Once again this year, the north wind and bright sunshine have provided the ideal weather needed for the 2008 harvest; 20 days without a drop of rain, wonderful!

We spent this weekend and the early part of the week travelling around the southern Beaujolais: the Pays des Pierres Dorées. The harvest is in full swing in this delightful region, with the vines looking splendidly fresh, the leaves still very green and the grapes a lovely deep, shiny black colour. The first juices and first vats that we tasted are excellent. We found some high quality wines, crisp and delicious, made from superbly mature grapes. Though winemakers are slightly disappointed with the yields, there is no doubt that the quality is there; the bunches are smaller than in previous years and the grapes less tightly packed.

We were absolutely thrilled with the first vats from the Pierres Dorées region that we tasted during the weekend. These very black, ripe grapes have produced dazzling colours: a lovely deep red with flashing tints of sumptuous, shiny purple. These first vats offer an exciting range of aromas, redcurrant, raspberry, soft fruit such as wild peaches and wild strawberry. Here and there we also noted hints of bilberries and blackcurrant.

These aromas are prolonged very harmoniously on the palate, where we find a pleasant roundness, the seductive presence of red berries with bilberry notes and silky tannins offering a hint of spices. Our first impressions would suggest that, due to the smaller yields, the structure of the 2008 vintage is more full-bodied than the 2007.

We now need to begin our tastings in order to make our choice. We know that this won’t be easy as we will come across very even levels of quality in each sector of the Beaujolais and, as always, will need to take great care in the choice of our vats and blends. But that’s all part of the job, part of our daily lives and experience, and we face the task with undiminished enthusiasm and determination.

George Dubeeuf from Les Vins George Duboeuf, Romaneche-Thorins, www.duboeuf.com