Last night the 2023 Beaujolais Nouveau made its fruity debut.
Much anticipated on the third Thursday of every November, dozens of vintages for every taste and budget begin to appear in wine bars, restaurants, shops, caves and on comptoirs.
Did you celebrate?
Beaujolais Villages AOC
- AOC Beaujolais-Villages -
Today as every year this year's Beaujolais Nouveau takes a bow, which will explain the happy groupings outside (and inside) wine bars, cafés and even wine shops and some restaurants. These are young wines made from Gamay grapes, consumed almost immediately after their vendange. Best way to discover where: Take a pre-dinner evening stroll in almost any Paris arrondissement.
Santé!
🍷🍷🍷
There's still time to sample this year's Beaujolais Nouveau in almost any Paris wine bar!
Below: this barman clearly enjoys his job
Two-day countdown to celebrating this year's Beaujolais Nouveau.
Thursday November 18th
***
Yesterday I was asked by a tourist at a local café, "What region of France does Beaujolais come from?" Of course the answer is Beaujolais, but it struck me, slightly, like that old trick question, "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?"
Mais c'est vrai... It's not obvious.
American
wines harken to grape varieties - Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris... Whereas French wines are all
about the region: Burgundy,
Alsace,
Armagnac and Cognac,
Beaujolais and Lyonnais, Bordeaux, Champagne (and only Champagne please), Jura, Provence.... The
wide variety of climates in France translates into a wide variety of
wines, each region's wines endowed with overall attributes such as light,
sweet, acidic....
The huge U.S. wine market has been and still is driven by the concept of "single varietal" wines as blending was seen as a way of improving poor quality wine, whereas in France the historic approach has been to bring the best of everything to make the end-product greater than the sum of the parts with blends... be that as Chablis, Claret, Burgundy or Beaujolais.... More single varietal wines - not necessarily AOPs - are being shipped to the U.S. and "regional" labels now include varietals, primarily because of exporting to the U.S.
This year's Beaujolais Nouveau, a primeur or young wine, is expected to be round and fruity and, as every year, and in my opinion, best sampled with a planche of charcuteries. - BPJ
Also in supermarkets and wine shops everywhere
Yesterday was the day when the
French region of Beaujolais released its young Gamay wines, traditionally drunk almost immediately after the harvest. But with confinement restrictions still in place, instead of revelers spilling outside wine bars and cafés, more at-home toastings and tastings than usual were held to ring in this year's Beaujolais Nouveau. - BPJ
