Since the glory days of beaujolais nouveau in the 1970s and 1980s, when Britons raced to be the first back to London with a bottle each November, the light, fruity red has fallen from favour.
Regarded as cheap and unsophisticated, it has been shunned by wine buffs, who joked about its banana aftertaste and deemed it unworthy of cellaring, or laying down to age.
That is now changing, however, as French experts challenge the conventional wisdom that its aromas fade quickly and that it does not gain complexity with time.
A Beaujolais Nouveau Day wine party in London last year
JACK TAYLOR FOR THE TIMES
Le Figaro, whose wine recommendations are highly respected, has pronounced beaujolais nouveau, which goes on sale on the third Thursday of November, to be “almost a vin de garde [wine for ageing]”.
Traditionally regarded as a party wine to be drunk within weeks or, at most, a few months of harvesting, “beaujolais nouveau is now being taken seriously, thanks to climate change and the renewed ambition of its producers”, according to Le Figaro.
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Warmer summers have hit the wine region of Bordeaux hard and winemakers have struggled to maintain quality, but Beaujolais, which is north of Lyon, appears to have benefited. “It’s true that climate change is rather favourable for us,” said Robert Perroud, a winemaker in Beaujolais. “Our grapes ripen more regularly and that is felt in the wines.”
Experts say the quality of beaujolais nouveau has improved, although low rainfall last summer reduced the quantities produced.
A tasting at the Hôtel de Lassay in Paris, 1975
FRANCOIS LOCHON/GAMMA-RAPHO/GETTY IMAGES
“In France we’ve always emphasised the festive aspect of beaujolais nouveau but in the past ten or 15 years a new generation of winemakers has shown that it can be much more than a party wine,” said Gwilherm de Cerval, a wine critic and former sommelier.
De Cerval said the idée reçue that beaujolais nouveau must be drunk young because it is low in tannins and lacks the structure necessary for ageing is no longer true.
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“The industrial yeasts that produced the notorious banana flavour are being used a lot less these days and there are more small producers making really interesting wines,” he said. “I’ve laid down beaujolais nouveau and even after three years it’s delicious. I’m now experimenting and keeping it in my cellar for five or ten years and I’m convinced it’s going to be excellent.”
Virginie Labiadh, who serves beaujolais nouveau all year round in her Paris restaurant À Mi-Chemin, said: “It becomes more structured and improves with age. People think you can’t keep it, but you can.”
Judy Bray, the owner of Bray’s Wine Bar in west London, with an armful of beaujolais nouveau in November 1979
STUART NICOL/EVENING STANDARD/GETTY IMAGES
“Beaujolais Nouveau Day”, when drinkers celebrate the arrival of the wine, became popular in the 1970s thanks in no small part to Allan Hall, a Sunday Times journalist. He issued a public challenge to see who could bring back the first bottle for our sister newspaper.
Once a national event, it is now gaining renewed interest, and beaujolais nouveau may go on to win greater respect from wine buffs thanks to the authoritative endorsements in France.
Dining and Cooking