I grabbed a bottle of this Cru du Beaujolais after a bout of consternation and staring blankly at a wall o’ wine at Waitrose. I was trying to find something that would go well with turkey; yep, this was the first wine I opened for my Thanksgiving main course. Obviously, when I bought it, I was groping for good value and an easy drink for mixed guests whose palates I wasn’t all that familiar with.
Medium to full bodied, 100% Gamay, decent structure, priced just over a tenner: Cave du Château de Chénas, Moulin à Vent 2010 fit the bill. Phew. I’m not the first (nor will I be the last) Thanksgiving host to couple Beaujolais with roast turkey. I reckon the wine works with a Thanksgiving feast in the same way that cranberry sauce or candied yams. Fruity and floral with a hint of earthiness to savour, it perks things up without intruding upon the more substance reasons for gathering round a table to eat a giant bird (mine this year was over 10kg).
Adding the “Cru du” to the label means, generally, that the wine is a little more characterful and of better quality. Wines from Chénas are particularly noted for their mildly rosy aroma. In my opinion (and with respect to serving alongside turkey) that’s a good thing.
I decanted the wine. Not sure I really needed to, but it certainly didn’t hurt. I’d buy it again and will keep it in mind as my plans for Christmas feasting start to take shape.
As said, you can buy it at Waitrose for £10.99. Find out more about the producer at cavedechenas.host-eu.com.
