Beaujolais Nouveau 2009
I will be in Paris on November 19 and would like advice on the best way to celebrate the arrival of the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau. Since this is a "significant" birthday, I was considering lunch at Le Cinq, followed by a nap and a late dinner. If this seems like a sound plan, I would appreciate any thoughts on suitable restaurants in or near the 7th. Or, would it be better to wait until Friday to enjoy the first wine of the new vintage?
By Lauterman
on Oct 20, 2009 09:16 AM
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You can also skip the Beaujolais Nouveau altogether, most of it is average at best.
That's unfortunate because there are great Beaujolais wines, but the reputation of the Beaujolais nouveau reflects badly upon them.
I'm not sure how Le Cinq and Beaujolais Nouveau connect... they have so much more interesting things in their cellar!
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Sorry - I was unclear. The two are not related. Lunch at Le Cinq will be the highlight of the day - with wines from their cellar.
I was more interested in the "experience" of Beaujolais Nouveau arrival than the wines themselves. Perhaps this is one of those events where the hype exceeds the reality.
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Sorry, I misread your post.
I really think there is nothing great about Beaujolais nouveau. If you want to try some "for fun", by all means, do, but don't expect anything great out of it.
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I had a great time last year when I went -- I went by myself (short trip which I timed to coincide with the wine event just for a bit of fun) and definitely enjoyed the sociable atmosphere in the cafes. I speak French conversationally (not beautifully, but sociably, particularly after a bit of wine!) and had a lot of fun chatting with cheerful locals.
The most entertaining wine bar had spread the floor with a layer of straw ("that's nothing!" said the host, "last year we had a piglet in here!") so as to appear "rustique" and was providing a spread of foods local to the Beaujolais region to accompany the wine. I bought a glass and stood around, doing a bit of people-watching. I was very impressed by the comraderie and generosity -- many people began buying bottles and freely sharing them with those nearby -- including sharing with me, a complete stranger and foreigner with a haphazard grasp of the language! Within a short while I was having a great chat with two gay firemen who worked in the neighbourhood. Absolutely a memorable evening -- one of the nicest times I've had in Paris.
I believe I was at this wine bar for the festivities:
http://www.fra.cityvox.fr/bars-et-boi...
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I would suggest two places. First "Le Rubis" (10 rue Marché St-Honoré) it is very traditional and the owner is from Beaujolais, so after sampling the Nouveau you can work through the good wines from the ten Beaujolais Villages which he usually has by the glass. There are barrels on the street to stand around so it can be nice in the early evening - I think it closes at 9:00.
Another thought is the wine bar "Fish" in rue de Seine. They usually get a really good Nouveau (no not an oxymoron they do exist) from an independent producer who makes good wines. It is interesting to see what Nouveau can be, unfortunately the marketing hype did take over in the mainstream, and most Nouveau isn't worth the effort.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I had planned to eat at Fish on Sunday night upon our arrival in Paris, but based on your recommendation may now consider it for Thursday night. We ate there on our first (and second - long story for another time) trips to Paris and enjoyed the food and wine very much.
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La Dernière Goutte (same owners as Fish) have 3 "nouveaux" wines this year: 2 Beaujolais and one Touraine.
The Touraine, I didn't like much, but organic wines extremists will probably enjoy it. The Beaujolais from Foillard was really good, but the real surprise came from Vissoux "Les Vieilles Vignes". It doesn't have the fruity aromas usually associated with Beaujolais Nouveau, and was much closer to the "real" Beaujolais wines, excellent! It's also the one they serve at Fish (and Cosi).
The other Vissoux BN I tasted (Les Griottes) was more typical, less interesting, but still good.
Overall, after having tasted 7 2009 wines today, I can only agree that 2009 looks (tastes!) like an wonderful vintage.
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So far, the best Beaujolais Nouveau I have tasted was at Le Rubis, poured from an unlabled bottle. It's also a fine place for a lite snack in the afternoon. They serve mostly locals and nearby office workers; some language proficiency would be helpful.
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During my visit to Lyon last year, I took a winery tour to the Beaujolais region. I was surprised to hear from the tour guide that the good Beaujolais wines stay in France whereas the not-so-good ones get shipped to America!
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A la Biche au Bois usually has the BN and of course their gently-priced game menu which combo I like, despite the fact that BN is indeed quite ordinary if not banal, but I too am a sucker for the hype every year.
John Talbott
http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/
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I don't like beaujolais nouveau either but I quite like the atmosphere of the city tonight. Huge crowds spill out from all the cafés and wine bars onto the narrow streets.
Went to the tasting (of all kinds of wines but not of beaujolais) at Spring's new épicerie. Daniel and Marie-Aude dressed up in "worker blue" épicerier work clothes. Too funny. They served a mean hot dog with boudin blanc aux morilles - with, what else, confits d'oignons, which is what hot dog relish should taste like but never does. Just staggered home.
Believe me: Hot dog + Bourgue(u?)il, that's the ticket.
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We just returned from our week in Paris (will post full report soon). We ended up in a small cafe on rue Cler before dinner for a few glasses of the nouveau and a small dish of olives. Based on our rating scale, the wine received our lowest acceptable rating of "didn't suck". We decided the French must keep all of the good stuff (wine, cheese, etc) for themselves. Much better than the Georges Duboeuf we get back home. Had another couple of glasses before dinner just outside the Centre Pompidou on Friday night before dinner at Le Gaigne. The waiter was delighted with our choice and said that he had been out until past 3 the night before celebrating the new arrival.
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