This Thursday--TODAY Nov.20-- marks the annual, world wide release day of Beaujolais Nouveau. It is a celebratory affair in Beaujolais when a very simple wine made from Gamay grapes is released having barely enough time to ferment. It is merely weeks old from the time of harvest to the time of release.
Typically B. Nouveau is simple, fruity guzzling wine at its simple best. Brimming with strawberry and/or raspberry highlights it is wine made to drink immediately and in fact in all likelihood will have gone by if you hold it until this time next year.
So find yourself a couple different bottles from different producers and compare. You can expect to pay around $10-$12 a bottle so raise a glass! (I JUST bought a bottle of Duboeuf and it cost me $9. If you would, let us know what you think of the particular Nouveau you slog down! Watch for the review of the one I just bought later on this evening and raise a glass!
I understand the history behind this, but c'mon... for the same price to just a couple of dollars more you can grab a bottle of Beaujolais-Villages or even some of the single village (think Morgon!). Why waste your money on this plunk? That's my opinion anyway... Having sold wine for 10+ years though, I can tell you that a lot of people will be buying it by the case ;-)
ReplyDeleteGary makes a valid point but honestly, the whole B. Nouveau "celebration" is bigger than the wine itself; it's about being part of world wide festival yada yada. :)
ReplyDeleteNow if quality is the sole focus here than Gary's point can't be dismissed. Personally, I tend to drink 3 maybe 4 bottles of Nouveau in any one season for the very reason Gary states. Buying a case (unless for a party or something) is over the top to be sure however, the 05 Nouveau, if my memory serves me correctly (and it usually doesn't) was extraordinarily good. But such an occurrence of truly delicious Nouveau with character has been rare. Point well taken!