It may be a result of the geeky trend towards smaller production/artisanal styled wines. It may be the resurgence of small "craft" importers searching out and aggressively selling the discovered jewels. It may be, simply, the maturation of the wine culture in this country (which I'd like to think, but I don't.)
Whatever it is, there seems to be more (and better) Cru Beaujolais wine available than ever before.
As long as I remember wine aficionados have been trying to explain to people that "Beaujolais is not just Nouveau; and it's not just a once a year fling." Then it became apparent that further explanation and elucidation had to be made that "Beaujolais isn't just George Duboeuf; and it doesn't all taste like bubblegum."
If you base your understanding of Beaujolais on the oceans of largely indiscriminate swill from the southern flatlands, that which is labeled "Beaujolais AOC", you don't get a very inspiring picture of the region. It's light, it's simple, it's fruity, and there's little tannin. And little of anything of interest either, beyond serving as a summertime liquid to sip and forget.
Beaujolais-Villages, more from the central and northerly parts of the region, is a significant step-up in quality and style. But to get the heart of what this region can do, you have to go to the Cru Beaujolais.
These designated cru, each as distinct as can be, are clustered in the north, usually around the hillier and more forbidding slopes, and usually in small domain plots. And some of the Cru defy the sometimes candied nature of plonk Beaujolais by producing rich, velvety, deep and dark delights that can achieve both the level and the style of their more famous and respected Burgundy cousins to the North.
Here's evidence:
Jacky Janodet Moulin-au-Vent Domaine Les Fines Graves 2009
Janodet's domaine vineyard in Moulin-a-Vent is largely granite ("les fines graves" speaks to the fine, gravelly soil), situated high on the slope, and the firmly-rooted Gamay vines are more than 50 years old. Janodet farms to extremely low yields and gets impressive fruit and acid intensity in his wines---and more tannins than you would expect from this region. The resulting wine is deep and dark and slow to yield up its intrinsic fruit; it needs age and maturation and development to show its nature.
There's none of the strawberry candy and banana stink of the south here: this is that elusive "serious" wine from Beaujolais, the one that can get confused with Burgundy, but isn't. There's a fine velvety texture, rich black cherry, and a distinct mushroom and wet leaves earthiness to the wine. There are also hidden depths of complexity that suggest some long cellaring would draw out even more tantalizing aromas and flavors; it would be a shame to drink this wine now, as good as it is, because there is so much more it can---and will---become. I'd give it at least five years before I considered touching it, if I had my say.
For a domaine wine of this quality, the price is still well within the "easily affordable" range as well. Affordable enough that you can put some away for a few years and come back and thank me for the great advise on how to spend your money.