Come on, give into the hype... I picked up a bottle of the 2005 Georges Dubœuf Beaujolais Nouveau after work and am drinking it now. There's that classic Dubœuf* banana taffy aroma, but this year's vintage is surprisingly tart. I personally preferred the 2004 and 2003 over this year, and of course the Beaujolais-Villages and crus from 2003 had an amazing longevity. So not my favorite, but I'll polish off the bottle easily. One bit of advice: much better chilled than room temperature.
You see a lot of weird behavior with "Beaujolais Thursday". A few years ago at the airport my father had to deal with an unruly passenger who was devastated that he couldn't get the Beaujolais Nouveau in the airport during his hour layover, and was demanding that an airline employee go forth and fetch him a bottle. Then there are those that refuse to touch the stuff. Others stock up and serve it by the gallon at Thanksgiving (and along with riesling, it's not a bad choice for the wide range of flavors and ingredients found in the average Thanksgiving dinner). Then there are those aficianados who refuse to drink it the first day, but wait until Saturday to avoid bottle shock and then keep a few bottles to try monthly until summer rolls around. Those in the last category will hunt out those offerings from producers other than Georges Dubœuf. I'm not one of those, but I am partial to Louis Jadot, and look forward to trying his Beaujolais this weekend at a tasting.
As for me, I like to throw back a bottle the first day it's available. Even if it's not fantastic, I'm getting to take part in a global wine drinking celebration. We've got Champagne on New Year's Eve and beer on St. Patrick's Day, but this is our only real wine holiday. Yes, there are Jewish holidays that often include wine, and I suppose traditional Sunday communion is technically a mass wine drinking experience (ha ha), but when else are you assured that millions of other wine drinkers are quaffing on the same day?
*How many bloggers and websites will bother to show the œ dipthong properly? Granted, it will probably limit the links I get from Google, but as a former typesetter I just love to use such characters.
2 comments:
Benito! Sally's little Abby here. You are so right to get a rise out of your dipthong (ooh la la!) Things are so rarely printed as they should be: the blog universe is especially guilty of horrendous crimes against diction (internet IS the demise of type...) This is my first visit, and I see myself returning often to enjoy your love's labor- perhaps tasting along with you from Brooklyn. I haven't yet had this year's offering, but I'm inspired to get to the bottle shop tonight in hopes of finding a Villages '03- a forgotten favorite I've not had since last Fall. Indebted and truly engaged darling!
Abby--thanks for reading, and I'm certain we'll get a chance to split a bottle with your sister sometime in the future.
If you want to see something really wacky with attention to type, I once wrote up a movie review of The Battleship Potemkin and laboriously transcribed original Russian name thusly: Броненосец Потёмкин, each letter requiring a four digit code. Fortunately I've memorized most of the three digit codes I need for wine names...
If you're interested in wines from nearby, Lenn has a great blog that focuses on the Long Island wine industry.
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