WINE:Fleurie used to be a safe choice for business dinners - that's not to say it can't be great
YEARS AGO, when selling wine to restaurants, I had what I called “suit wines”. These were wines generally ordered by businessmen on expense-account dining. If you were schmoozing a client, you wanted to buy something good (but not too good), with a recognisable and pronounceable name. The last thing you wanted was to be shown up by a more knowledgeable client or supercilious sommelier. Suit wines included St Émilion Grand Cru, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Fleurie for reds, and Sancerre, Mâcon-Lugny and Chablis Premier Cru for white wines. Generally if I managed to get these listings, I could leave the more unusual wines to my rivals.
Have times changed? Is the modern businesswoman or man a bit more discerning? I asked Ian Brosnan, sommelier at Chapter One restaurant in Dublin. “The old favourites still sell, but not as much as when I started here eight years ago. Back then, some customers would order them without even looking. That doesn’t happen nearly as much now. People have more knowledge and confidence, and, of course, there is a much bigger range of wines available to choose from. There were a lot of lesser-quality wines trading on a name, particularly in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which lessens the perception of the region. Fleurie is not as popular in Chapter One, partly because I have a Morgon by the glass, but I also list a number of light reds from the Loire Valley.”
Maurice Keller of Arlington Lodge, in Waterford city, agrees. “People have moved on. Our biggest seller is a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, and with the reds, a Chilean Merlot and a Bordeaux. For a while I didn’t even list a Fleurie, then I put on a half-bottle and it flew out.” He now lists the full bottle, too, but Australian reds, and his favourite South African Shiraz sell far more. Price is an issue in the current market. “I call Fleurie the IRFU wine . They serve it at every function I go to. I suppose it is the safe bet.”
Fleurie is one of the 10 “crus” of Beaujolais, the villages deemed to produce the best wine. Basic Beaujolais can be fairly watery. Beaujolais Villages is usually a big step up. Both are classic bistro wines, “gluggers” to be served in quantity, lightly chilled, with everyday food. I love them, and will return to them. They are joyous and crowd-pleasing – fun wines in other words.
To me, all Beaujolais wines, and Fleurie especially, seem to be the most quintessentially French wines. Fleurie is light, floral and fruity, perfect for alfresco dining, and a great match for all cold salad lunches. One sip, and you can see yourself sitting down to leafy green salad, some pâté, a few slices of cold meat, a cornichonor two, and a hunk of good crusty bread, all washed down with a draft of lightly chilled Fleurie. Good Fleurie almost winks at you from the glass. It is fragrant and seductive, light and silky, the antithesis of big and beefy Moulin-à-Vent, which lies just next door. It is a true vin de soif.
The French imagery continues if you visit the region, one of the prettiest wine areas, with gently rolling green wooded hills, and the villages tucked away in the hidden valleys. A variety of granitic soils combine perfectly with the Gamay grape to produce wines no other area can match.
As an all-purpose wine to drink in restaurants, Fleurie was not and still isn't a bad wine to choose. It can be served with more full-bodied fish, such as monkfish, salmon and tuna. It also goes very nicely with chicken tikka masala, pizza and roast Mediterranean vegetables. But I find it comes into its own with lighter foods; salades tièdeswith bacon or duck, salade niçoise, quiches and omelettes, Toulouse sausages, cold chicken, ham and other cold meats, as well as rustic country pâtés and terrines. It is also one of the few reds to survive with Brie and Camembert.
Fleurie, along with the rest of Beaujolais, has suffered in recent years, partly a victim of its own success, as the larger producers vied to produce cheaper (and less impressive) wine.
All of the big names in Burgundy market a Fleurie; most are fine but lack the finesse I look for. That does not mean we should ignore Fleurie, though. There are plenty of really good small domainesmaking very high-quality wine.
I tasted 10 of the best available in this country; all bar one were very good. I list four below, and will include the remainder later in the year.
jwilson@irishtimes.com
TWO UNDER €12
Dão Grilos 2007, Portugal, 13%, €11.95
I have received a number of really good value Portuguese reds in recent weeks. This is another impressive wine, with soft, cooked damson fruits and a lovely smooth finish. Delicious, easy, everyday wine. Stockists: The Wicklow Wine Company; Redmond's, Ranelagh.
La Baume Viognier 2008, Vin de Pays d'Oc, 14%, €10.55 Great value Viognier from the Languedoc. Quite rich and full-bodied, with rounded apricot fruits and a bitter twist on the finish. Would go nicely with chicken and richer fish dishes. Stockist: Superquinn