2010 Beaujolais Nouveau is here
Look for hints of red fruit as the Beaujolais Nouveau arrives fresh from the vines
THE 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé and the first bottles were opened at €25 a pop in Japan while most of France was still asleep.
Almost 40 million bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau will be drunk in the next three weeks in a welcome respite from the troubles of the wine industry that have seen 1,400 vineyards close down in the past 10 years.
Corks popped around the world just after midnight as the fruity new-harvested wine was sampled by millions: with six million bottles going to Japan alone amongst 110 countries.
Bertrand Chatelet, head of Sicarex research institute for the study of Beaujolais wines, describes the 2010 wine as “very aromatic with strong hints of wild strawberries, raspberries and redcurrants”.
That augurs well for this year after an excellent 2009 vintage but the sour reputation of previous years’ new wines has been accused of tainting the rest of the industry in Beaujolais.
Now vintners are launching a new advertising campaign focusing on wine that you can lay down and drink in years to come vins de garde.
Inter Beaujolais president Dominique Capart said the problem was of their own making: “We have strained the vines for Beaujolais nouveau but our challenge is to continue to produce quality wines that can be laid down.”
Photo www.beaujolais.com
