November 22, 2003
Beaujolais Nouveau
We tried the new 2003 Beaujolais Nouveau last night. I just happened to be in the liquor store and noticed it was out. If you're not familiar with Beaujolais Nouveau, it is a light and fruity red wine from France that is intended to to be drunk young -- like as soon as it's released. Every year, as a marketing event, they release the Beaujolais Nouveau in the US on the third Thursday of November.
Our introduction to Beaujolais Nouveau was last year when we were in Florida. We happened to be in Epcot's "France" on the day that Beaujolais Nouveau was released and they were having a special celebration. We ate dinner at a restaurant that had a special dinner featuring Beaujolais Nouveau in every dish.
I really like this year's vintage, although the label is a little much. It had an interesting bluish-purple tint to it and a familiar flavor that I could not really identify -- maybe someone with a better palate than I can identify it. Apparently this is a really good year for Beaujolais Nouveau: Yahoo! News - Bad Weather Brings Good Year for Wine:
They were pounded with icy wind in the spring, then baked by Sahara-like heat this summer. Only the strongest Beaujolais Nouveau grapes survived. You could call it Mother Nature's version of tough love: The 2003 crop turned out terrific thanks to this year's punishing weather, wine-lovers said Thursday at the first ritual tastings. ... Because of the wacky weather, the crop was harvested weeks earlier and was 40 percent smaller than usual. That translates to higher quality grapes. ... Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau still costs $6.99 to $8.99, despite the euro's sharp rise against the dollar. The company kept prices low out of worries that the backlash against French products since France opposed the Iraq war would cut into sales.Posted by David at November 22, 2003 10:41 AM | Edit