Beaujolais Nouveau
From LoveToKnow Wine
Ahh, to be Young Again
It's really just a pretext for a party. The third Thursday of November is Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivè time. On this particular day, at the stroke of midnight, that bewitching hour when coaches turn into pumpkins and wolves howl at the moon, millions of bottles of fresh Beaujolais wine are uncorked and imbibed in celebration.
Of course, this raises the question, "in celebration of what?" Much in the same way that Germany's Oktoberfest has become an autumnal beerfest in late September in Munich and at pubs and bars around the world, the arrival of this fruity, immature Beaujolais wine at the end of November is not much more than an excuse to get in the festive mood and just for the sake of it.
By the way, the third Thursday of November release date is mandated by French law so at least in the land of Gauls, you can't get a glass of this soda pop red wine of cherries until then. Prior to that date, Beaujolais Nouveau is shipped to restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, and shops in Paris and around the world in preparation.
Amid all the hoopla and fanfare, from Le Marais in Paris to Roppongi in Tokyo, people will be sipping, gulping, and sloshing down the breezy and grapey wine with gusto, perhaps with a bite of brie and a nibble of Pâté Campagne for good measure. Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived and it's time to whoop it up.
Where and What is Beaujolais?
It's a strip of land about roughly 35 miles long and 9 miles wide running north to south on the east side of the Saône River between Mâcon in the north and the major city Lyon to south on France.
The region is considered part of Burgundy but is a separate wine world. There are upwards of ninety-six villages in the region, but only ten are considered superior wine producers. The Beaujolais Cru ten are: St. Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Chiroubles, Régnié, and Brouilly--where the most interesting and headier wines come from--Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Morgon, and Côte de Brouilly.
Don't worry if any of these villages are related to your nouveau. There are also three grades, with the lowest to highest grades being, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, and Beaujolais Cru. Again, don't worry if any of these grades are involved in your, nouveau. Although you may find an occasional Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau, the negociants will not waste the Cru on any Nouveau. And, about one third of Beaujolais sold is Nouveau, so put that in your glass and drink it.
Beaujolais Primer
Beaujolais' grape is the Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, or commonly known as Gamay. By law, Beaujolais can only be picked by hand, no machines. Part of the reason can be attributed to the carbonic maceration process that is used to produce Beaujolais wines.
Whole clusters of grapes are put into the tank and instead of a crush mashing down the grapes, stems, and crushing the skins to ferment, carbonic maceration allows the juice to ferment inside the grape itself. This process virtually eliminates interaction with tannins from the skins and is a technique designed to exploit and showcase a wine's fruitiness. If that's the objective then Beaujolais accomplishes the feat.
A Marketing Feat Extraordinaire
September 12, 1937, was the day Beaujolais was officially recognized as a appellation in France. There was no formal Beaujolais Nouveau day at that time, the French just began celebrating Beaujolais Primeur in bistros and cafes in and around Beaujolais and Lyon when the the wine showed up in the autumn.
Primeur is what the French called it, meaning a wine that is released upon harvest and some time before the next spring. A "Nouveau" was something released before the next year's harvest. Don't bother yourself with these trifling bits, the only thing that you'll find is Nouveau. This phenomenon began to evolve and spread like a virus.
In 1951 a more-or-less officialy recognized Bacchanalian ritual began. By 1970 it became a national event in all of France. Marketing started pushing and prodding and by the mid-1980s, the third Thursday was set aside as the official and legal release date and Beaujolais Nouveau began showing up in Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, and other francophiliac spots around the world.
By 2001 Beaujolais Nouveau peaked with about 150 countries partaking. People weren't buying Citroen cars outside of France, but people were drinking the Kool-Aid. Basically, it's a marketing conspiracy.
Taste Me, I'm Fun
So, what words describe a Beaujolais Nouveau tasting experience? Grapey. A Zoot Suit of fun. Cherry cough drops. Vibrant. Young, very young. Unpretentious. Silly stuff. The bottom line is it's an unserious wine that is made to drink quickly. Quickly and without thinking.
The Upside and Downside of Beaujolais
The following are a few upsides and downside points about the youthfully exuberant red wine.
Upside
- Inexpensive.
- Appeals to the soda pop crowd who normally don't drink wine or who like wine coolers.
- Actually works with Turkey during Thanksgiving, although Champagne is preferable.
- Makes the producers and negociants a lot of money.
Downside
- A prevalence of a nail polish or vinegar odor that's a byproduct of the carbonic maceration process. This is sometimes more pronounced in some Beaujolais Nouveau than others.
- Doesn't age as well as a dollar in a passbook savings account—drink it now, don't even think of drinking it in January.
- It's plonk.
- Tarnishes the image of non-Nouveau Beaujolais, which is a shame.
- Makes the producers and negociants a lot of money, which only encourages them to make more.
Le Roi of Beaujolais Nouveau and the Pretenders
Georges DuBoeuf is a negociant most responsible for the success of this tawdry rambunctious wine and circus event. Love him or curse him, he is the Le Roi, the King of Beaujolais Nouveau.
I can stick my non-Gallic nose up in the air and sneer at this lollipop wine, but then mysteriously a bottle will appear from nowhere and I find myself having a glass or two and smiling about it. Thank you, George DuBoeuf, with your flowery bottles. When looking for a bottle 'o fun to have with friends on the third Thursday of November, Duboeuf is reliable but he gets enough of his share already. I suggest spreading the wealth to some of the other folks like the following:
- Joseph Drouhin
- Jean-Paul Thevenet
- Louis Jadot
- Mommessin
Remember, have fun with Beaujolais Nouveau, it's meant to be drunk immediately, without hesitation, or equivocation. Don't think twice about drinking any other producer, it won't matter anyway by next year.
One Last Thing
Do yourself a favor, drink it slightly chilled.
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