Beaujolais, Georges Duboeuf and the Evolution of Nouveau: Rudolph Chelminski Discusses His New Book(4)
A love/hate relationship exists among wine enthusiasts when it comes to Beaujolais Nouveau. Some people love the fanfare and enthusiasm that surrounds its annual release while others dismiss Beaujolais Nouveau as a mere novelty. What drives this divide in perception?
I don’t think there’s a divide. Or there shouldn’t be, at any rate. Because Beaujolais Nouveau is a novelty, and no one should pretend otherwise. There is the normal selection of Beaujolais wines, aged normally, and next to that there is primeur. It’s different, it’s fun, it tastes good and its easy to drink – but no one ever said it was a big or a sophisticated wine. It’s a novelty! But there’s nothing wrong with that. I think a big reason why it became so successful in France is because they don’t have Thanksgiving there. It’s a long slog from the end of summer vacation to Christmas, and when the cold rain and the slush and the snow fall on French cities life can seem pretty soggy and unpleasant. The arrival of the new wine in mid-November is like a little burst of sunshine, and gives everyone an excuse to belly up to a bar and toss off a glass of optimism juice – that’s all Beaujolais Nouveau is. In the States we have the Thanksgiving period to break the winter blues and the monotony between summer and Christmas. So if the French had Thanksgiving, maybe Beaujolais Nouveau wouldn’t have taken off like it did. This being said, a glass of primeur goes very nicely with turkey, so maybe the best compromise is to mix the two traditions.
In general, how does the French wine industry view Beaujolais Nouveau?
All the other wine regions are jealous of its success, and mad as hell that they can’t do the same with their own stuff.
You devote a section of the book to exploring the 2006 vintage. What did you learn?
It’s a good vintage, a very typically Beaujolais year – that is, the wine is full of fruit, a real invitation to drink a glass or two without needing to go into any deep analysis. This being said, the two recent vintages that were really extraordinary were 2003 and 2005. 2003, like 1976, was a year marked by a prolonged heat wave and drought. Wine grapes don’t usually fear the sun, but there was so much of it that the years wines were sort of grilled, but the best ones were deep and muscular. Some of the 2003 Morgons, for instance, were truly extraordinary. 2005, on the other hand, was a year in which everything went right at just the right time, a perfect balance of rain and sun that produced wines that will keep for years and years. If you can find some 2005 Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent or Fleurie at a reasonable price, snap it up and lay it down. You won’t be sorry. The best of them, from Louis Jadot or Georges Duboeuf, for instance, are every bit as good as fine Burgundies.
What does the future look like for Beaujolais Nouveau?
It will continue to be popular, I think, as long as there is rain and slush and cold days in November. People need a bit of fun to chase away the autumn blues. The nice thing about primeur is that you can drink it lightheartedly, without feeling you’re taking an exam. I’ve never understood why so many people get so solemn about wine. It’s supposed to be a pleasure, not a chore. I’ll let the snobs and the ball-breakers draw their judgments and make their speeches, but Ill still drink Beaujolais Nouveau next fall. It’s fun.
