That's right, folks, the Beaujolais Nouveau is here!
Every year, on the third Thursday of November, wine lovers around the world are able to taste the first wines of the recent harvest. Now, some people think that they're too good for Nouveau. They think it is a light, insubstantial, and altogether frou-frouey wine. Do not pay attention to such snobbery. I happen to love wines from the Gamay grape. It's true that Nouveau can sometimes be disappointingly thin, and it is never a serious, ponderous wine. But different wines have different places in one's life, and the place of Nouveau is one of simple, cheerful enjoyment. And I can attest that this 2009 we just received is the best Nouveau I can ever remember trying. The color is a beautiful, dark garnet. The flavors are full fruited but also crisp and bright.
It is a happy coincidence that Nouveau is released one week before American Thanksgiving. This wine would be a lovely accompaniment to Thanksgiving fare. And New Pioneer is selling it at the lowest price in town: $8.99/btl. But you better act quickly. In two days we have sold eight of the twenty cases I brought in. Soon it will be just a memory. (But I do think it bodes well for the 2009 harvest in France, especially in Burgundy, just north of Beaujolais).