Whether white, rosé, orange or red, the “new” has always existed. However, it will free itself from the shadow of the vats to have fun in the light in 1951, when the Beaujolais Wine Union asked the administrations to be able to sell the wines of the appellation as a primeur, before the date of the December 15 of that same year. It was not until 1985 to officially celebrate, on the third Thursday in November, the arrival of the rascal perking up.
While it is not in itself an appellation in its own right, Beaujolais Nouveau still inspires other winegrowers, who are already struggling at the idea of locking a few liters of their very last baby, just to take the pulse. of the last harvest and to turn on lights on winter days short-circuited by the seasonal voltage. This is exactly what the To have to, on this third Thursday in November, around twenty Quebec winegrowers gathered for the best and for laughs around literally explosive fruity bottles.
A relevant idea
Is new Québec wine on the way to being elevated to the level of a national tradition, like maple syrup? The idea is relevant. Not only would an early marketing of early juices help to delight the palate with vintages released during the year, but it would also be a formidable media lubricant to promote local production. The people of Beaujolais did it, why couldn’t we take over here with an original qualitative offer?
Among the sixty samples tasted, the “new” of the 2021 promotion all had a smile on their faces, with these carbonic and fruity twists worthy of the best early wines.
Yes, our hybrids, whether Saint-Pépin, marquette, pionnier, petite perle, vidal, pinot noir, chardonnay or pinot gris, competed in expression by offering “juices” of character. , often freed from the imprint of these excessive yeasts which sometimes level the wines too much.
Favorites? Élizabeth Steppan’s Saint-Pépin (Rivière du Chêne), Geneviève Thisdel’s “carbonic” marquette (Des Bacchantes), Martin and Mathias’ little pearl, crisp like a juvenile gamay (Le Grand Saint-Charles), the marquette from the Cortellino vineyard, impetuous and colorful like a Montepulciano d’Abbruzo, the solid black frontenac from Côtes de Vaudreuil or the rich and lively white frontenac from Domaine La Bauge.
A mention for the Marie-Rose cuvée from André Lauzon (Vignoble Les Vent d’Anges), the energetic, sapid and precise vidal from Mathieu Beauchemin (Nival), the astonishing pinot noir rosé from Zak Hall (Domaine L’Espiègle) or Louis Denault’s pinot gris, with a frank and cheerful taste of pink grapefruit (Vignoble Ste-Pétronille). Moreover, the current president of the Conseil des vins du Québec, Louis Denault, was proud of the event. “I am happy that our activity this evening can be our winegrowers’ festival in this good vintage, but also allow us to come together to exchange and compare styles, methods and grape varieties. “
See you in November 2022!