A fun year for Beaujolais

By Chris Sherman, Times Staff Writer
Published November 15, 2007

After a quickie midday tasting through the 2007 Beaujolais nouveau I can pronounce the latest vintage fun.

Fun as in not too serious, light-hearted and ready to party for the holidays. The young wine has arrived and everyone is having a good time, not the blast of 2005, but more fun than last year. After a dicey summer, that is an accomplishment.

Sampling a half-dozen of the first wines of the year, I found them easy to drink and most with Jujube aromas and flavors from cherry to banana.

The 2007 nouveau is just that, simple, good chilled, and perfect for Thanksgiving or ham sandwiches to hamburgers. Indeed at Tastings in St. Petersburg, I put the nouveau up against salami crusted in pepper, Gorgonzola and a soft Wensleydale cheese with pear and apricots.

My chase for the new Beaujolais on its first day was not as exciting as waiters rolling barrels down French cobblestones, but it had madcap moments. I was only 15 minutes behind the delivery trucks at one store and helped open the cartons at another, yet within three stops from my office I had tasted six labels of nouveau. Prices range from $8 to $15 this year.

Here's what I found:

Georges Duboeuf 2007

Surprisingly good stuff from King Georges the Ubiquitous. Good color with strong floral bouquet, sweet fruit and enough pepper in the back to stand up to turkey and stuffing. This year all hail the benevolent despot.

Label: Impressionist splashes of color edged in royal gilt.

Dupueble 2007

The artisan nouveau has all the fruit, plummy, rich color and a strong dash of pepper. Priciest of the bunch at $15, but a grand treat for a holiday meal.

Label: Script in plain white, as clean and elegant as a bespoke suit.

Drouhin 2007

Life is a bowl of cherries with this nouveau. Clean, sleek and pure fruit flavor

Label: Bright red cherries up front.

Bouchard 2007

Lightest of the bunch, not that there's anything wrong with that. It is perfect for the Florida fridge, bright, light body with ample berries and violet overtones.

Label: Cartoon dancers from Marseille or The Triplets of Belleville.

Mommessin 2007

Lively nouveau with floral bouquet, cherries, bananas and bubble gum, with an easy finish in this of two grades of Mommessin. Both sport screw tops.

Mommessin 2007 (Beaujolais-Villages)

This nouveau is made with first pressing of grapes from the region's best vineyards and cost a buck or two more, but it's an obvious step up. Bigger bouquet, rich taste and texture.

Labels: Jane Jetson follows the nouveau to Moscow, Tokyo and Paris in a trio of images.

[Last modified November 15, 2007, 18:03:42]