“Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”

The New Beaujolais has arrived!

A belated happy Beaujolais Nouveau [bo-zjoh-lay / noo-vo] to all of you who celebrated the occasion last Thursday!

Released every third Thursday each November, this light, fun, carefree little wine was originally created to celebrate the end of harvest, but has now come to represent a large, and fiercely competitive market within the wine industry. France’s Beaujolais province itself, while geographically closer to the Rhône wine region, is in fact considered part of Burgundy. The grape used in the creation of the wine is Gamay, and the widely practiced process called carbonic maceration (this process is seen as a less harsh method than traditional pressing and subsequent fermentation, and involves fermenting the juice in a carbon dioxide rich environment before the grapes are crushed) gives rise to a light bodied, easy-drinking, and fruity wine.

Its critics see its apparent unsophistication as a reason to dub it ‘Vin de Merde’, but personally, its fun and unassuming nature should not be damned, but celebrated as exactly as that – a party wine. Last week, Jenny and I were lucky enough to try alongside one another, three of Joseph Drouhin’s wines: their Beaujolais Nouveau 2009, Beaujolais Villages 2008 and the exciting Moulin-a-Vent 2007.

Saluting the occasion, we started off with the unashamedly bubblegum, violet and red berry fruit rich Nouveau, which practically leapt out of the glass at me like a young puppy. Not more than two months old, the contrast of the nose to the palate was remarkable, as the flavor disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. The Beaujolais Villages (grapes of a higher quality, produced from fewer sites) was slightly more sophisticated, though in all honesty, without the charm or lasting effect of the Nouveau. Luckily though, the Villages gave way to the wonderful Moulin-a-Vent (a selected single site producing high-quality grapes/wines or ‘Crus’), a worthy winner that turned out to be a hit amongst those lucky enough to try it. With all of the character of the Nouveau – though thankfully a little more restrained in the nose – it displayed primary notes of ripe red cherry, with faint secondary hints of tobacco smoke and leather. This is a great Thanksgiving wine; as well as being a fantastic match for white meat like turkey and chicken (the tart cherry characteristics almost seem to compliment those present in the traditional Turkey condiment, Cranberry sauce), it, being low in the tannin department could also suit a wider audience.