A Rare August Harvest For Beaujolais

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2007 Arrives November 15

Romanèche-Thorins, France, August 31, 2007: The harvest in Beaujolais officially began on August 25th, 2007 and the 25th vintage of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau (SRP $10.99/$11.99 for air Nouveau) will arrive in America on November 15-the third Thursday of the month as dictated by French law. "This is only the fifth time I have witnessed the start of the Beaujolais harvest before September," said Georges Duboeuf. In 1947, 1976, 2000 and 2003 the harvest also began in August.

Initially, the harvest seemed to be even more ahead of schedule, due to excessively warm spring weather and an overabundance of rain that accelerated the flowering of the vines. Colder summer weather slowed it down and harvesting began only 11 days earlier than the previous two years.

In mid-August Duboeuf was already criss-crossing the region checking on the harvest and expects to see deep, rich colors this year. "On the palate, the grapes were fresh, fruity and sweet," he explains. "Some of the pips already had a brown tint: a sign that we are heading towards good phenol maturity."

Georges Duboeuf recently sampled some of the still fermenting Beaujolais-Villages wines in the region. "We were thrilled and delighted by the delicious quality of these first 2007 wines," he says. "They had a lovely color and were highly aromatic, with raspberry and red currant scents." Duboeuf went on to say, "On the palate, the wine was very pleasant, fruity and delicate, with great finesse."

In celebration of the 25th vintage of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau in America, special posters and case cards are being created that feature 25 years of the colorful and ever-changing labels. A limited number of these posters will be made available to consumers through the official website: www.winewithoutrules.com. Bottle shots and harvest images can also be downloaded.

The first wine of this vintage, Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2007 ($10.99) arrives on store shelves Thursday, November 15th.