Beaujolais Nouveau is Here to Stay.
3rd Thursday of November… It is Beaujolais Nouveau party time, and releasing time: Nobody is allowed to sell the wine before the 17th of November at 00h00! So get set, ready, go!
Where does this exciting moment originate, you may ask?
We have to go back to 60 years ago to understand what really happened. In 1951, the makers of Beaujolais asked for special permission to be able to sell their wine “en primeur” meaning before the earliest date available for releasing a wine which is December 15th. Why? They needed cash flow a bit quicker for their wineries. Permission was granted and this marked the birth of Beaujolais Nouveau!
Anywhere else that we can find these young wines besides in Beaujolais?
Today plenty of other wine regions sell “le vin nouveau” like Loire Valley, Languedoc…
It is always a fruity wine, made to be drunk young, (I like it slightly chilled), with a very specific “fermentation” including aromas of strawberries, cherries, bananas (for Beaujolais and carbonic fermentation); it is a great pairing with cold cuts, French saucisson (dried sausages), from Villiers Morgon obviously. It is a wine to be shared with friends… Not a keeper definitely (at least no more than 6 to 12 months as would lose its freshness).
So please: Enjoy!
