Beaujolais Nouveau - The Wine List - November 2014

There is a wine phenomenon every November when the cry goes out: Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrive! For more information about this phenomenon, go here.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a popular wine to serve at Thanksgiving for a few reasons. First, they are prominently displayed on the store shelves at the same time people are shopping for their Thanksgiving groceries, 2) they are affordable wines that should cost less than $15 per bottle and can often be found for under $10, and 3) they match surprisingly well with Thanksgiving Turkey, cranberries and stuffing.

I find most Beaujolai Nouveau falls in one of two groups. They are either fun wines or wines that I wouldn’t drink. A good Beaujolais Nouveau will have lots of cherry fruit, perhaps a bit of banana aromas and should be smooth and easy to drink. Here are ten in the first group; wines that are fun, taste good and provide value. There are others out there as well, but these are go-to wines for me. One bit of caution, don’t buy too many. These should be consumed by the end of the year. The best thing about them is their freshness.

Jean-Paul Brun Beaujolais Villages Nouveau – The Villages designation is a bit of a sign that this is an upper level wine. It doesn’t mean as much with as it would for non-Nouveau wines, but still may be a harbinger of better wines.

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau – This is the man who is really responsible for the whole Beaujolais Nouveau craze. He makes oceans of the stuff. Again, the one with the Villages designation is probably his best.

Carra Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau – With 30 year old vines, they have great raw material for making their Villages level Beaujolais. A bit lighter than most, think strawberries not cherries, it is very nice.

Jean-Paul Brun Beaujolais Nouveau Terres Dorées l'Ancien Vieilles Vignes – One the great producers of Cru Beujolais, his Nouveau is very nice and a respectable wine indeed.

Pierre Chermette Beaujolais Noveau – Another producer who makes some fine Cru wines but also excels at the lower end of the Beaujolais scale.

Louis Tete Beaujolais Nouveau – One of the more unheard of producers in Beaujolais. Consistenly makes a very nice Beaujolais.

2009 Domaine Dupeuble Beaujolais Nouveau – Their 2009 version receive 89 points and a glowing review from David Schildknecht of the Wine Advocate. Such laurels are virtually unheard of Beaujolais Nouveau.

JOSEPH DROUHIN Beaujolais Nouveau – One of the larger negociants in Burgundy. They also make some very serious Beaujolais. While this is not one of them, it is easily available and should be less than $10.

Bouchard Aine & Fils Beaujolais Nouveau – Another very good Burgundy producer who makes this Beaujolais. Consistent and a great value.

MOMMESSIN Beaujolais Nouveau – Know for some excellent red Burgundies, they also have a thriving negociant business. Their Beaujolais is sold.

GEORGES DUBOEUF Beaujolais Nouveau – The one that started the craziness. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either. You know the wine in the flowered bottle. Ubiquitous and reasonably priced. Consistent from year to year.

Top 75 French Wines to Try Before You Quit Drinking (a non-dump bucket list if you will!)

If you are a wine lover, wine connoisseur, wine aficionado or even if you just like to have a couple of glasses on a Friday night, it soon becomes obvious that there are some wines that are held in a higher esteem in the wine world. Sometimes, it is because these wines are very rare. Other times, it’s because the wine has a place in history. Sometimes it’s because the wine is just that good. Here is a list of 75 wines from France that make up that category. A few caveats. I have not tried every wine on this list. Some I have and others I hope to. Many of these wines are rare and hard to find. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be on the list. After all, if the opportunity presents itself, go for it.

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Beaujolais, Georges Duboeuf and the Evolution of Nouveau: Rudolph Chelminski Discusses His New Book

Each year at 12:01 AM on the third Thursday of November, millions of bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau begin a journey from a little French village to locales across the globe. Wine stores and cafes enthusiastically greet these shipments with signs and banners proclaiming "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!" "The New Beaujolais has arrived!". With this begins the annual celebration of the arrival of the French wine Beaujolais Nouveau, a celebration steeped in tradition, frivolity, grandeur, legend, and of course, fabulous wine.

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Wines of Burgundy's Beaujolais Wine Region: Terroir & Producers

In Part I of this series, Wines of Burgundy's Beaujolais Wine Region: Quality You Might Not Expect , I discussed the history of Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau wines. In Part II, I will continue that discussion, but more importantly, review the individual terroir and the producers of some very fine age worthy wines.

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What is Beaujolais Nouveau?

The third Thursday in November is the date for a wine phenomenon each and every year. “ Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive ” marks the worldwide marketing campaign for this unlikely wine. What is Beaujolais Nouveau and how did we get here? Under the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wine regulations of France, wine released in the year the grapes were harvested must be labeled nouveau or vin (de) primeur . Each AOC will determine the specific dates the wine may be released. These wines are fruity wines that have just barely made the change from grape juice to wine. They are made quickly, barely allowing time for the grapes to ferment. Some versions are sweet as they have not completed their fermentations and still have some residual sugar.

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