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I’m new to the Beaujolais Nouveau experience: This is the first season, really, that I’ve paid attention. And if ever there was a wine drinker born to love the legend, it is I. Everything about Beaujolais appeals to me, at least in the abstract: the wine’s youth, its simplicity, the element of seasonality. As one more devotee of seasonal cooking, and of the notion that seasonality, in food, brings a sense of connectedness to the earth, I positively love the idea of a wine that goes so quickly from harvest to bottle to wineglass, and I love the idea of it as an autumnal tradition, a wine that people await and celebrate just like the persimmons that always make the passing of the peaches nothing to lament. The third Thursday in November! The first of the new vintage! It conjures such a vision of farmers and vintners as integral members of a small community, bringing out their latest products with great joy. It conjures a wine hitting the shelves with the same good tidings that summer’s first peaches arrive at the farmers’ market.
A chilled, low-alcohol red wine—this, too, captures my imagination, probably because my first real engagement with wine came one summer in college, when I developed a habit of mixing red wine with orange juice and ice, and sipping it slow in the sunshine. (If you haven’t tried this, don’t scoff, because it’s not half bad when you’re underage and misbehaving.) But I’m wondering now if the Beaujolais bug is really going to bite me. I’ve bought and tried two from the recent vintage, and they’ve been thin, unbalanced, and tainted by off flavors. And reading around, I find myself immersed in laments, in various news sources and blogs, about the attenuated quality of Nouveau, and the way it has harmed the reputation of all wine from Beaujolais. So maybe this particular love will have to wait—until I find myself in Beaujolais itself, perhaps, with the right people at the right time, to drink this sweet old idea the way it was meant to be.
EXACTLY!
Beaujolais is/can be a truly great wine, but its image suffers in the minds of many not because of the quality of what's in the bottle (be it a Morgon, Brouilly, Fleurie, etc. -- or even a Beaujolais-Villages), but becasue of its association with the absolute and utter plonk* that is Beaujolais Nouveau.
* I can count the number of "great" (a term used advisedly) Beaujolais-Nouveau...+READ
EXACTLY!
Beaujolais is/can be a truly great wine, but its image suffers in the minds of many not because of the quality of what's in the bottle (be it a Morgon, Brouilly, Fleurie, etc. -- or even a Beaujolais-Villages), but becasue of its association with the absolute and utter plonk* that is Beaujolais Nouveau.
* I can count the number of "great" (a term used advisedly) Beaujolais-Nouveau wines I've had in 35+ years in the wine business on one hand.-COLLAPSE
zin,
You touched on something that always makes me laugh. I'll see Beaujolais Nouveau for a few dollars more than Beaujolais-Villages of decent quality. I also can usually find Cru Beaujolais for just a dollar or two more a bottle. Why drink Nouveau when you can get a great bottle for a few dollars more?
Well, BN is what it is . . . all of the things you describe (seasonal, regional, etc.) but also, a wine in its infancy. We usually have it as part of Thanksgiving -- and no, it isn't usually a palate pleaser in the traditional sense, but it is a tradition and an homage of some sort to the wine making process.
You're 40, and you've never tried a Beaujolais Nouveau?
You do realize , don't you, that this is the worst wine that the vignerons of Beaujolais produce, don't you? I am NOT saying the wine itself is bad -- though clearly some is -- but rather that, by far, there are much better, indeed excellent, wines that are produced within Beaujolais.
To wit,
a) Beaujolais is divided into two halves,...+READ
You're 40, and you've never tried a Beaujolais Nouveau?
You do realize , don't you, that this is the worst wine that the vignerons of Beaujolais produce, don't you? I am NOT saying the wine itself is bad -- though clearly some is -- but rather that, by far, there are much better, indeed excellent, wines that are produced within Beaujolais.
To wit,
a) Beaujolais is divided into two halves, Haut-Beaujolais and the Beaujolais-Bas.
b) There are four different appellations within Beaujolais for red wine. While each of the 11 Crus de Beaujolais has its own appellation, they collectively are known as the Crus, and are considered the pinnacle of quality (just as a Grand Cru Burgundy is). All are located in the Haut-Beaujolais. Below that in "rank" is the appellation contrôllée of Beaujolais-Villages; all of the villages which qualify for this second-highest appellation are also within the Haut-Beaujolais. Another step down is Beaujolais Supérieur, and at the bottom is "simple" Beaujolais. Most of these latter two are produced in the flatter Bas-Beaujolais. (There are also apellations for Beaujolais-Villages Blanc and Beaujolais Blanc, but most of these are in fact sort as Mâcon-Villages and Mâcon, respectively).
c) The production of Nouveau wine is prohibited within the Crus de Beaujolais. It is permitted only within the "lower" ranks.
d) When Beaujolais is produced as a Nouveau, it actually sells for LESS than when produced in the traditional manner, but the air freight required to send this wine around the world for the third Thursday of November jacks the price to a point MORE than its higher quality, traditional brethren.
Jason
P.S. Though often thought of as a part of Burgundy, the region of Beaujolais itself is actually in the départment of the Rhône.-COLLAPSE
Daniel, it's too bad you picked this year to try BN for the first time. I've been enjoying the autumn tradition for more than 15 years now, and 2007 is unquestionably the worst year ever for BN.
I think I even read somewhere that Georges Duboeuf himself said something to that effect! I haven't spoken to anyone who has had one they've enjoyed.
I was in France on the 3rd Thursday of November, and...+READ
Daniel, it's too bad you picked this year to try BN for the first time. I've been enjoying the autumn tradition for more than 15 years now, and 2007 is unquestionably the worst year ever for BN.
I think I even read somewhere that Georges Duboeuf himself said something to that effect! I haven't spoken to anyone who has had one they've enjoyed.
I was in France on the 3rd Thursday of November, and my whole group was eager to try the young wine. It's never profound -- isn't supposed to be, after all -- but this stuff was just plain awful! I don't even remember who the producer was!
I hope you'll give BN a try another year. I can't imagine it could possibly be this bad again!-COLLAPSE