In all of recorded history has there ever been invented a more effective two-edged sword than Beaujolais Nouveau? Beaujolais’ image was plumped up into the stratosphere while its reputation had the legs cuts from under it. The result was that, yes, the whole wide world got to know of a wine called Beaujolais – while also learning that it was cheerful quaffing plonk and no more. And sometimes not that cheerful either.

The tradition of drinking just-fermented wine exists in a number of wine regions, and a delightful one it is too. In Austria the barely made wine is called sturm and is served with roasted chestnuts and will often have an appealing prickle of CO2 and a sweet edge of unfermented sugar in the mix. The Beaujolais region, lying just to the north of Lyon, has traditionally sent a deluge of nouveau wine into the city’s casual restaurants, called bouchons, every November. Things changed during the 1970s and ‘80s when the potential for a worldwide marketing campaign began to be exploited.

But the wine had to be stabilised for transportation, losing much of its ‘zing’ in the process and turning into “an industrial product made by chemists,” according to noted British wine writer Andrew Jefford. After that it was but a short step into the cheap ‘n’ cheerful pigeonhole from which escape is proving to be a tedious and long-drawn-out process. But there is such a thing as good Beaujolais, a valid wine of great appeal from producers such as Vissoux, Lapierre and Duboeuf’s cru bottlings.

The release date for the other stuff is upon us again and, while the excessive ballyhoo of previous decades has died down, there is still far too much fuss and bother made of this hollow shell of a marketing exercise. Put a little time and effort into seeking out a decent drop and you won’t be disappointed.

Tags: Beaujolais