Yes, today is the day. The liveliest wine day of the year.  As the website for Beaujolais Nouveau Day states:

Beaujolais Nouveau Day is marked in France on the third Thursday in November with fireworks, music and festivals. Under French law, the wine is released at 12:01 a.m., just weeks after the wine's grapes have been harvested. Parties are held throughout the country and further afield to celebrate the first wine of the season.

Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young. Most vintages should be consumed by the following May after its release. However, in excellent vintages (such as 2000) the wine can live much longer and can be enjoyed until the next harvest rolls around..

This year's vintage is very fresh and fruity, not quite the body of last year's heftier wine, but bright and very fruit-forward, with some pepper and peach in the nose, and then a big boom of berries, strawberry and raspberry upfront, blackberry toward the back of the sip.

Here are some comparative tasting notes of nine different BNs from the folks at Wine Spectator, specifically Gillian Sciaretta:

JEAN BERERD & FILS Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau Domaine de la Madone 2016 Score: 87 | $13
This light-bodied red is creamy, with ripe layers of macerated cherry and pureed strawberry, edged by licorice drop and cocoa powder accents. Marjoram and plum aromas linger into the finish. 6,000 cases made.—G.S.

GEORGES DUBOEUF Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2016 Score: 86 | $13
Fresh blackberry, spice box and pomegranate aromas show savory undertones of pink peppercorn and herb. The juicy finish is highlighted by minerally details. 3,000 cases imported.—G.S.

JEAN-PAUL BRUN Beaujolais Nouveau Terres Dorées l'Ancien Vieilles Vignes 2016 Score: 85 | $15
A light-bodied red, with floral aromas giving way to juicy cherry, currant and raspberry fruit, backed by licorice snap, anise and cedar accents. Offers a clean, lightly tannic finish. 800 cases imported.—G.S.

JOSEPH DROUHIN Beaujolais Nouveau 2016 Score: 85 | $12
Juicy cherry and strawberry flavors burst through the creamy midpalate, with licorice drop and floral details giving expression to the finish. Light tannins. 5,000 cases imported.—G.S.

GEORGES DUBOEUF Beaujolais Nouveau 2016 Score: 85 | $12
This light-bodied red displays a creamy palate of cherry, pureed raspberry and marjoram flavors, with licorice snap and light smoke details lingering into the lightly chewy finish. 85,000 cases imported.—G.S.

DOMAINE ROCHETTE Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2016 Score: 85 | $10
A savory edge of grilled herb and fresh earth lines the boysenberry and cherry fruit. Ample sweet spice and zesty elements linger into the tangy, lightly grippy finish. 400 cases imported.—G.S.

PASCAL CHATELUS Beaujolais Nouveau 2016 Score: 84 | $9
Bright and fresh, with raspberry and strawberry flavors matched to creamy gumdrop and light spice details. Offers a zesty, clean finish. 415 cases imported.—G.S.

MOMMESSIN Beaujolais Nouveau 2016 Score: 84 | $13
Crushed raspberry and cherry notes are interwoven with pink peppercorn, anise and light herbal elements, accented by fresh earth undertones. Offers a modest, clean finish. 1,946 cases imported.—G.S.

PAUL DURDILLY Beaujolais Nouveau Les Grandes Coasses 2016 Score: 83 | $14
Aromatic and zesty, with tangy raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, backed by grilled herb and gumdrop details. Crisp finish. 7,000 cases imported.—G.S.

So get out there and grab some bottles, for early quaffing, but especially for Thanksgiving. You won't find a better wine match for all of the diverse flavors of Turkey Day than Beaujolais Nouveau.  

Cheers!  Let me know what you think of this year's BN!

The Day IS Here: Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrive'!!

I love this day. But after several years of my hyperbole on the matter, you should know what I'm excited about. And from everything I've been reading so far, this year's edition of Nouveau should be epic.

The folks at Sherry-Lehmann, NYC's preeminent purveyor of the Georges Debeouf version of Nouveau have posted this review from Debeouf himself:

“The 2015 vintage is going to be one of the all-time greats. The colour is a beautiful red with tones of purple and deep garnet. As for the nose, it offers a magnificent array of forest fruits: blackcurrant, blackberry and blueberry. On the palate, these are round, savoury, rich, full-bodied, unctuous and silky wines. Even better, they offer a truly exceptional persistence in the mouth. What a wealth of delightful flavours! The quality of this vintage is unprecedented. We are exploring heights which we’ve never seen before. You know that every vintage has its own history, and we know that 2015 will be breath-taking. What pleasure awaits the drinker!” -Georges Duboeuf"


So, as you might expect, I am very excited to try some. I will report back as soon as I do.  I'd also be interested in hearing YOUR take on the wine this year, and how many different bottlers you've been able to find.

A votre sante'!

Le Beaujolais Nouveau.....

......est arrive!  One of my favorite days of the year, simply for the sheer fun of it, when this sprightly wine is released just in time for Thanksgiving (and Hannukah too!), and just in time for some leisurely quaffing.

And again, the reason I am so fond of this wine is that is allows the drinker, I think, to taste the entire cycle of wine making: the earth, the vine, the leaf, the grape, the juice and all the flowers and berries and fruit from nearby fields. It is quite an exciting whirlwind of smells and tastes in just a few sips.

And the wine flat out goes with anything you might eat, from cheeses to veggies and fruit, fish, fowl and meats, pastas,  even dessert.  Versatility is the key word here.  This year's  vintage explodes with strawberry and raspberry and even some apple in the nose, and smacks your mouth with black cherry and raspberry, more of that apple taste, more than in previous years, and even a little citrus, while still holding onto the earthy, slightly vegetal tastes that remind you of the vineyards from where the grape (Gamay) came. Swirl your first sips of this year's Nouveau  and you will feel it all, a remarkable experience, actually.

The Nouveau will really show its stuff with holiday dinners, though,  because it is able to straddle all of the diverse flavors of a holiday meal, from Hannukah latkes to cranberry relish, herbal stuffing, butttery potatoes candied yams and roast turkey, even (gasp) green bean casserole.  I happen to think it goes pretty well with pecan pie, too, if that is part of your holiday dessert selections. It will also hold its own with pumpkin and sweet potato pie and chocolate desserts.

So, kick back and enjoy this year's  Nouveau. It's shockingly inexpensive ($8.09 at my local Joe Canal's store in Lawrenceville) and fun to drink!

Cheers!