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Georges Duboeuf Declares 2009 Beaujolais Harvest
One of the Best in the Last 50 Years!
 New York, NY - October 1st, 2009 :: Beaujolais wine producer Georges Duboeuf is ecstatic about this year’s Beaujolais harvest, predicting it one of the best Beaujolais vintages in the last 50 years.
“We have had perfect weather with 50,000 grape pickers hard at work across the 3,000 vineyards of Beaujolais since September 4th,” proclaimed Georges Duboeuf in his most recent harvest report, dated September 18th. “The grape bunches are small with a fine purplish black color, and are exceptionally rich in sugar. The berries are thick, and the seeds are a gorgeous amber color, a sign of perfect phenolic maturity. Their brightness, intensity, and above all, their perfect health are something to behold. We have not seen anything like this for a long time.”
Following the longtime French tradition of releasing Beaujolais Nouveau at one minute past midnight on the third Thursday of November, the 2009 vintage will be released November 19 with celebratory “Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé!” events taking place in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and several other locations across the country. Restaurants will be offering everything from midnight pajama parties to special Beaujolais Nouveau dinner menus. A new website, www.duboeufnouveau.com, with information on Beaujolais Nouveau and events surrounding its arrival in the U.S. will debut in October.
“Following last year’s unprecedented, and successful, break from tradition, the 2009 Beaujolais will once again be shipped by boat, not by air, to reduce the carbon footprint of shipping the wine and to conserve fuel costs, ensuring that retail prices are kept affordable for U.S. consumers”, said Bill Deutsch, Chairman of Georges Duboeuf’s exclusive U.S. importer, W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd. “We anticipate retail prices to be lower than last year, averaging $9 to $11 per bottle.”
This young fruity wine is made from the region’s Gamay grape. By law, the grapes must be harvested by hand, not machine. August 2009 offered some of the best hot and sunny weather in the last 60 years. The favorable weather has helped the grapes mature nicely. In fact, many winegrowers in the early-maturing area requested a dispensation in order to start their harvest earlier. “To obtain optimum aromas and fruit for our primeurs, and to avoid over maturation, we opened our vinification site August 25th for those parcels with an alcoholic content already over 12°,” said Duboeuf. “We could not have expected a better yield in terms of quality and polyphenol maturity.” The quantity should be close to appellation yields ranging from 43 to 48 hl per hectare.
  
2010 Vintage News
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