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Beaujolais Nouveau Day, drink Natural

Beaujolais Nouveau Day, drink Natural

The third Thursday of November marks the official release of the year's Beaujolais Nouveau. Typically harvested in September, the wine undergo fermentation and after few weeks left to settle, it is bottled and sent around the World, for people to celebrate and get a glimpse of what the year's vintage is like.

For the last 10 years, Le Caveau has focused in bringing those 'New Wave' or 'Natural' Nouveau, made by producers who work their land the organic way and most importantly, do not add anything to their wines. 

When you open a bottle of Nouveau by Jean Foillard, Rémi Dufaître or Jean-Claude Lapalu (amongst others), what you get is simply what's described above, pure Gamay juice, spontaneously fermented, settled and bottled without additives. They are the polar opposite of mass-produced Nouveau, in their appearance, taste and the philosophy behind it.

Parties and events around these Natural Nouveau are organised around the World, Paris 11th arrondissement being the epicentre. Ireland's wine bars, wine shops, restaurant and bars scene will be very active today and this evening.

If you want to see for yourself, what the fuss is all about, make your way to any of the venues listed below, and grab a glass or a bottle!

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day!

Green Man Wines
L'Atitude 51
Loose Canon
Station to Station
Baggot Street
Le Caveau 
Brindle
Blackrock cellars
Paradiso
Ventry Post Office
Cass and Co
Frank's
Ballymaloe House
Nash 19
Savoir Faire
Rift Coffee Limerick
Saint-Francis Kinsale 
Universal Galway
Glass Curtain
Nell's Cork 
McGuinness Dundalk 
Ard Bia Galway
Good Day Deli
World Wide Wines
Fallon Byrne Wine store
Trinity Cellars
the Wine Pair
Lennox Street Café
Bridge Bar Restaurant
Cheese Press Ennystimon
Kalbos Skibbereen 
Pop up Wine Shop Grain Store Ballymaloe
O'Driscoll, Ballintemple
Curran Retailer Galway
Dodi Café Lahinch
Lilith Wines
Pete's Provisions 
11 Deli 
Allottment wines
Nude Wine Co.
Mardagh Howth
Sweeney's D3 
NOTE Wine Bar
Whelehan's Wines 
The Fumbally 
AVOCA Rahtcoole 
AVOCA Ballsbridge 
AVOCA Monkstown 
AVOCA Malahide 
Mitchell's Glasthule 
Mitchell's CHQ
Drink stores Stonybatter
The Corkscrew
Thai House Dalkey
Dooks Fethard 
Greenwich Cork 
Bradley's Cork 
Mc Curtain Cellars 
Manning's Ballylickey 
WunderKaffee Cork 
Pilgrims Rosscarberry 
The Lane Cheese & Wine Galway 
Mosaic Ballydehob 
Luna Killarney 
51 Cornmarket Cork 
Fota Island Resort 
Lignum Galway
Stranfield house

 

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Beaujolais Nouveau, il est la!

Beaujolais Nouveau 2013

Like many people, I suppose, I had long been dismissive about the wines of Beaujolais. That was until I tasted Jean Foillard’s magnificent Morgon Côte du Py a few years ago...It completely changed my perspective on the possibilities for honest, authentic and even fine wines from this region. Foillard may be one of the avant-garde, but there are other, perhaps less vaunted, producers who are producing Gamay that, without the artifices of excessive intervention in both the vineyard and the cellar, are alive with juicy freshness and a real joie de vivre.

 Gilles and Cècile Roux and Didier Desvignes are but two of these producers and their wines have been especially blessed by several exceptionally good recent vintages. I am looking forward to tasting the 2013, which by all accounts, has been made by glorious September weather. We have ordered a small quantity of their Beaujolais Nouveau which gives us a fun excuse to pre-taste the new vintage! As I say, quantities are quite small, so don't delay!

Claire O'Boyle-Gallagher, Le Caveau

Gilles et Cécile Roux, Domaine de la Plaigne - Beaujolais Villages Nouveau 2013

A chance to get an insight into the 2013 vintage from Gilles and Cécile Roux, who are based in Regnié-Durette. Cécile Roux, just this week told us that they were happy with how the vintage went with a glorious unbroken run of sunshine in September resulting in fully ripe grapes. The fermentation cellar, she said, has been heady with the aromas of sweet red fruits and that unmistakeable smell of newly fermented grape juice and smells heavenly!

Didier Desvignes, Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 'Nature' 2013 Organic viticulture, wild yeasts only (and certainly no 71B!), no chaptalisation, no added sulphur Didier Desvignes is one of a number of small, artisan growers whose dynamism and vision are driving the new quality focus of Beaujolais wines. The best producers of this region are now producing some of the most delicious, food-friendly and under-priced wines in France- no 'goût de banane' here! These light-bodied wines have crunchy raspberry and sour-cherry fruit flavours, soft tannins and fresh acidity. This kind of structure means that they can be drunk slightly cool and complement a wide variety of foods: white or red  meats, charcuterie, soft cheeses.
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