Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November each year, making its arrival just in time for Thanksgiving.
This very young wine is released in this manner to celebrate the end of harvest — which began this year on Sept. 4. French law requires that Beaujolais grapes must be picked by hand, and this year it took more than 50,000 pickers to complete the harvest in more than 3,000 vineyards. Beaujolais Nouveau is fruity and easy to drink. It’s often described as a red wine that drinks as if it were a white wine.
Prior to World War II, the wine that was made to celebrate the harvest was not known as Nouveau, nor was it distributed outside of France. Georges Duboeuf, who controls approximately 20 percent of the Beaujolais market, began the marketing craze that has made the annual Nouveau release a widely anticipated event. There is a release party in New York City each year, and for this years’ release — Le Vin de George Dubeouf was delivered in vintage VW “Love Buses” in commemoration of the theme “Rootstock: Peace, Love and Beaujolais Nouveau!”. Each year has a different theme and a different label for the release.
The 2009 vintage is being hailed as the best Beaujolais in 50 years. The 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, which retails for $10 a bottle, has a very inky purple color and contains hints of strawberry. In my opinion it tasted somewhat spritzy — like a carbonated beverage.
Beaujolais is situated in the Burgundy region and these wines are made from thin-skinned Gamay grapes, which is one reason why they are not very tannic. Another reason is that they are produced using carbonic maceration, a process where the whole berries are fermented prior to being crushed. This technique allows the fruit flavors to be released into the wine without the extraction of tannins from the grape skins. The process also allows the wine to be ready to drink just six to eight weeks after the harvest. However, it does not have the ability to be aged for any significant period of time.
One third of the total crop goes into the Beaujolais Nouveau — more than 65 million bottles will be consumed within just a few months of release. You should drink these wines chilled around 55 degrees and they drink well with or without food. There are a number of very good aged Beaujolais based wines, and in preparation for the Nouveau release, I tried the 2006 Carquelin Moulin A Vent bottled for George Duboeuf. This wine contained flavors of blackberries and was fairly spicy.
This young wine is fun to drink, especially with family and friends during the holiday season. The best part about the Beaujolais Nouveau wines is that they are extremely refreshing and very easy on the wallet.
Jim Rawe, a family attorney in Bradenton, is an avid collector of fine wines. He can be reached at jimrawe@gmail.com.
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