Beaujolais Nouveau

[Jason Perlow]

Now, I have a bottle of BN, and I'm going to be out of town for 3 weeks   Shoulda brought it over last night.  I'm not sure how that stuff will cellar in my crappy apartment, and I won't be in a place where it's appropriate to drink it, IMO.

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Dude, here's the thing. Beaujolais Nouveau doesnt CELLAR. It only degrades. You're supposed to drink it within 2 months of it being MADE. So it will actually taste WORSE in 3 weeks. Drink it now, if you must. Or flush the sucker down the toilet when you get back.

[Susan in FL]

One year we had friends over to make and hang Christmas tree decorations and do a Beaujolais Nouveau "tasting".  We all got schnockered and one friend made little replicas of her absentee boyfriend's naughty bits that, along with the more traditional offereings, hung discreetly from the tree for many years.  It was a fun night and the big, grapy wine felt appropriately festive, if not particularly sophisticated. 

.....my memory of the wine is that it makes quite a pleasant little beverage, especially if consumed in front of the fire on a cold night.

Great story! Beaujolais Nouveau is fun, and so is hanging balls on trees.

[Rebel Rose]

Dude, here's the thing. Beaujolais Nouveau doesnt CELLAR. It only degrades.  You're supposed to drink it within 2 months of it being MADE. So it will actually taste WORSE in 3 weeks. Drink it now, if you must. Or flush the sucker down the toilet when you get back.

Turn off the smoke alarms. GdB is a mass-produced, shelf-stable fruity red--not an artisanal production prone to secondary ferms. Sure, they use carbonic maceration to make it, and probably free run juice. And it's just a simple Gamay grape made with whole berry fermentation (crushed skins leach tannin into the fermenting juice which is not desirable with such a light, fruity grape). So, it's a light red. It won't cellar well--Jason is right about that!--but it will last for six to eight months without a problem. Is GdB going to make a million cases of wine that needs to be drunk within two months?

[jsolomon]

It's snowing outside, and a friend has an outdoor hot tub that hasn't been used properly yet.

If nothing else, I'll drink it alone in the tub watching the snow come slowly down, silencing the night.

[jsolomon]

I ended up having the GdB BN last night. It wasn't a perfectly horrible quaff like Jason was indicating. Certainly overpriced for the flavor, but I've had more disappointing bottles for higher prices.

It was a pleasantly simple, light, fruity wine. Basically adult kool-aid. I was pleased enough that I'd purchase something of a better pedigree than GdB without reservation.

[Jason Perlow]

No, its not horrible. And perhaps I am being overly critical of everyone's favorite holiday wine. I've had it on many occasions and if offered it at a holiday gathering, I'd likely drink several glasses.

Still, I just LOVE to hate it. To me, anything that doesn't represent a good value when there are so many other good choices out there makes my blood boil.

[wnissen]

The bottle of Duboeuf I tried Saturday night was awful, harsh and screechingly acidic. One of the worst wines I've ever tasted. Left corked on the counter, it improved somewhat by last night. The Charles Shaw Pinot Noir / Valdiguie Nouveau (yes, Two Buck Nouveau!) was also flawed, farty and sulphrous but not too bad, as these things go. The only winner was Louis Tete, a reliable smaller producer whose Nouveau tasted fresh, clean, and raw. Just like it came out of a tank. Good stuff. What can I say, Nouveau is a great excuse for a party!

Walt

[Carolyn Tillie]

Basically adult kool-aid.

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Excellent description. Better Adult Kool-Aid than Arbor Mist...

[Rebel Rose]

Adult Kool-aid . . . that reminds me, a local French restaurateur has a Nouveau party every year, which I have just been informed I missed, again . . .

He offers a prix fixe menu--simple bistro fare, but so luscious that every course just melts in your mouth. Only nouveaus are offered, and since it's attended mainly by local winemakers everyone brings more nouveaus. By the end of the evening everyone has red noses and are wearing the burgundy napkins knotted on their heads.

[Chris Cognac]

I am drinking my first glass of George D.B. right noww as we speak and I must admit, it does lack the depth of flavor that I am used to in a red. But on another note its light and does not have an strong "acid" tone to the flavor. I would say its not bad, just different and its growing on me. I will finish the entire bottle tonight and see if my view changes.

[Susan in FL]

That's Nouveau... it does lack that depth of flavor. As far as I'm concerned, it's not supposed to have it. I guess part of the appreciation of it is knowing what to expect. It is not a wine to compare to "fine wines" or other reds worthy of aging.

I'm looking forward to hearing other thoughts on the Michel Picard, which has been my favorite Beaujolais Nouveau so far.

I'm glad to see the open-mindedness about it, but I don't want to come across as if this is my favorite wine of all time or anything!

[cru]

It's fun, festive and cheap. Like any wine there are terrible producers and some fine ones. I think the point of the wine is to celebrate the harvest and enjoy red wine in its simplest form. You would never discuss it in Paris. Just raise a glass and smile. One can't drink a BN without smiling. I think that's the point.

[Susan in FL]

It's fun, festive and cheap.  Like any wine there are terrible producers and some fine ones.  I think the point of the wine is to celebrate the harvest and enjoy red wine in its simplest form.  You would never discuss it in Paris.  Just raise a glass and smile.  One can't drink a BN without smiling.  I think that's the point.

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Very well put!! That pretty much says it all.

[scrat68]

Here's an interesting article:

Upstarts in France

[Busboy]

Here's an interesting article:

Upstarts in France

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Well worth reading just for the writers gleeful language "a whopping 56 million bottles of that fruity petulant primeur ...a growing Lilliputian band of insurgent artisans...Further fermenting the terroiristes' sour grapes..." Sounds like Mr. McBride might have imbibed a little of that petulant primeur himself while writing.

Informative, as well.

[LindaJ]

I can't believe I'm going to ask this but:

If I was crazy stupid enough to go out and buy a BN, what producer should I go with? And my tasting note of GdB last year said something about Banana Flavored Bubble Yum so let's skip right over them.

Let's also say I am in the market for a real Beaujolais down the road - something indicative of the Gamay grape as it should be tasted. Suggestions?

Cheers

["T"]

Certainly at the 1 million case production point it's ah . . .  a little commercialized . . . but . . .

You guys are missing the point of serving beaujolais (which has that Gothic-romance word "beau" in it . . .) to a new date.  It has a romantic history.  It's fruity and unassuming.  It's exactly right.  J-So might be one of those incredibly lucky guys who is actually surrounded by pink-cheeked, apron-frocked midwest milchfraus who may, once introduced to wine, become our alter-egos.

BJ is a celebration of harvest, and this is the perfect time of year to tell the story.  He's got a riesling, a tawny port, and a beaujolais for her tasting pleasure.  I would rather drink a beaujolais with J-So under those circumstances than an expensive wine of any pedigree with a man who chose it for me pre-acquaintance.

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I like the way you think.

Agreed, BN is simply a celebration, (well, and a great marketing gimmic also), of the new harvest.

Not supposed to be deep, complex, elegant, seductive.

That's what Cru Beaujolais is for. And as I'm sure our friend Florida Jim would back me up when I say that when Gamay is good, Gamay is very, very good.

[Susan in FL]

If I was crazy stupid enough to go out and buy a BN, what producer should I go with? 

As I've mentioned in this thread, the Michel Picard is still my favorite of what I've tasted.

[FL Heat]

I just wanted to say that I picked up a bottle of the Michel Picard based on what everyone has said in this thread--I'm just starting to learn about wines, I enjoy the sweeter whites (because, well, I just do), and while I don't LOVE it, it's pleasant. . .like happy grape juice. I appreciate the honesty & knowledge of everyone who posted, it made buying this particular bottle less angst-ridden than most other times.

Diana

[Susan in FL]

Thanks for reporting back, Diana, and glad it was a relatively painless experience!

[Carolyn Lavergne]

I hate to be obvious, but I would take a nice bottle of Champagne.

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I once read that Champagne goes with EVERYTHING. I take it you agree?

[amccomb]

We had a Beaujolais Nouveau tasting last year and bought about 4 different ones, and two of one bottle. When we started, all of the comments were negative. We decided the next bottle was marginally better. At the end of the evening, when we opened the last bottle, everyone agreed that it was the best yet - very tasty - only to realize it was exactly the same as the first bottle.

So, after four bottles, it seems to improve.

[Mark Sommelier]

I hate to be obvious, but I would take a nice bottle of Champagne.

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I once read that Champagne goes with EVERYTHING. I take it you agree?

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Nope.

[Rebel Rose]

Ah, the Beaujolais season approaches . . . I just thought I'd add a quick link to our own intrepid Jon Bonne's article, which won an American Food Journalist award this year. (Jon won second and third place in the internet food coverage category. As Kathleen Purvis pointed out in Food Media & News, he is beside himself!)

[Rebel Rose]

And this week's article in MSNBC, byeGullet member Jon Bonne:

Kicking Beaujolais up a notch

Jon discusses the differences between BJ nouveau and cru . . .

The latest vintage of nouveau is always unveiled in November, and not coincidentally, Watson bolsters his cru Beaujolais offerings in the weeks before Thanksgiving with picks from quality producers like Guy Breton, Thevenet and Trénel.

Beaujolais’ food-friendly tendencies are even more pronounced in the crus, which makes them a perfect match for the fruity, filling flavors of the Thanksgiving table. If Beaujolais is in your holiday plans, maybe it’s time to make the leap: Out with the nouveau, in with the cru.

Includes tasting notes on his top 11 Beaujolais.