It's Nouveau Day

[David M. Bueker]

Not that I like drinking it, but I may at least grab a bottle of normal Beaujolais.

[Robin Garr]

It's funny how it just about passes without notice these days. But yes, if I can pick up one of Kermit's bottles or some small producer, I'll definitely try one.

[David M. Bueker]

Division apparently does a Nouveau, but I have their regular Gamays, so am not going to have nouveau shipped cross country.

Used to buy Nouveau for Turkey Day. Before I became a geek. It was good enough to take to the neighbors at that time. They graciously invited us for dinner many years....

Later, though, we began to take better juice. They liked the domestic Paso Zins better than Nouveau. Worked for us.

They moved years ago. This year it will be just the two of us. And good vino. To be determined.

[Jenise]

In the spirit last night, I popped a 2018 Frédéric Berne Beaujolais-Villages Lantignié Granit Rosé Gamay. I did not care for the two bottles we opened about a year ago, but I wouldn't care for Nouveaux either so it sounded like even-steven. But what a change in one year. A chubby, saturated fruitbomb adolescent has unexpectedly grown into a trim young man. I honestly thought it would be a throwaway, but now with tamed fruit and abundant minerality, it's a keeper. And we drank the whole bottle.

The New Hampshire State Liquor Stores currently have 2019 Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau in the discount bin. I haven't tried Duboeuf Beaujolais in years. Does it still have the banana problem?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

My understanding is that's no longer the case. BUT, there are certainly better Nouveaus. If can find a Foillard, jump on it.

[Robin Garr]

Does it still have the banana problem?

They eliminated the banana problem (an issue of yeast character in a specific strain) in the early first decade of the new century, as I recall. So yes, it's been a while. As Jenise implies, it's industrially produced in tank car lots, not artisanally made in small quantities. If you can taste artisanal - and I think you can - than steer clear. But I certainly wouldn't pour DuBoeouf Nouveau out of my glass these days. In the banana days it was DNPIM.