Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day 2021

Today is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, which occurs the third Thursday of November every year. It comes from a tradition in the Beaujolais region of France, dating back to the 1800’s, in which wine producers celebrate the end of the harvest season with a toast of the first wine from the season.

Sure there are lots of other manufactured wine themed holidays, like Grenache Day in September, Pinot Noir Day in August, Rosé Day in February or any of the dozens of other [fill in the blank] wine days. But none of those have the history or notoriety of Beaujolais Nouveau Day.

People know about Beaujolais Nouveau Day and look forward to it. Just a couple weeks ago, I was attending a cheese making class — because that’s the kind of thing I do — and others in the class were already talking about Beaujolais Nouveau Day and looking forward to it.

While the day has its roots in a tradition among wine producers, it has grown into a commercial success around the world. On this day, the first Beaujolais wine from the current year’s harvest is made available for purchase. Now, you might ask, “isn’t it a little early for 2021 wines from the northern hemisphere to be released?” Well, yes, and that’s kind of the point. It’s a preview of what’s to come.

The Beaujolais Nouveau wines released today are stylistically different from most other still wine you’ll find. They are young wines, meant to be consumed while they are young. They have a profound freshness to them, because they are fresh. They are not crafted to be aged in a cellar, but are crafted to be celebrated immediately.

Part of the unique crafting of Beaujolais Nouveau wine involves a process called carbonic maceration. This is a process in which whole clusters of grapes are sealed into a fermentation tank and the oxygen in the tank is replaced with carbon dioxide (i.e., carbonic). The grapes then begin to ferment from the inside out. Sometimes a process called semi-carbonic maceration is used, in which carbon dioxide isn’t added to the tank, but is generated through initial fermentation from some of the juice.

The benefit of carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration is a characteristic of freshness in the wine. In addition to being a process used for Beaujolais Nouveau, I’ve also seen carbonic maceration used on a number of so-called “natural wines” lately… you know, the ones the hipsters are all into.

The freshness and medium-bodied nature of Beaujolais Nouveau makes it a very food-friendly wine. This likely contributes to the success of Beaujolais Nouveau in the US, given that it is released just before Thanksgiving.

Georges Duboeuf

Although Beaujolais Nouveau is a tradition celebrated by numerous producers in Beaujolais, none has capitalized on Beaujolais Nouveau as successfully as Georges Duboeuf. If you go to wine shops in the US looking for Beaujolais Nouveau, the brand you’re most likely to find is Georges Duboeuf. Their name is almost synonymous with Beaujolais Nouveau.

Even if you’ve not traditionally been a Beaujolais Nouveau enthusiast, you’ve likely noticed the colorful Georges Duboeuf bottles and displays in shops this time of year. Each year, they chose a different artist to design the label. This year, the artist is Felice Kite.

To be clear, Georges Duboeuf produces much more than just Beaujolais Nouveau. They also produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Grenache, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, to name a few. You might also come across Beaujolais wines from Georges Duboeuf that are not Beaujolais Nouveau — Beaujolais would be made from the same grape as Beaujolais Nouveau (i.e., Gamay), but it’s produced following a different process and is a different product.

Georges Duboeuf 2021 Beaujolais Nouveau Tasting Notes

A Beaujolais Nouveau shouldn’t really be compared to other red wines, because it is a unique product. The youth of this wine will elicit different characteristics than wines with more ageing and different production techniques.

The nose of the 2021 Georges Duboeuf Beajolais Nouveau offers aromas reminiscent of strawberry chewing gum, cherry, banana and raspberry. It also has some floral notes. The palate is quite nice, offering fresh strawberry, cherry and raspberry flavors with a nice vibrancy. It’s not sweet, but it is intensely fruity. There are soft tannins, adding some texture to the mouthfeel. It finishes medium long with red berry flavors.

Wine: Georges Duboeuf 2021 Beaujolais Nouveau
Varieties: 100% Gamay
Vintage: 2021
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 88
Average price: $13.99
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.