Beaujolais for WSET: Gamay, granite and carbonic

Beaujolais matters out of proportion to its size because it is where the syllabus teaches carbonic maceration. It is also the region candidates most often oversimplify, because the light, banana-scented style that made it famous is only one of the things it produces. This is an orientation; the regional drill belongs in your course materials and our app.

What WSET asks you to know

At Level 2, recognition: a French region south of Burgundy making red wine from Gamay, typically light-bodied, low in tannin and high in acidity, with red fruit and confected aromas.

At Level 3, you are expected to explain carbonic and semi-carbonic maceration and their effect on style, place the three-tier hierarchy, and recognise that Cru Beaujolais can be structured and ageworthy.

The framework

Three ideas carry most of the marks:

• One grape, two halves of a region. Gamay is the sole red variety. The north has granite and schist slopes with poor, well-drained soils, and that is where Beaujolais-Villages and all ten Crus sit. The south, flatter and dominated by clay and limestone, produces the generic appellation. The soil and slope difference is the reason for the quality hierarchy, not an accident of history.
• Three tiers, ten named Crus. Base Beaujolais, then Beaujolais-Villages from a defined group of northern communes, then the Crus, each labelled under its own name without the word Beaujolais. The ten are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly. They span a real stylistic range, from the delicate Chiroubles to the firm, ageworthy Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon.
• Carbonic maceration is a different kind of fermentation. Whole uncrushed bunches go into a sealed vessel filled with carbon dioxide. In the absence of oxygen, fermentation begins inside the intact berries, driven by the grape's own enzymes rather than by yeast on the skins. This intracellular process creates the signature aromas of kirsch, banana, bubblegum and cinnamon, extracts colour but very little tannin, and produces a soft, juicy wine.

The distinction examiners actually want is between full carbonic maceration and semi-carbonic maceration, which is what most of Beaujolais practises. In semi-carbonic no carbon dioxide is added. Whole bunches are simply loaded into the vessel, the weight of the fruit crushes the grapes at the bottom, and those begin a conventional yeast fermentation whose carbon dioxide then blankets the intact berries above, which undergo the intracellular process. The result is a blend of both effects in the same tank.

The second correction to hold is that not all Beaujolais is carbonic and not all of it is light. Many Cru producers use longer macerations and more conventional winemaking, sometimes with oak, to make structured wines that reward several years in bottle. Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon, particularly from the Côte du Py, are the usual examples.

Beaujolais Nouveau, released on the third Thursday of November each year, drove a commercial boom that later collapsed. The episode is worth knowing because it explains why a region capable of serious wine spent decades associated with a novelty style.

How Beaujolais shows up in tasting

A generic Beaujolais reads pale to medium ruby, high acidity, low tannin, light body, with red cherry, raspberry and clear confected notes of banana and bubblegum from the carbonic character. A Cru such as Morgon reads deeper, with darker cherry and plum, more evident structure, medium tannin and a savoury, mineral finish, and much less of the confected signature. The contrast with Pinot Noir to the north is a standard comparison.

What to do next

Read Beaujolais with Burgundy for WSET, immediately to its north, and with the Rhône to its south. For the underlying vocabulary of site and soil, see climate types for WSET.

FAQ

What is carbonic maceration? Whole uncrushed bunches ferment in a sealed vessel filled with carbon dioxide, so fermentation begins inside the intact berries. It gives kirsch, banana and bubblegum aromas with bright colour and very little tannin.

How does semi-carbonic maceration differ? No carbon dioxide is added. The weight of the fruit crushes the lower grapes, which ferment conventionally and release carbon dioxide that blankets the whole berries above.

What are the three tiers of Beaujolais? Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and the ten Crus, which are labelled under their own names.

Which Crus are the most structured? Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon are usually cited as the firmest and most ageworthy.

Is all Beaujolais light and fruity? No. Many Cru producers use longer macerations and more conventional winemaking to produce structured wines capable of ageing.