Beaujolais Villages - Pasquier Desvignes 2016

I have been wanting to try something out of the Beaujolais Villages Appellation for quite a while now, and finally found a bottle of Pasquier Desvignes 2016 at my local bottle shop. I wasn't really searching for it, rather it just jumped out at me while I was scanning the shelves for something different to try.

As a wine drinker who likes to stay in his lane, venturing out to other regions and grape varietals carries both an excitement, and a degree of trepidation that what i just bought is only good for pouring down the drain (we have had a few like this). Nonetheless, we were keen to give this a go, and for its $15, we thought it worth the risk. we had our backup back at home anyway.

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The Beaujolais Villages Apellation

The Beaujolais Villages Appellation is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC); a wine-producing region South of Burgundy, and north of Lyon, in the Rhone Valley, France. It is named after the historical Province of Beaujolais. While considered to be a southern corner of Burgundy, its climate and individuality of its wines are unique enough for it to stand on its own, next to the regions of Burgundy and Rhone.
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The Grape

Considered the poor cousin of Pinot Noir, the Gamay grape, or Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc in full, is the grape which give Beaujolais wines their uniqueness. It is called the poor cousin because its flavors are lighter, and less complex and intense than the bolder Pinot Noir. Wines from the Gamay grape tend to be lighter, fruit-driven red wines. The grape itself is a bright purple-colored fruit, and has been cultivated in the region since the early 15th century. The grape is well suited to the terrior of Beaujolais, and is also the grape used to produce Beaujolais nouveau in Southern Beaujolais, where the harsh alkaline soils make it impossible to produce a drinkable wine without aggressive carbonic maceration, and only with the early harvest of the grapes. This wine is not a Beaujolias nouveau.

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The Wine

Having never tried a wine from Beaujolais, we weren't quite sure what to expect. We opened the bottle and poured a glass, and sat down to take a sip. It took us by surprise at its lightness, and we could quite decide if we liked it. The bottle had been in our wine fridge, at 16 degrees C for a couple of hours, but our first thoughts were "This is quite light, and a little sweet. It should be colder to bring out the sweetness a bit more." After reading up a little, we found that the recommended serving temperature is a chilly 13 degrees. It's almost a summer red wine, and being a warmer spring afternoon here in Perth, we really enjoyed its lightness. The second glass was better than the first, and it seems a bit of airing helped to enhance the wine a little.

It is not a complex wine at all, but did have some good bright blackberry flavors, and its acidity had an almost cleansing effect, leaving a clean, fresh finish. Overall, a good light-bodied wine for a warmer afternoon. Just remember to give it a chill before serving, and then just chill and enjoy!!

We scored this wine a sold 3.5 out of 5.

Until next time, cheers!!

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