Par
Anthony Soudani
Published on
Nov. 21 2024 at 6:59 p.m
See my news
Follow Lyon News
Does the 2024 Beaujolais Nouveau vintage taste like banana? This red wine from the Rhône has a reputation for having a banana aftertaste in the mouth. We tasted it this Thursday, November 21, 2024 with the manager of the restaurant L'Aventure, in the 6th arrondissement of Lyon.
Here is our verdict.
“I expected more banana”
François-Xavier Tramoni bought three different bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau this year. The opportunity to make a comparison. Behind the bar, he opened a first: a Beaujolais-village nouveau Georges Duboeuf sold for 6.55 euros (excl. VAT).
He tastes the wine… “I expected more banana… it's true that you can smell it, especially on the nose, but it’s not like biting into fruit,” he smiles. It is true that on the nose, an odor emerges, but on the palate, nuances of red fruits mingle with a certain freshness.
@actulyon Does the 2024 Beaujolais Nouveau vintage taste like banana? We asked Francois-Xavier Tramoni, a young restaurateur in Lyon ???? #vin #beaujolais #pourtoii #fyp #lyon
♬ ♡ ᶫᵒᵛᵉᵧₒᵤ ♡ – SoBerBoi
François-Xavier opens a second bottle. Another new Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais red wine at 6.15 euros (excl. VAT). The young man gives his impressions: “He has a rather beautiful dress. It is ruby, with beautiful shine. It tastes young, but I like it. » This one has less of a banana taste than the other with a freshness still present.
Where can this banana taste come from?
The banana taste is due to a yeast, a natural yeast called 71 B, as explained on the Dico-du-vin website. The latter promotes the expression of aromas.
There are two types of yeasts, indigenous ones, which are found naturally in cellars, and exogenous ones such as 71B yeast. This is added during alcoholic fermentation. “In Beaujolais, winegrowers now use other strains of yeast, selected in their terroir, which give aromas of red fruits,” explains the specialist site.
The third bottle is a Beaujolais nouveau André Vonnier at 3.99 euros (excl. VAT). Rebelote, François-Xavier uncorks it, pours it into his glass. Verdict… “It really doesn’t have any taste. » It's our turn to test and it is true that this red wine is rather very neutral. “It is less worked than the other two. »
The opinion of the Beaujolais sector: “A very beautiful fruit and a beautiful freshness”
“Rarely has a vintage required so much attention from winegrowers, throughout the growing year,” recently underlined Jean-Marc Lafont, president of the Inter Beaujolais inter-union association, in a press release.
He states that “the first juices have very beautiful fruit and a nice freshness”. For his part, Bertrand Chatelet, director of Sicarex Beaujolais, describes a new vintage which “will produce fresh and light gamaysin line with consumer expectations.” Gamay noir with white juice is the emblematic grape variety of Beaujolais.
A Beaujolais Nouveau which will therefore be tasted this third Thursday of November, as is tradition in the Rhône and Lyon. “It’s really for folklore,” smiles François-Xavier Tramoni.
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.
