Charles Shaw 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau

Eeek, this is a sweet one. Lightweight and sweet rivaling Kool-Aid. I'm not pouring it out though, so I'll rate it a 3/10. Heck, it's only $3 at Trader Joe's (aka "Three Buck Chuck"). The Nouveau was a limited-availability holiday blend, but don't be taken by the marketing...stick to the Cabernet or Syrah.

The story of Beaujolais Nouveau is pretty interesting as it's a late harvest wine intended to drink soon after it's bottling in late fall. It arrives with much celebration in time for the holidays.

Georges Duboeuf Morgon - Red Beaujolais

The "Morgon" is from the Jean Descombes estate in the Beaujolais Provence of France. It's made from the Gamay grape, typical for wines from that area. Immediately out of the bottle, the initial mouthfull was watery with a BANG of a finish. We let this one sit a bit on the first night and were thinking it was around a 4.5. Tonight (night 2), it's improved up to a 5 or 5.5 as it's mellowed out quite a bit. Found her at Costco for $11.

This 2005 is a medium-light bodied red, with some lighter berries (strawberry) quickly on the tongue followed by darker berries on the finish. A very dark ruby, almost purple color. To simplify it: sweet & fruity, like me. Some interesting minerals in the tail end of the finish. Since this is my first experience with Beaujolias wine, I can't say for sure if that's standard for the region, but would assume so for now. Went well with our pasta with three cheese marinara tonight. Cheers to no work for the next 4 days!