Fancy Pants Sunday: Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

It’s that time of year again. Beaujolais Nouveau, the celebratory wine traditionally released the week before Thanksgiving, awaits at Peaks and Pints. Therefore, move over craft beer, wine command’s this week’s Fancy Pants Sunday column. Fancy Pants Sunday: Beaujolais Nouveau features the vintage from Les Vins Georges Duboeuf, one of the largest and best-known wine merchants in France.

Each year, toward the end of November, many producers release a limited quantity of the current season’s wine as Beaujolais Nouveau. What is now a firmly engrained tradition began decades ago as a way of celebrating the end of the harvest. The vineyard workers would be treated to a post-harvest party, the focus of which was young, frothy wine, barely over its fermentation, served directly from vats. Today, nearly 50 percent of all grapes harvested in Beaujolais go into the production of Beaujolais Nouveau.

This year’s Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau (13%) is nice and focused, with fresh acidity binding the dark cherry and raspberry fruit, mixed with licorice drop, white pepper and herb details. It exhibits light but firm tannins.

You fancy Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau!