2010 Pierre Chermette Beaujolais Primeur

This one was $13 and struck me as quite respectable in the shop.

Something about this nose reminds me of bratwurst. I can't explain it. Sage? Beyond that, raspberry infused black tea on the nose.

Heavier than one may expect, one may even think this is a light Pinot Noir by feel. Cherry, raspberry leaf, dirt, black tea, reasonably balanced acid in an almost citrusy kinda way...not bad at all.

Cherry and black raspberry on the finish with just the faintest bit of mint, almost a cough syrup thing, with a vague garbagey thing, a slight taste of 'decay' if you will.

Easily the winner of the three BN's I bought, no noticeable flaws, but a wine of this quality for $13? Pass.

Score: 82

2010 Chateau Cambon Beaujolais Nouveau

At $14 this was the priciest Beaujolais Nouveau in the store....during the tasting, it seemed to be the most interesting one overall (I did not know prices, for whatever that's worth).

The nose here is subtle....a bit of chocolate, a bit of peanut butter, a bit of banana, and a bit of turpentine....I imagine this is what Elvis smelled like in the later years.

Cherry kijafa...I've never had cherry kijafa straight, but I've had it in crepes and this is it...there's something that tastes vaguely off, as if the cherry kijafa sauce was good, but the crepes have been sitting around for a few weeks.

Cherries on the finish but as it fades, some of that sad rotten banana comes through and that is something I just can't get behind.

Of the three, this is in the middle - there are some unpleasant qualities, but they're relatively subtle and don't necessarily "ruin" the wine...I'm being generous aren't I?

Score: 76

2010 Domaine Dupeuble Pere et Fils Beaujolais Nouveau

This ran me $13 and has been relatively reliable in the past....at the very least, the label is fairly classy.

That banana thing...actually, you know, this totally hits me of strawberry banana yogurt.

Smokey - almost to a point of strangeness, liquid smoke blended with banana and a bit of artificial strawberry.

Yep, strawberry banana on the finish.

Disappointing. Even more so because at the shop this one struck me as the best tasting and most interesting of all the Beaujolais Nouveaus...the smokiness got to me I guess.

Score: 71

2009 Rendez Vous Beaujolais Nouveau

Seven bucks, Trader Joe's, a new label, and the wife was picking up the tab – sold.

Bubblegum and a hint of banana on the nose.

Bubblegum, strawberry, earth, and right on the back palate some banana comes through, though somewhat mildly. Quite acidic, but not so much it demands food, and light enough in body to be a fine complement to simple fare.

The finish lingers for a few seconds and is exactly what you get on the palate, but it fades quick.

Not nearly the mess of Duboeuf, but also not quite as good as the Pierre Chermette. That being said, it's less than half the price of Chermette (and cheaper than Duboeuf - or any producer of recent vintage - I might add), so if you want a 2009 BN – this is going to be my top recommendation.

Wine: 5.5
Value: Yep

2009 George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

The annual tradition continues – I buy one BN and feel the need to buy another...why? I don't know. I suppose this year I enjoyed the Pierre Chermette so much that when I saw this for nine bucks I decided it would be worth a gamble. Right? Oh boy...

Immediately after popping, the scent of rotten bananas floated my way. The nose is somewhere between a banana gum or even a banana ice cream.

As it hits the palate, it's not bad – a bit of tart cherry and even a bit of root beer seems to come through, but after a few seconds, the thing we call the mid-palate, we hit this awful wall with a weird, funky mix of rotten banana and low quality cough drops.

Banana – and I do mean rotten, funky, unpleasant banana – on the finish.

Not good, my friends, not good at all.

Wine: 4
Value: No

2009 Pierre Chermette Beaujolais Primeur

Ah, yes – the third Thursday of November. Here's the tradition – I say “I'm not falling for this again, no Beaujolais Nouveau, thank you sir” and I leave it at that. Then the e-mails start coming in from the various wine shops. Eventually, I create an excuse to hit up Binny's (today's excuse was the Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus) and: “Oh, gee, look, $15? SOLD! That's totally fair!” I opted to skip the eight dollar George Duboeuf and go for something a bit more exciting.

A bit of bubble gum on the nose and perhaps some apple candy. There's some funk, but no banana...hmmm....

Light, tart, crisp, easy drinking – I'll be good goddamned, this is like a very light Pinot Noir. Cherry, bubble gum, even cola shines through. This is well worth serving at Thanksgiving – plenty of mouthwatering acidity, some interesting funk, but none of the vile qualities you some frequently find.

A bit, just a bit, of banana comes through on the finish, but so little I can forgive it. More bubble gum, sort of like cherry Bubblicious.

The 2009 Beaujolais (Villages and Cru and all those) may be quite promising with this wine being as thoroughly enjoyable as it is. When the various retail outlets start heavily marking these down in January, I hope to snag as many varieties as I can to compare but for now I'm actually pleased I jumped on this. Don't get me wrong - you won't confuse this with a "good" wine, but for what it is, it more than succeeds. Kudos to the cheese eating surrender monkeys.

Wine: 6.5
Value: I give this one a go, as long as you know what you're getting yourself into.

2008 Domaine Dupeuble Pere et Fils Beaujolais Nouveau

Here's the new annual ritual for your friends at The Wineauxs – a few days before Beaujolais Nouveau I hear about it and say to myself “nah, not this year” - then the day comes, I'm driving by the wine shop, I say to myself “nope, not this year.” My car magically goes into the parking lot and I, like out of a Romero movie, get out of the car and buy a bottle. This was $13 which made it only slightly more expensive than others.

Bubble gum and banana on the nose.

Grape stems, tart cherry, reasonable tannic structure, banana, a slight bit of cola, chocolate, and earth, with a hint of strawberry.

Some banana comes through on the finish.

Yet again – lots of sediment here so keep the bottle upright for about day and pour it slowly.

BN used to be fun, but now that every single bottle I saw was over ten bones, there's really no way to justify playing this game anymore.. If you feel compelled to buy Beaujolais Nouveau, this is probably your best bet, but if you're looking for a decent wine or something to with Thanksgiving, I'd say look elsewhere.

Wine: 5.5
QPR: 5

2007 Domaine Dupeuble Pere et Fils Beaujolais Nouveau

This is one of the more expensive BN's out there - $15, but thanks to the clearance sale it only ran me $5.

Raspberry, cherry, earth, and a fair amount of banana on the nose.

If you're the type who smirks and thinks us wine fans cannot possibly “taste” dirt in a wine – I invite you to buy a bottle of this. This is a dirty bottle. Banana, berry, earth, surprisingly bold tannins, and enough zing to give it a solid balance.

No finish – if there is it fades in seconds.

I'd be curious to see if a higher quality BN exists – if so, I have yet to try it. Now – that being said – for what it is, it's good, but BN has an inherent ceiling in terms of quality.

A word of warning – this bottle has a LOT of sediment. If you want to try this one, keep it upright for at least a day or two and pour it very slowly (or decant it).

2007 Chateau Cambon Beaujolais Nouveau

Another one that was originally $11 (or so) and knocked down to $5.

A funky nose. Grape stems and earth..

Ouch. Grape stem – really, the bulk of the flavor here tastes like you ate a bunch of grapes and then put the leftover stem and started chewing. Not pleasant. I'm getting touches of herbs – oregano and mint – and perhaps some plum.

Rotten grape. Barnyard, and more stem on the finish. There's an acidic harshness that's really off putting.

Well, I'm glad it was only $5. The rest of the bottle is going down the drain.

2007 Bouchard Ainé et Fils Beaujolais Nouveau

Every couple of months one of the local wine/liquor shops has a big clearance sale – I tend to stock up when they do. There's never anything “wrong” with the wine, they usually are making room for new vintages or are just getting rid of bottles that haven't moved much. Part of the most recent sale was that every BN was cut to $4.99. I grabbed three different bottles, all regularly priced $11. I'll be cracking open the other two bottles in the next few days.

This has that typical funky berry smell that Beaujolais normally has.

Mild all around – acidic, but not sharply so – and just easily drinkable. Raspberry and cherry with some earthy notes.

Chocolate, earth, and raspberry on the finish.

BN is meant to be an easy quaff and this does the job – for $5 I'm not about to complain. Solid for what it is, but if you're not a fan, you won't be sold.

2007 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

I had actually decided to not partake in the BN craze this year, but I happened to be driving by a liquor store and decided I'd drop in to see if they had any. This was the only label they carried and it ran me about $10.

I don't know how else to describe the nose other than freshly removed gym socks.

The palate brings tart cherries, raspberries, licorice, and even a bit of barnyard....there's a bit of tannin and overall it's somewhat astringent – not enough to be offensive, but enough that food is pretty much in order.

Some of those tannic notes linger on the finish as well as a touch of blueberry that actually lasts for a while.

So many wine snobs bash this wine, but you need to accept it for what it is – a simple, easy quaff that's enjoyable for a bottle or two every late November. Personally, this one is good enough - and I've been very iffy about this producer - that I may hit up one of the bigger wine shops tomorrow and grab a few more bottles.

2006 Domaine Dupeuble Pere et Fils Beaujolais Nouveau

This was the most expensive new Beaujolais the local shop had, retail was $15 but since I was there the first day it was $12.

It’s amazing how different this one is from the Georges Duboeuf.

No real nose, maybe a bit of strawberry but not a whole lot.

Dry, even a bit tannic, this one reminds me of a very light bodied Pinot Noir. Raspberry, strawberry, a bit of spice, even some earth, and I actually get a hint of wood even though (I’m assuming) this hasn’t seen oak.

This bottle had quite a bit of sediment in it, so I’d recommend either decanting it or storing it right side up and dumping those last few ounces.

I will say this—I grabbed this off the rack, opened it, poured it and it was pretty terrible at room temperature. I thought I’d throw the chiller on it and give it a second shot, and sure enough—drink this one chilled! Most things I read suggest Beaujolais Nouveau is better chilled–-I say, don’t even think about drinking it without at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

2006 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

The third Thursday of November is the day Beaujolais Nouveau comes out...a fruity wine that really shouldn’t be aged more than a few months, if that. Let’s be blunt–it’s a marketing thing more than a wine thing. This wine came out today and it’s “a big deal” because it’s “Beaujolais Nouveau day”....why is it a big deal? Well, the producer of Beaujolais Nouveau say it is....but I’m a sucker so you better believe I ran out and got me a couple bottles.

Beaujolais Nouveau are made with the Gamay grape using a process called carbonic maceration, which means the grape juice isn’t what ferments–the entire grapes themselves ferment and from what I understand, explode on their own.

This one is $8 and is the cheapest and probably most widely available Beaujolais out there.

The nose has some raspberry.

The palate is fruity with berries, black, rasp, and even a bit of blue. Simple, a bit acidic, and there’s even a bit of tannin–so this is surprisingly (but, and this is important–relatively) dry. This is really a good wine if you don’t like red wine but want to start learning a bit more and acquiring the taste. If you’re going to a party–say Thanksgiving dinner with the family–and want to bring something that will please everyone, you can’t go wrong.

When I’m making poached pears, I grab Beaujolais Nouveau because it’s so fruity and simple...this vintage is no different.

If you like fruity red wine—or if you don’t like red wine—go right ahead and drop $8 and pick up a bottle. Maybe it’ll help bring you over to the red wine lovers side. If you know red wine, then you know what this is...drink it with frozen pizza, Burger King, or a microwave burrito, and stop being such a goddamn snob and enjoy something simple.