Every year, Beaujolais Nouveau Day falls on the third Thursday in November and celebrates the end of harvest in Beaujolais. The early release date gives consumers a first taste of the vintage. Les Vins Georges Duboeuf has been a big promoter of Beaujolais Nouveau over the years and makes a Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais Nouveau Rosé and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau. This year we are tasting the Beaujolais Nouveau, which we received as a tasting sample.
2021 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau — medium ruby-violet in the glass with generous aromas of red fruit and crushed raspberries. Flavors follow with ripe raspberries, tart cranberries and cherries supported by lively acidity. Tannins are a bit drying and fine in a just-medium body. 12.5% abv. SRP $13.99
Beaujolais Nouveau wines are quick wines; harvest in the region began in mid-September. Gamay for the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau was sourced from the southern part of Beaujolais. Both hand-picked whole clusters and machine-harvested Gamay were vinified using semi-carbonic maceration, followed by malolactic fermentation in stainless steel.
This quick winemaking style results in a fruit-forward wine that is made to drink now and is very food friendly. The relatively low alcohol level is welcome and the very reasonable price make these wines hard to resist. My preferred pairing for this energetic, fruit-forward wine is a warm lunchtime meal: roasted pork sandwich, open faced roasted turkey sandwich with gravy or a chicken burger and fries. Others will find it a delicious addition to their Thanksgiving dinner or a weeknight meal.
The 2021 vintage is smaller than usual due to frost and hail in some regions. This means there will be less Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau than usual in the marketplace. Don’t delay if you want some on your holiday table. The Beaujolais Nouveau Rosé retails for $13.99 and the Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau for $14.99. The rosé can be quite the charmer.
Once again this year, the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau labels are adorned by artwork chosen by the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Artist Label Competition. Felice Kite’s painting, For The Love Of Flowers, was chosen by public vote from among nearly 1,000 entries. I look forward to the new artwork every year nearly as much as I do the wines.
Quintessential is the exclusive importer of Les Vins Georges Duboeuf wines in the U.S. Thanks to both for this taste of “The First Wine of the Harvest.”
Cheers!
