When Beaujolais gets serious

There are several tried and trusted ways to mess with the minds of those less experienced in wine.

Treating a supposed Chardonnay hater to a flinty, bone dry Chablis is an old favourite. The revelation that sauternes is a better match for soft cheeses than a hefty red  might be another. My favourite is the bombshell that not all Beaujolais is young, fruity, quaffing material. In the UK at least, the more serious Beaujolais-Villages and Cru wines are still not well known. This is a great shame given the amount of bang for your buck that can be had with a Morgon, Fleurie, Julienas or Moulin à Vent (four of my favourite village "Crus"). At their best, these are age-worthy wines which can approach the complexity and structure of some of their Bourgogne cousins just up the road.

A sterling example can be found on the excellent list at "El Vino". El Vino is a gloriously old fashioned Fleet Street wine bar, where you can still imagine the journalists enjoying a liquid breakfast (not to mention…