Central, providing a warm ripening season and making it ideal for generating the ripe, fruit-driven flavors ideally suited to these bright and youthful wines.
The northern part of Beaujolais is made up of rolling granite hills with patches of clay and limestone whereas the southern parts are dominated by richer clay and sandstone based soils with a much flatter terrain. This is a dominant factor in the north producing the typically aromatic, structured and complex wines where as the south produces a lighter, younger drinking and much fruitier style.
The Gamay grape used to make these distinctive wines is an early ripening and acidic variety. For this reason carbonic (or semi-carbonic) maceration has become an incredibly popular method for making these wines and has become almost synonymous with the region. The whole-bunch grapes are left in fermentation vessels where the bottom layers crush under the weight of those on top. The resultant juice starts to ferment and saturates the above grapes in carbon dioxide (a by-product of the fermentation process). This causes intra-cellular fermentation, where the grapes ferment as a whole berry and in turn produces wines that are low in tannin, brightly colored and predominantly fruit driven.
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