A 2010 Beaujolais Villages Nouveau

What about the famous Beaujolais Nouveau?...

Beaujolais Villages Nouveau (Ours is a 2010)

This article treats the French red wine that arrives just in time for Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau. This wine is released for sale right after midnight on the third Thursday in November. Believe it or not they make and sell millions of bottles of this stuff, yes about 5 million 12-case bottles. As all red Beaujolais, today’s wine is made from the Gamay grape, a variety that neighboring Burgundy banned in 1395. It comes from specially designated areas (villages) in the Beaujolais region of southeastern France; like all Beaujolais wine it comes from hand-picked grapes.

Joseph Drouhin is an upscale Burgundy wine producer who has been in business for about 130 years. They own 73 hectares (over 180 acres) of vineyards in different parts of Burgundy, France. These vineyards are plowed by horse and use natural compost. Take a look at their website describing individual vintages going back to 1985. No other Drouhin wines available in my region come even close to the $15 limit of this series. Today’s companion wine is an Italian Vino Novello, the same sort of new wine that was also grapes just a few short weeks ago.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau AOC 2010 12.5% about $14

Because the supplier did not include any marketing materials I’ll quote the back label. “Passion and skill have been faithfully transmitted to the present fourth generation of the Drouhin family. The vinification of this wine reveals the elegance and true expression of the Beaujolais terroir. With its intensity and fresh fruit, Beaujolais is the festive wine par excellence. This is a unique bottle, to enjoy and to share.” And now for my reactions.

Joseph Drouhin Vineyards

At the first sips this wine was mouth filling and starchy. It had no tannins and some acidity. The first meal started with Japanese Wasabi rice crackers. The wine’s acidity perked up and it had good length. The main dish was a boxed eggplant parmagiana doused with plenty of grated Parmesan and grated Romano cheese. I tasted bubble gum; despite the “rules” I felt a nice balance between tannins and acidity.

The next meal consisted of a slow-cooked beef ribs and potatoes. I got more of that bubble gum and now some charcoal. Adding a generous amount of Louisiana hot sauce seemed not to have much effect. The potatoes darkened the wine. When this libation met zesty guacamole the bubble gum was gone, as was almost everything else. I tasted spice from the guacamole. Dessert was fresh strawberries; they brought out black cherries in the Beaujolais.

My final meal was an omelet with black pepper, Mediterranean spices, and a touch of chicken bouillon. The wine responded with upfront acidity, some plums, and cherries, stewed cherries. When it met Greek-style eggplant this new wine was acidic and that classic (ychh) bubble-gum taste came back, somewhat.

Then came the traditional two cheeses. In the presence of cottage cheese this liquid started out unforcefully but did manage to pick up a bit. Paired with a Swiss it offered good acidity and length with some fruit.

Final verdict. No way would I buy this wine again, the most expensive of the locally available Beaujolais Nouveaux. And I have no intention of trying any others with the exception mentioned above. Slowly but surely BN sales are declining and I am not the least bit surprised.

Access the companion wine A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wine - A 2010 Veneto Vino Novello

About the Author

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine websites include
www.theworldwidewine.com    and    http://www.wineinyourdiet.com

Visit his website devoted to Italian travel www.travelitalytravel.com

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