Beaujolais Nouveau and Vins Primeurs

November 15, 2022

Every third Thursday of November is a wine celebration day in France, “Le Beaujolais Nouveau”. The celebration of new wine made during the last harvest.

The Beaujolais Nouveau, is simply a 100% Gamay Wine from the Beaujolais appellation made just after the harvest using carbonic maceration for a few days and available on the third Thursday of November every year.

History

You would think that such tradition comes from several centuries ago, even the middle age. Nothing is more wrong, in this actual form, the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration (le “bojo” in short and in French) is more contemporary.

Later in the past, it was not abnormal that winemakers sold the wine from the latest harvest before the end of the year as table wine, mostly for restaurants and bars in Lyon and Paris. But things changed in 1951 when a new law required that the wine made during the year could not be sold before the 15th of December. Winemakers begged for an exemption and got it. They were able to sell their wine before the 15th of December, but no real dates were set up and the wine was still sold locally, mostly in Lyon. It is only in 1967 that a date was fixed for the 15th of November, and in 1985, the date was moved to the third Thursday of November , mostly for logistic reasons (and also the proximity of the 11th of November, the WWI souvenir). During the 70’s, George Duboeuf, an important wine merchant, started marketing campaigns to popularize and promote the Beaujolais Nouveau in France and later in the world. It was a success. It become a popular event in France, where bars started to serve the wine just after midnight. You could even see Japanese people taking a bath of Beaujolais Nouveau or barrels of Beaujolais Nouveau on the Chinese wall. When I was a student, this was always an enormous party, but something was wrong, people just had a few glasses of “bojo” and then drink something else, vodka or beer, because it was too bad.

Indeed, in the nineteen, the Beaujolais started to gain a poor reputation. The taste was weird, people talked about bananas or other things. The wine was mostly sold in supermarkets and was, most of the time, designed for mass consumption (up to 500000 hl). The cause of its low quality was this mass production. Grapes or juice came from different winemakers, with the minimum quality level. Fermentation was made using industrial yeast instead of local ones. This gave a weird taste (from nail polish to English candy and banana). The Beaujolais nouveau, at this time, had a bad reputation.

Today

Things changed slowly, but today we can enjoy a Beaujolais Nouveau. Winemakers do their one cuvée, use indigenous yeast, better fermentation process, and quality grapes. We, now, have a light red wine, rich in fruit and juice. A simple but tasty aroma to share with friends, family, or no one. Now the Beaujolais region produces less than 200 000 hl. The quality is generally here.

Natural wines

Natural winemakers produce some of the best Beaujolais Nouveau you can find. They use the same principles in their primeurs as in their more regular wine, less or no sulfite, and indigenous yeast. It gives fine and interesting wine, with incredible fruitiness.

To cite some, you can check primeurs from Séléné (Sylvère Trichaud, 2 wines Red and Blue) always incredible. Karim Vionnet, a fruit explosion, David Large, Jean Claude Lapalu, the Chrysalide of Romuald Valot or Pure from Domaine des Maisons Neuves,

The success of Beaujolais nouveau highlighted other wine regions where primeurs (new wines) are made in France and elsewhere in the world (“vino novello” in Italy). You will have red wine, like in Beaujolais, but also, white, rosé. You can find a Bourgogne Aligoté primeur, a cote du Rhone, a Gaillac, or a Macon primeur and many other. And the good news is you don’t have to wait until the third Thursday of November to get them.

Among them you can taste; Grolleau Noir from La Grange au Belles (Loire) Fruity primeur made of Grolleau, Bangarand nouveau, Domaine Mosse (Anjou) blend of Gamay and Grolleau, Primeur Bateau ivre from domaine Yoyo (Roussillon) 100% Grenache Noir, Vin Nouveau from Clos du Tue-Boeuf (100% Sauvignon Primeur)

What to eat with a Beaujolais Nouveau

By tradition, Cured meat from Lyon pair perfectly with a glass of Bojo. You can think of “Paté en Croute”, Rosette, Saucision. You can also use cheese from the same region, like Tomme du Beaujolais, or a Saint Marcellin. But you may face some difficulties to find these products in Amsterdam, so I have some local alternatives, smoked ossenworst, and beef bitterbalen. As the Beaujolais nouveau pair well with poultry, it can be a good option to add it to a Thanks Giving dinner. The fruitiness of the wine can also be paired with spicy meals, you can think of Cajun food, Reunionnaise rougail, or Indian curry.

How To serve it

The Beaujolais Nouveau and other primeurs are young, light, and fruity, the service temperature should be between 12°C and 15°C. If you serve it colder, you will lose all its fruity aroma, warmer you discern largely alcohol. There is no obligation for the wine glass, Beaujolais and other primeurs are simple wines, my suggestion will be a Vigneron glass but you can choose any other wine glass. Keep in mind that primeurs are young wines, and you can’t keep them for long, no longer than 6 months, they did not age (There are some exception like Séléné).

Where to find some of these primeurs in Amsterdam?

Rebel Wine Amsterdam will have two cuvés of David Large Beaujolais Nouveau
Bolomeywijnimport have one Primeur from Domaine Mosse
Craft Wine With Premier Jus 2022 by Nicolas Chemarin
Vleckwijnen will have the château cambon Beaujolais Nouveau
Chabrol Wine will have The Domaine de Thulon and Christophe Pacalet wines
Troppo Giovane 7 Beaujolais nouveaux!
Au Paradis Will have the Beaujolais Village Nouveau from Anthony Thévenet
Chenin Chenin 2 Bojo Château De Lavernette and Brute de cuve
Levain et le vin 2 Beaujolais nouveaux and the primeur from Mosse

And where to drink Beaujolais Nouveau and cellebrate

Glass of Beaujolais, Paris 2021

Bar Pif and Kikkie van de Prinsensluis will server Beaujolais Nouveau by the glass for the 17th

The Grape Escape, Beaujolais nouveau

When: 17th November

Where: Lottis

What to expect: vins primeurs, natural wines and fun. Wines from Pieksman, Rebel Wines and Chabrol Wines

Link

Beaujolais nouveau dinner

When: 17th November

Where: V.R.R

What to expect: 3 course menu, and wines from Domaine Marcel Lapierre, Foillard, Côte de la Molière, Sarnin-Berrux and Lavernette (Reservation needed 020 244 5743)

Link