It's time once again for the release of the old Bojo Novo... I've enjoyed it in the past as a fun seasonal ritual but this year was a little different. 2008 Georges Dubœuf Beaujolais Nouveau. A whopping $17, 12% abv. I'm not sure how or why this got as expensive as it did, but it's a sad state of affairs when you can get better Cru Beaujolais for less than the Nouveau. If this stuff tops $20 I might give up on it, tradition be damned--I can get drinkable Bordeaux cheaper than this. Familiar aromas of strawberry and banana, that groovy magenta-purple color, and a finish so short it's easy to forget what you're drinking. This year is really tart, like the 2005 vintage.
Looking back over my notes I see that I'm building a vertical history of Dubœuf Beaujolais Nouveau. I really enjoy seeing how the same wine changes with different trips around the sun, but I almost never get the opportunity. As you may have noticed from reading this blog, I rarely drink the same wine twice. When I do it's for a dinner party where I want a very specific flavor or mouthfeel, or in a restaurant when there's not much interesting on the wine list. The rest of the time I'm indulging my palate's short attention span and jumping from grape to grape, country to country, and producer to producer.
Enjoy Black Friday, go out there and stimulate the economy. Thanksgiving recaps and other curiosities will be here on Monday.
7 comments:
No kidding on the Nouveau pricing this year right?! Kind of takes that, "Fun little festive wine" card right of the table. When I started getting my pre-offer sheets for them this year I made a drastic change in our Noveau program, I used to bring in 10 or 11 producers and 10 cases of each...this year I brought in 6 producers and 5 cases of each and an importer friend of mine just skipped the Nouveau from his Beaujolais producer this year...crazy.
The Georges Duboeuf you wrote up was a touch cheaper here in SoCal, reatil $14.99 but still a bit much when we have some Village and Cru wines that retail for either less or the same. The weak dollar, (when the orders where placed) and fuel prices just took its toll this year...will be interesting to see what happens next year as the buzz in the business is that many people passed this year or like me cut their orders in half.
Now I tasted through all the Nouveau we brought in and gotta say, just not my cup of tea but they never really have been, something about the aromatics.....reminds me of vineager and bananas, but I always taste them for traditions sake. Truth be told it took years, (and my recent Kermit Lynch buying trip) to "get" Gamay so who knows maybe some day I will love it.
Looking forward to reading about your Thanksgiving!
Could not agree more, tart and not that much to write about. And at $18.00 are you kidding me. I happened to be in a store when it arrived and got to taste it, if I had bought it I would have been very disappointed for sure. Looking forward to the Thanksgiving wrap up. I am sure you and your dad cooked something up wonderful,and more than likely a little scotch was involved!!
Talk to you soon
Samantha,
Thanks for the industry perspective. I'm not a cheapskate, and will happily pay for good wine, but writers like Dr. Debs focus on a Quality Price Ratio that's increasingly important in this economy. Spending $10 on a terrible wine is a waste; spending $50 on a spectacular wine can create memories that will last for a lifetime.
I get a little defensive of my odder wine loves (dry rosé, Cru Beaujolais, and Sardinian grapes), and hate it when an entire appellation can get a bad reputation because of one popular product.
Oddly I fell in love with the Gamay grape thanks to California, not France. Dad used to get mixed cases from V. Sattui around Christmas, and I was a huge fan of their Gamay Rouge back in high school. (Yes, I know it's Valdiguié and it's not the same thing as real Gamay, but the flavor profile is similar and if it took DNA testing to determine the difference, then it's not that big.)
Mike,
Glad I wasn't the only one who thought it was tart. I've preferred the smoother vintages.
No Scotch this Thanksgiving, though I gave Dad a bottle of the 10 Year Balvenie for his birthday. Lots of Port and cigars after dinner, though. :)
Looking forward to the posts on Thanksgiving. I will not let the cat out of the bag, but your lamb was the best I have ever eaten.
Thanks for the Scotch, I can hear the pipes just by holding the bottle.
I agree with all of you. The price is just foolish. We decided not to buy any BeaujNouv because of the price & instead brought in another wine in its place, the Novy Family Winery Four Mile Creek 2007. Its made from a blend of syrah, zin, pinot noir & a couple of other grapes that were bled off some of their single vineyard barrels. Its a perfect substitute for the way too expensive BN, & actually a more interesting, tasty wine. Easier to swallow the price too at $11.99. They only made 100 cases of this & I've been told they aren't making anymore next year so get it while you can. Happy Holidays everyone!
well, this is the first time trying this wine, and i am in heaven right now. i don't usually like red wine, but this is nice. so, i figured it must be expensive. only to find out costco has it for $7.99 a bottle. someone gave it to us, and at first i thought i was just a cheap date, but after reading the posts here, i see it is indeed worthy of the higher price tag. i'm going to costco tomorrow to stock up for the rest of the holidays. cheers.
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