Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!

Filed in archive French Wines on November 15, 2007

Yes, the wait is over. Yesterday was the first day the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau was available. The wine is made from freshly crushed Gamay grapes from the Beaujolais region's recent harvest. It ferments for just a few weeks and the resulting wine is the first bottled product from the winemakers in the northern hemisphere. Some will tell you that it's just a marketing gimmick, but for many people it's something to celebrate - a fun, fruity wine leading us into the holiday season.

The history of Beaujolais Nouveau is interesting. From Into Wine:

Beaujolais Nouveau began as a local phenomenon in the local bars, cafes, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons. Each fall the new Beaujolais would arrive with much fanfare. In pitchers filled from the growers barrels, wine was drunk by an eager population. It was wine made fast to drink while the better Beaujolais was taking a more leisurely course. Eventually, the government stepped into regulate the sale of all this quickly transported, free-flowing wine.

In 1938 regulations and restrictions were put in place to restrict the where, when, and how of all this carrying on. After the war years, in 1951, these regulations were revoked by the region's governing body, the Union Interprofessional des Vins de Beaujolais (UIVB), and the Beaujolais Nouveau was officially recognized. The official release date was set for November 15th. Beaujolais Nouveau was officially born. By this time, what was just a local tradition had gained so much popularity that the news of it reached Paris. The race was born. It wasn't long thereafter that the word spilled out of France and around the world. In 1985, the date was again changed, this time to the third Thursday of November tying it to a weekend and making the celebration complete. But wherever the new Beaujolais went, importers had to agree not to sell it before midnight on the third Thursday of November.

Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young. It can benefit from resting in your wine rack for a week or two in order to avoid "bottle shock,", but for most vintages, the quality of the wine starts to seriously decline by the following May. The wine is best served chilled at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This will allow the fruit flavors to really come through.

Scoff if you must, but I like to take Beaujolais Nouveau for what it is - a simple wine. I don't expect a lot from it, but I look forward to it every year. Over the weekend I plan to taste Beaujolais Nouveau wines from three or four different producers, so you can look forward to reading the results next week. Did you run out and buy any? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this year's vintage.