One of the world’s forgotten wines, but a delightful diversion, is Beaujolais nouveau—that frivolous red wine that is almost like white wine with color.
For decades, Beaujolais in all its forms has been a multifaceted “little” wine and an all-purpose joy, praised for its versatility. As a light red, regular Beaujolais works with almost any food and has an uncomplicated personality that’s easy to like.
But Beaujolais has three faces. It can be “nouveau,” a chillable quaffer that comes out in time for Thanksgiving meals. Or it’s a light red that works nicely with light meals. Then there is the more serious cru Beaujolais, a deeply flavored cousin of Burgundy.
All are made from the gamay noir grape, and the wine rarely costs a lot; for decades it was the refuge of those on a budget. Even today, expensive cru Beaujolais are roughly $25 to $30 a bottle and at their best can offer seductive flavors for a fraction of what you'd pay for anything else with such breeding.
Regular Beaujolais is even less expensive, at about $12 to $15.
Last month we saw the release of the 2023 Beaujolais nouveau and 2021 regulars and crus. And one taste is all you need to determine how fun these wines are.
The Beaujolais with the greatest reputation are the crus, which come from one of 10 cru Beaujolais districts. A few of them (such as St. Amour, Chiroubles and Brouilly) are aimed at earlier consumption. Basically, you buy them and drink them soon with almost any food.
And it is one of the few reds that is fine to chill.
Another group of cru wines that age nicely for three or four more years includes wines such as Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, and Julienas. Some actually are best after a decade.
Where Beaujolais nouveau is more for parties and instant quaffing, the more “serious” cru wines are so deeply flavored that in some cases they seem to be baby Burgundies.
Some people drink Moulin-a-Vent and don’t even know it is a Beaujolais. Indeed, in the unusually hot year of 2003 throughout Europe, some wines got so exotic that the wines were compared to Burgundy.
One of the delights in Beaujolais nouveau is that the main aromas are pretty much like biting into a grape. The fruit is worn on its sleeve, its juiciness is evident from the first whiff, and the tannins in the wine are entirely from fruit. The wines aren’t aged in small barrels, so there’s no wood tannin.
At one time, a number of U.S. wineries made a gamay that was like Beaujolais nouveau, but the style went out of favor. One of the best decades ago was made by Napa producer Charles Shaw, whose winery eventually closed. The name is now used by the Trader Joe’s chain of stores on several wines that have nothing to do with Beaujolais.
At least two dozen producers of Beaujolais bring wine into the United States. Today, Trader Joe’s is carrying two wines from the largest producer of Beaujolais, Georges Duboeuf.
No Wine of the Week.
