All About Beaujolais Nouveau
By Jens Strecker
On the third Thursday of November (which will be November 21 this
year), the most recent vintage of Beaujolais – called Nouveau or
Primeur when it is released – goes on sale in wine stores around the
world. Beaujolais Nouveau is marketed as the “first wine of the new
vintage.”
By decree, French wine authorities do not permit the sale of
Beaujolais Nouveau until 12:01 AM, November 21 and importers in
other countries are required to agree in writing not to ship their
wine until the day before the official release date.
Beaujolais lies in the southern part of the Burgundy region in
France. The climate is much drier than it is in the rest of
Burgundy. Driving south from Paris, Beaujolais is the first region
where you begin to see and feel Mediterranean influences (both in
the warmer, drier climate and the architecture).
Like most Beaujolais (and some wines outside of the Beaujolais
region), Beaujolais Nouveau is made using carbonic maceration or
whole-berry fermentation. Rather than first crushing grapes and then
fermenting them (as it is standard winemaking practice), grapes are
thrown into the fermentation tank whole with only the grapes at the
bottom being crushed by the weight of those on top. Fermentation of
the grapes on the bottom proceeds in the normal fashion, but the
whole grapes on top actually ferment individually within their
skins. This avoids extracting a lot of tannin from the grape skins
and the resulting wine is much fruitier and less tannic.
Why Beaujolais Nouveau? Because it’s fresh! Because it is juicy!
Because it is fun! Because it is just plain delicious to drink and
easy to enjoy!
For the second year in a row, Best Cellars is featuring
Mommessin Beaujolais Nouveau, a small, high quality grower and
producer.
You could call Mommessin’s Beaujolais a “nouveau on steroids”.
It’s one helluva juicy yet deeply flavored red wine, chock-a-block
with super-ripe berries and cherries that linger on the palate, sip
after sip. Come and check it out! November 21, 5pm, Best Cellars,
2625 NE University Village, Seattle, WA 98105; Tel: 206.527.5900 or
email:
bcseattle@bestcellars.com
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