Beaujolais has had a few hard years but it is now back in fashion. Today, the third Thursday of November, is the release of the new vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau. Now representing approximately 30 % of the total Beaujolais production, the wine producers put a lot of effort into their Nouveau wines. The quality has improved tremendously. And people all over the world love them, especially the Japanese.
Beaujolais has actually always been a favourite of mine. The easy drinking, fruity style and the absence of oak ageing make it a very appealing wine especially for everyday drinking. The grape Gamay gives it a red fruit character, a smooth, soft mouth feel and a refreshing acidity. With carbonic maceration, which is the traditional way of vinifying Beaujolais, you get an even more juicy style of fruit.
Read more on this in Britt’s article on Forbes: The Comeback Of Beaujolais Nouveau.
Here’s the introduction:
Yesterday was Wednesday and we drank Beaujolais Nouveau 2018. Maybe this doesn’t seem odd to you but this was actually several hours before these wines’ legal appearance on the market. Since around 30 years, it is the third Thursday of November that is the legal launch date for Nouveau. But we were not in some shady Bojo speakeasy, not breaking the law (I think). We were at a Beaujolais Nouveau launch party in Paris with Dominique Piron, the president of Inter Beaujolais, wine producers and dignitaries such as the Japanese ambassador to France. At a BeaujoPa, Beaujolais Party, as they say in Japan (more on that later).
Dominique Piron and the producers were in Paris to promote the new vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau and, of course, also to promote the whole region of Beaujolais. This is a wine region that is doing very well at the moment. Since 2016 the export has been growing for all kinds of Beaujolais wines. It seems as if the world again is taking a liking to this easygoing wine and to the atmosphere surrounding it. This is the wine that incarnates French conviviality like no other French wine.
Read more on this in Britt’s article on Forbes: The Comeback Of Beaujolais Nouveau.
