Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2002
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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."
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For over 40 years Georges Duboeuf has been the Beaujolais region's most renowned négociant and is today regarded in the wine world as the "King of Beaujolais." Born in 1933 in Pouilly-Fuissé, the son of a winegrower, Georges began selling his family's wines from the back of his bicycle to now-legendary local chefs such as Paul Bocuse and Paul Blanc. In 1964, Georges realized his dream and founded his own company: Les Vins Georges Duboeuf.
Over the years, Georges has developed long-standing relationships with the region's top growers and winemakers. Georges is involved in every aspect of his enterprise and is known for his passion and his legendary palate. In 2003, the Duboeuf family opened a new, modern winery in Romanéche-Thorins. The following year, the Duboeuf and Deutsch families jointly purchased Chateau des Capitans in Juliénas. With annual sales of 30 million bottles, Georges Duboeuf is one of the world's best-known French brands.
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
The bucolic region often identified as the southern part of Burgundy, Beaujolais actually doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the rest of the region in terms of climate, soil types and grape varieties. Beaujolais achieves its own identity with variations on style of one grape, Gamay.
Gamay was actually grown throughout all of Burgundy until 1395 when the Duke of Burgundy banished it south, making room for Pinot Noir to inhabit all of the “superior” hillsides of Burgundy proper. This was good news for Gamay as it produces a much better wine in the granitic soils of Beaujolais, compared with the limestone escarpments of the Côte d’Or.
Four styles of Beaujolais wines exist. The simplest, and one that has regrettably given the region a subpar reputation, is Beaujolais Nouveau. This is the Beaujolais wine that is made using carbonic maceration (a quick fermentation that results in sweet aromas) and is released on the third Thursday of November in the same year as harvest. It's meant to drink young and is flirty, fruity and fun. The rest of Beaujolais is where the serious wines are found. Aside from the wines simply labelled, Beaujolais, there are the Beaujolais-Villages wines, which must come from the hilly northern part of the region, and offer reasonable values with some gems among them. The superior sections are the cru vineyards coming from ten distinct communes: St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. Any cru Beajolais will have its commune name prominent on the label.