The release of beaujolais nouveau used to be a big event, the third Thursday in November. The very first chance to try this year’s wine. Today, it has lost some of its lustre, which is perhaps a good thing. That leaves more room for more ambitiously made Beaujolais. We found Beaujolais Nouveau 2023 from Jean Foillard in our cheese shop in Paris (and it happens to be one of the “bojo” nouveaux launched at Systembolaget in Sweden but probably widely available in other countries too). We bought a bottle, and sure enough, this famous wine producer makes a very “serious” nouveau, quite different from many others and definitely worth drinking.
The rules state that no Beaujolais can be sold before the third Thursday in November (there are actually other wines that can be sold earlier). For many years, that launch was a major event, with special flights to London and Tokyo. It is still something that is celebrated in Paris wine bars and also in many other places. At its peak in the 90s, around half of all Beaujolais was “nouveau”. Today, it is significantly less, around 25%, or – after all – over 16 million bottles (2022).
In the past, it was probably the case that the quality of these rapidly produced wines sometimes was not quite up to what one wished. Today, it is much better, which probably has to do with the fact that the whole district has seen an increase in quality in recent years. Although the days of “foam bananas” (do you remember?) are not entirely gone, you can find plenty of good beaujolais and beaujolais nouveau today. It should also be a wine that belongs to the current times and tastes, with its comparatively low alcohol content, light, fresh, aromatic character. It is a generally uncomplicated but delightfully refreshing and charming wine, although there are more complex varieties and some even barrel-aged. It is always made exclusively from gamay, except for the rare white version made from chardonnay.
Maybe it’s time to rediscover the delicious Beaujolais wines?
But now, on to beaujolais nouveau.
The producer of “our” beaujolais nouveau is Jean Foillard in Villié-Morgon. Foillard is one of the pioneers of what today can be called the natural wine movement (but in case you are one of those who see this as a red flag – don’t be put off; read on). He therefore works with low levels of sulphur. His wines are often a bit drier and tighter than a classic beaujolais, but with a very “juicy” style.
Jean Foillard’s Beaujolais Nouveau 2023 follows the same style and is thus a somewhat atypical nouveau. It doesn’t have the typical aromatics and lightness you often find. Instead, here you find a more restrained herbal style on the nose. It is a fairly light wine (11.6%) with aromas of red fruits, some lingonberry and cherry, and dried herbs/grass, with some austerity, but it is still very drinkable and refreshing. It has quite ripe fruit but not the aromatic sweet style. A not quite clear colour in the glass which is common in this type of “natural” wines, but nothing to worry about. If you like, a “serious” nouveau that you don’t have to drink in a rush if you don’t want to. It is excellent to drink now but will continue to be good at least until the next nouveau date. The price is around 16 euro.
Read more about Beaujolais here. https://www.bkwine.com/tag/beaujolais/
