Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! Signaling the end of a long, labour intensive harvest season for wine growers and makers alike. This tradition dates back to the 1800s, where Beaujolais growers would gather to celebrate the end of the harvest by toasting the vintage with some of the young wine produced that year. Producers would roll their barrels down to neighboring towns at the stroke of midnight on release day, ready to fill glasses and fuel festivities well into the small hours of the morning.
Beaujolais Nouveau owes its drinkability to the process of carbonic maceration, also known as ‘whole berry maceration’, whereby the grapes are left uncrushed, and sealed in vats, in a carbon dioxide rich environment where the fermentation begins within the grape itself. This method of fermentation allows the beautiful fruit-driven aromas and flavours to develop without extracting much of the bitter, dry tannic qualities from the grape skins.
We owe the popularity of natural wine today primarily to the Beaujolais region. The non-interventionist style we represent shines in the young, fruit-forward wines of this region, where addition of too many controlling chemicals can interfere and occlude the fruit flavours. It is designed to not be taken too seriously but to be youthful, fruity, delicious and to be drunk joyfully!
