| Do you know what day it is? | |
Why of course...3rd Thursday in November is...
Beaujolais Nouveau Day!
We knew the Rodet family could help us buck the trend - not that Mr. DeBoeuf's wines aren't good but we have a new better than average, less popular but more wonderful tasting Beaujolais this year!
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| Beaujolais Fun Factoids | |
Did you know that...
...At the Hot Springs Spa Resort in Hakone, near Tokyo, Japan there's a Beaujolais Nouveau bathing pool for it's visitors...no, I'm not kidding.
...All across the United States and France, restaurants throw huge Beaujolais Nouveau parties on the 3rd Thursday of Novmber for the release. Check out the happenings in Chicago this year at this site (oh and again so you know we're not kidding...there's a picture on this site of the hot tub in Japan)
- Besides the parties, crazy Japanese wine baths and all the hype, Beaujolais Nouveau is controversial.
- Originally, it was just a village wine. In fact, it wasn't until WWII that it gained any popularity what so ever. It wasn't even an option in the U.S. until the mid 1980s.
- The release was traditionally done in mid December, according to the French AOC rules. That date was later pushed to November for more immediate consumption and sell-ability.
- Georges DuBoeuf (the aforementioned average, popular stuff) was instrumental in the initial marketing of Beaujolais Nouveau. He saw potential in turning a wine for profit in such a short time after harvest. Many followed suit, and now the release of the wine is one of the biggest selling phenomenons in the wine world.
Controversial? Yes. Do we care? Not really. We just like good wine. We decided this year that we wouldn't allow an average Beaujolais Nouveau through our door. So, we got a good one! and it's at a good price too. We know, you can say it...we love you too.
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| Antonin Rodet Beaujolais Nouveau, 2010 | |
Antonin Rodet was founded in the late 1800's by Antoine Rodet, and brought to it's legendary status by Antoine's son, Antonin Rodet. Consistently, Rodet wines bring passion, balance and finesse to the table while still being interesting and worth talking about. (We have thier stellar Chablis in stock too!)
The 2010 release of Beaujolais Nouveau is no different. The harvest was small, but high quality, due to a cool spring. Harvest was completed on September 25th. It was very sunny, adding concentration to the fruit. The color is great this year and the juice is showing loads of fresh and vibrant fruit.
We just got done tasting it with the staff and we detected a beautiful color, excellent green apple Jolly Rancher tendencies on the nose and then followed by a decent mouth full of bright but not harsh cherry berry. Thankfully there was not one hint toward cotton candy or circus peanuts. Even Amy would drink it and if you know Amy, Beaujolais Nouveau ain't her cup'o'tea.
All in all, it's an impressive year and the Rodet will make for a great wine for Thanksgiving sipping at the table with family and friends.
$11
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