Boisdale & The Spectator Beaujolais Nouveau Lunch 2026 Thu 19 Nov 2026 at 12:00 Canary Wharf

About Beaujolais Nouveau

Beginning in the late 1970s and reaching its exuberant peak in the 1980s and 1990s, the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau became one of London's most improbable annual rituals. What started as a French marketing triumph evolved into an unofficial second Christmas for the capital's wine-loving classes. On the third Thursday of every November, at the appointed hour, merchants, restaurateurs, and bon viveurs, which included most folk back then, greeted the first bottles with near-festive anticipation. Every national newspaper featured their top ten Beaujolais Nouveau producers. Competition to serve the best meant that many bars stocked 3-5 different producers and retailers had dozens on the shelf. Breakfast tastings blurred into lengthy lunches, lunches into dinners, and by nightfall much of London seemed united in an inebriated celebration of a wine whose greatest virtue was that it had arrived at all! More often than not, the wine was blamed for the sore heads the next day rather than the quantities consumed.

In 1999 at its frenzied peak global consumption of Beaujolais Nouveau doubled to 60 million bottles (Japan was the biggest market). The result of this overproduction was that the quality of the wine suffered and the public’s interest in Beaujolais Nouveau understandably waned. In 2025 production was 14 million bottles and the quality has dramatically improved. But why should we drink, let alone celebrate, this wine?

The red wines of Beaujolais are 98% Gamay. The Gamay grape was first recorded in the village of Gamay near Beaune in the 14th century and thought then to be related to Pinot Noir. Gamay has a remarkable gift: it is delicious when young. Some might even argue that no red grape in the world possesses greater youthful charm. Fresh, fruity, vibrant and irresistibly drinkable. Such were its charms that it quickly became the favourite wine of harvest celebrations throughout Burgundy. In fact, it became so popular that growers increasingly planted Gamay in place of the region's indigenous royal vine, Pinot Noir. This caused Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, severe consternation and in 1395 he issued a decree banishing the Gamay grape from Burgundy.

Fortunately for wine lovers, Gamay simply moved south into Beaujolais, where it found granite soils, a favourable climate and easy transport via the Saône and Rhône rivers. There it flourished. For centuries, locals celebrated each harvest with the first wine of the new vintage. By the 19th century, barrels were already racing to Lyon and Paris. Then, in the 20th century, a charming regional tradition evolved into a global phenomenon, complete with midnight launches, breakfast parties and the famous cry: "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!"

Now more than six centuries after its expulsion from Burgundy, Gamay remains triumphantly popular and since 1937 Beaujolais has officially been designated as a part of the Burgundy wine region, proof that sometimes the rebel really does win in the end. The other notable development in the Beaujolais wine region is that with less focus on the Nouveau release, the Cru Beaujolais, like Fleurie, Brouilly, Morgon and Chiroubles, have seen a dramatic rejuvenation and are now recognised for their close to unique drinkability, charm and style, and are listed on more fine wine lists than ever the world over.