Beaujolais Nouveau Vintage of Century

[bleachboy]

I can't drink any form of Nouveau wine, be it French or Italian. I'd rather drink Welch's.

Can you tell us why?

[futronic]

I just don't find it appealing to my palate. If they fermented and aged it a little longer, maybe it would be a little better.

Don't get me wrong, I like a good Beaujolais Villages, but not the Nouveau.

And I'd rather have Welch's because as the kid from the commercial says, "it explodes in my mouth!"

[traminer]

Can't believe that there are so many sweeping statement about Gamay. Its like saying all Cab Savs are powerful.. or all Pinot Noirs are plonk juice. Has anyone here tried a good Morgon or Moulin-a-Vent? Not exactly the most stunning wine but remarkable for the favour and sheer value.

I'll be interested to see how this year goes.. we get the usual producers here in Singapore eg Jadot, Duboeuf.. any othe suggestions?

[budrichard]

30+ years ago Beaujolais sold for a buck a bottle and actual was quite good. Some of the wines from areas like Morgon could last a few years. What happened, I am not certain but the wines of today are not worth even trying anymore. the hype of the Nouveau has reached rediculus levels and is only based on advertising. As advertisers will tell you, they can sell refrigerators to the Inuit! -Dick

[Craig Camp]

Jean-Paul Brun from Domaine des Terres Dorees ( imported by Joe Dressner ) is making Beaujolais with lower alcohol ( no chaptalization) and using indigenous yeast to produce terrific drinking wines with really unique fruit character. it should be noted that Brun is the only non-"Cru" beaujolais maker to rate 4 stars from Parker.

Another incarnation of Gamay is Cerdon, a semi dry pink bubbly made by spontaneous, but incomplete fermentation. Graet as an apertif or dessert.

The Domaine des Terres Dorees is an absolutly beautiful wine - bottled elegance and refinement.

Here is a tasting note on another great gamay:

Touraine, Clos Roche Blanche, Gamay, 2001, Organically grown Ecocert Certifed

C. Roussel et D. Barrouillet

Brilliant ruby/purple. Fresh cherry/raspberry aromas with an underlying touch of spices. This lovely wine is absolutely alive on the palate. The fresh acidity makes the bright flavors of dark wild fruits - cherry and plum - just explode on your palate. The amazing blend of delicacy and lightness on the palate combined with the literally singing fruit flavors have to be tasted to be believed. An extraordinary wine that will challenge palates deadened by over-extracted wines laden with alcohol and tannin. Drinking this wine is like watching a ballet.

[LOS]

30+ years ago Beaujolais sold for a buck a bottle and actual was quite good. Some of the wines from areas like Morgon could last a few years. What happened, I am not certain but the wines of today are not worth even trying anymore. the hype of the Nouveau has reached rediculus levels and is only based on advertising. As advertisers will tell you, they can sell refrigerators to the Inuit! -Dick

Psst...they still make some traditional Beaujolais, if you know where to find it. The Louis/Dressner imports and Chambers St Wines in NYC are a good place to start. We don't have vandergrift over here, so you haven't got the full Coudert Clos de la Roilette rant just yet -- and Roilette is one thing that vandergrift is right about. I bought about a case and a half of the 2002 untasted. The track record is just that good.

["T"]

As I recall, even at its best, the stuff is only supposed to last six months before it begins to fade.

Gee, that was always my thoughts about Gamay... more than six months in the bottle and it was gone.

There are some wines which are made from gamay and are intended to age, but they are only slightly less awful than nouveau.

Try some of the Morgon from Dom. Calot. He makes gamay that can age yet tastes wonderful today.

Edited November 19, 2003 by "T" (log)

[Adam Balic]

I think that people are being very hard on Gamay wine. OK, they aren't Cabernet wines, but they still can make some interesting wine, even wine that has some aging potential.

Gamay, White Zinfandel, and Sparkling Shiraz are all in the same camp. The vast majority of them are made for consumption by people who don't like wine. It's the exception when any of the three are made in a serious style - it's not that it can't be done, but that is rarely the case.

Eh, although much Sparkling Shiraz is nonsense, it is taken seriously in Australia and even considered as a 'wine makers' wine. Seppelt make a show reserve version that can be very good. I have had a twenty year old wine that was very good.

(Mental note to self: Think you may have blow your credibility).

White Zinfandel? Why stop there? Grub up all Zinfandel I say.

Edited November 19, 2003 by Adam Balic (log)

[ctgm]

Bojo Nouveau used to have some appeal in the UK as it was a sort of race to see who could get the first bottle back after release. Boys in their fast toys used to nip down and back as quickly as possible. Now that it is all pre-shipped so that the major outlets can have it on their shelves on the 3rd Thursday, the "fun" isn't there anymore.

[Busboy]

Bojo Nouveau used to have some appeal in the UK as it was a sort of race to see who could get the first bottle back after release. Boys in their fast toys used to nip down and back as quickly as possible. Now that it is all pre-shipped so that the major outlets can have it on their shelves on the 3rd Thursday, the "fun" isn't there anymore.

I was wondering...I was in a local bistro the other evening and notice cases of the stuff stacked by the bar. Thought it was strange that I hadn't seen the "Beaujolais Nouveau est arivee" signs in the window as I walked in.

Kind of bumps the whole thing down from cute marketing ploy to a cheap one.

[MatthewB]

Here's the low-down on what I'll be picking up tomorrow in order to take one for the team . . .

Per my wine guy:

I have Duboeuf now.  Drouhin, Momissin, Michelle Picard are on the way Thursday.  The regular Duboeuf is quite good.  It is better than the villages.

[fresco]

Bojo Nouveau used to have some appeal in the UK as it was a sort of race to see who could get the first bottle back after release. Boys in their fast toys used to nip down and back as quickly as possible. Now that it is all pre-shipped so that the major outlets can have it on their shelves on the 3rd Thursday, the "fun" isn't there anymore.

The arrival of beaujolais nouveau used to be a big (if overhyped) event hereabouts. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario still brings it in, but you don't hear a damn thing about it anymore. Or at least I don't.

[DaleW]

While I am not a BN fan, I agree with those who say that Beaujolais can be very good wine. In addition to the already mentioned Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) & Brun (try his Beaujolais Blanc!), I've had good luck with Breton, LaPierre,& Thevenet.

Been a while since I tried a BN, but I think Brun makes one- might try just to see.

Edited November 19, 2003 by DaleW (log)

[tommy]

Here's the low-down on what I'll be picking up tomorrow in order to take one for the team . . .

Per my wine guy:

I have Duboeuf now.  Drouhin, Momissin, Michelle Picard are on the way Thursday.  The regular Duboeuf is quite good.  It is better than the villages.

matthew and i plan on tasting these wines and posting our thoughts on a new thread. we'd do it together, but we live 1000 miles apart. so we'll do it virtually. if anyone else is interested, PM either one of us. and for those of you who said this year will be decent, i sure hope you're right.

on second thought, no need to PM. you could just post that you're interested here i suppose. we'll hopefully be drinking these by this weekend. yes matt?

Edited November 19, 2003 by tommy (log)

[tammylc]

I'm planning to pick up some BN as well. We're having friends for dinner tomorrow night, and I figure it will be fun. If it really sucks, well, I have other bottles in the basement.

Any suggestions on what I should serve for dinner?

[melkor]

I'm planning to pick up some BN as well. We're having friends for dinner tomorrow night, and I figure it will be fun. If it really sucks, well, I have other bottles in the basement.

Any suggestions on what I should serve for dinner?

Crackers with peanutbutter - seriously, it's not a bad match for nouveau. Hardly the ideal dinner, but worth a try before people show up.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I'm planning to pick up some BN as well. We're having friends for dinner tomorrow night, and I figure it will be fun. If it really sucks, well, I have other bottles in the basement.

Any suggestions on what I should serve for dinner?

Turkey sandwiches.

Seriously - the only time I can drink a BN is with a turkey sandwich (usually leftover from T-Day).

[primowino]

I, like many of you by the sound of it, have pretty much given up on Beaujolais of late, especially Nouveau. However there is one interesting possibility. I have drunk Beaujolais Villages and cheaper Cru Beaujolais at about three years old and they were a bit like mature burgundy (with some imagination). So if that's the stuff you like but haven't got the right bank balance, experiment.

[bushey]

Sunday night we'll be participating in a local restaurant's Beaujolais wine dinner, which is one of the liveliest of their monthly themed wine dinners. They usually pour one nouveau and the rest are villages or cru wines. Will report back and see how the wines match up with what everyone else is drinking here.

[Varmint]

This may be an old line, but it's new to me, sent by my oenophile associate:

It Ain't the Beaus Ya Know... It's the Beaus Ya Lay!

[MatthewB]

Here's the low-down on what I'll be picking up tomorrow in order to take one for the team . . .

Per my wine guy:

I have Duboeuf now.  Drouhin, Momissin, Michelle Picard are on the way Thursday.  The regular Duboeuf is quite good.  It is better than the villages.

matthew and i plan on tasting these wines and posting our thoughts on a new thread. we'd do it together, but we live 1000 miles apart. so we'll do it virtually. if anyone else is interested, PM either one of us. and for those of you who said this year will be decent, i sure hope you're right.

on second thought, no need to PM. you could just post that you're interested here i suppose. we'll hopefully be drinking these by this weekend. yes matt?

All good to go here.

I'll be starting in on the Drouhin in about an hour.

Other drinkers please post here, too, as tommy noted.

[tommy]

All good to go here.

I'll be starting in on the Drouhin in about an hour.

Other drinkers please post here, too, as tommy noted.

i'm good for tomorrow night. or maybe i'll cheat and have some tonite.

i've started a thread here to post notes and thoughts. k?

[MatthewB]

All good to go here.

I'll be starting in on the Drouhin in about an hour.

Other drinkers please post here, too, as tommy noted.

i'm good for tomorrow night. or maybe i'll cheat and have some tonite.

i've started a thread here to post notes and thoughts. k?

Got it.

Don't expect much for my WTNs. Might not be more than, "Young, light, fruity. I'm going to drink more & see how many glasses it takes for me to get a decent buzz."

[tommy]

Don't expect much for my WTNs. Might not be more than, "Young, light, fruity. I'm going to drink more & see how many glasses it takes for me to get a decent buzz."

use the force, luke

i mean, the flavor wheel.

actually, i don't think much of the wheel will be used, save the "fruit" 1/8th.

[mikeyrad]

I dunno, I think that BN has its place as an inexpensive food-friendly wine to accompany everyday meals.