Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé.
A friend in France shared with me a twitter about Beaujolais Nouveau, which basically said it was only a successful joke, and Lyonnais would not drink this. Which reminded me… yes! it is Beaujolais Nouveau time now!
Love it or hate it, but no one can deny, that this light, purple-pinkish, little tannin, strawberry, banana taste like red wine has gained huge marketing success in the world. A young “vin de primeur”, bottled within 2 months after harvest, an image link to joy, harvest, celebration, calls up the whole world, to assembly at same time –the 3rd Thursday of November of each year, to party together. Maybe some Lyonnais doesn’t drink it, the street party in Lyon actually starts earlier than others by rolling the barrels across the city.
How was it made? It is worthy mentioned that the hand-picked Gamay Noire grape berries go through anaerobic fermentation, also called Carbonic fermentation. The grapes at the bottom are crushed by gravity, releasing juice. With the present ambient yeast, aerobic fermentation happens by releasing by-product CO2, which creates an anaerobic environment, so that uncrushed grapes would go through an intracellular respiration, which breaks down sugar and malic acid…to a final desired product alcohol.
In this process, fruity ester flavors are dominated and emphasized, very low tannin is extracted. Therefore, the resulted wine is fruity and easy drinking, but definitely not a wine for collection. In other word, Beaujolais Nouveau is not a complex wine, and it never claims to be one.
The barrels will roll in the center of Lyon before being pierced to launch the festivities. Photo: AFP
Some praises its success partially because of Gamay grape, high yield and easy to manage, but it results acidic, tannic wine. Carbonic maceration softens its acidity, brings up fruit flavors, gives away tannin, all to make an easy happy party wine.
Others will more emphasize on marketing operation. The wine could be legally released as early as Nov from 1951. And only in 1985, the 3rd Thursday of Nov became official release day.
In last two decades, Beaujolais Nouveau Day shifted from a national event to a French cultural ambassador, spread to other continents, as far as Asia, most popular in Japan. You might have heard of the Beaujolais Nouveau Bathe.
As Twitter message said, it was true that the initial marketing move started from a joke, which already proved successful. The smart move, not only helps a fast cash flow return, but also creates a happy atmosphere in a weekday.
Again, it is certainly not a good choice if you want to impress your girlfriend, or practice your tasting skills, but it lives in some of your good memories.
Article by: Jin ROGER, DipWSET
© 2024 Vinetude - All Right Reserved