Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2002

In the third week of every November is one of the most fun, exuberant and anticipated events in the whole wine world: at one minute past midnight on Thursday the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau become available!

It has become a worldwide race to be the first to serve to this new wine of the harvest. In doing so, it will be carried by motorcycle, balloon, truck, helicopter, Concorde jet, elephant, runners and rickshaws to get it to its final destination. It is amazing to realize that just weeks before this wine was a cluster of grapes in a growers vineyard. But by an expeditious harvest, a rapid fermentation, and a speedy bottling, all is ready at the midnight hour.

2002 Beaujolais Nouveau is here! This is the perfect Turkey Day wine. Easy to drink and gushing copious amounts of delicious fruit. This, coupled with the fact that it tastes best when chilled, makes for a festive wine to be gulped rather than sipped, enjoyed in high spirits rather than critiqued.

The first important characteristic of the 2002 vintage is its beautiful color—revealing intense reds from violet-tinged ruby to bold garnet. The second is its complex aromas of red and black berries, of flowers such as violets or wilted rose. Some samples evoke vanilla-like or even roasted scents, as though the wine had spent several weeks in wood. "What's certain is that this 2002 vintage has much to offer and is endowed with a well-defined structure," says Georges Duboeuf. "It has an excellent qualitative potential, which is already evident where Beaujolais Nouveau is concerned. These are generous, tasty, fruity wines, full of charm, which after a few months of aging will also offer very promising Beaujolais-Villages and Beaujolais crus." Franck Duboeuf, who works side by side with his father, Georges, is enthusiastic about their 2002 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau. "This year, the colors are absolutely beautiful. This violet-red Beaujolais brings to the nose aromas of ripe strawberries and raspberries. It is robust, structured and well balanced. On the palate it will bring you all the pleasures, charm and fruit of a light, tender, fleshy and tantalizing wine. It is a wine that is full of cheer—a cornucopia of tasty and delicious sensations. I know it will make many friends."