Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!
Let me introduce you to Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, aka Gamay, a thin-skinned red grape variety from Beaujolais, a relatively small wine region in France just South of Burgundy. Gamay produces wines which are typically low in tannins, with low-to-medium ABV and body, medium fruitiness and medium-to-high acidity.
Apart from its homeland France, this purple-coloured grape is found in other cool climate regions such as Switzerland and Canada, amongst others, and around 75% of all Gamay grown in France, grows in the Beaujolais region. Wines made from Gamay grapes can be aged up to five years and are typically affordable enough to try a few different ones (for research purposes, honest!). Incidentally, I have a bottle of 2022 Red Burgundy waiting for me (trying not to drool while I write this).
The AOC Beaujolais region famously produces Beaujolais-Villages wines, which are made in the 39 communes or villages within the regions. This appellation is also home to Cru Beaujolais, which is produced in the ten highest quality northern vineyards of the region – fine wine galore! Beaujolais-Villages wines are ideally drunk within two years of bottling while Cru Beaujolais are aged for decades.
And then, there is Beaujolais Nouveau.
One cannot mention Gamay and ignore Beaujolais Nouveau.
So, you asked: “What does France offer the wine world which no other country can match – and why?”, and my answer is: Hype – specifically Beaujolais Nouveau Hype. A wine so intriguing, so curious, and so commemorated by its followers, it has a whole day of celebrations attached to it, aptly named Beaujolais Nouveau Day.
The annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau is controlled by French law and falls on the third Thursday of every November at 12:01 am precisely.
Beaujolais Nouveau is released young, very young. Harvest of grapes, or vendage, happens in September, meaning the wines are bottled and sold within just 6-8 weeks of the grapes being picked.
This timeframe, combined with the pressing of the juice after just three days of maceration, means the wines are fruity, bright and refreshing. Pop the cork on a Beaujolais Nouveau and you’ll be greeted with red-fruit flavours of strawberry, raspberry and cherry, followed by banana, grape and pear drops. (Read: childhood dreams of bubble-gum and foam bananas sweets!)
And once Beaujolais Nouveau is in bottles, it’s time to get it into glasses and hands.
This wine is a celebration – harvest has ended; it’s time to mark the occasion!
In Beaujeu, the capital of the Beaujolais region, people throw festivals, dance, taste the new wines, and generally have a very good time. There are torch-lit parades, music and popping of corks! Afterall, Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young. Further afield, imbibers form queues in front of bottle shops to get this year’s vintage in the glass. Special tasting events happen both in-person and online and for one moment the world forgets the cold, grey drizzle November reality and enjoys something so fresh and exciting, it’s hard to put into words. Well, the word hype comes to mind.
But in all the young fun and party atmosphere hides a dark secret – sad things happened during the 1980’s and I’m not even talking about shoulder pads and gravity-defying hairstyles. Beaujolais Nouveau was exploited and pushed beyond the region’s ability to produce quality wines, and instead had to punch out more and more wine per season! As a result, the wines became unflatteringly bubble-gum-tasting liquid crimes. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate notes of banana and bubble-gum, but not in a flat, lifeless wine…
Thankfully, along with the hairspray, those offending bottles are firmly in society’s rear mirrors.
I tasted my first Beaujolais Nouveau last November as part of an online tasting and was immediately transfixed. As a huge fan of lighter vibrant reds, Gamay is right up my street anyway, but the fun that Beaujolais Nouveau brings is something out of this world!
As I sat in front of my laptop, glass of the 2023 vintage in hand I realized that I am at home in the wine world, that I have, in fact, found my tribe.
French wine may sound intimidating, overly complex and terrifying, but it couldn’t be further from the truth! The French wine industry is built on heritage, knowledge, passion and love, and there is a wine for everyone! And, you guessed it, Beaujolais Nouveau is mine!
À votre santé!
xxx
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