WHO: Georges “2.5 Million Cases a Year” Duboeuf WHAT: 100% Gamay WHEN: 2009 WHERE: Appellation Beaujolais Contrôlée HOW: Clusters are hand-harvested, then the grapes are fermented whole in a process known as carbonic maceration for only four days.

WHY: The Jersey Shore is to television as Beaujolais Nouveau is to wine. Highly publicized and incredibly marketed, Beaujolais Nouveau might be the only wine that has such a well-known release date and subsequent following. Often coinciding with Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau is released annually on the third Thursday of November after all the blood, sweat & wine has been barreled. Le Beaujolais Est Arrivé is the phrase seen in bistros across the region, signifying the end of a successful harvest, and allons-y nous faisons la fête!

Beaujolais Nouveau is a young wine, meant to be drank casually and in season. This wine should be drank within a year of being made, if not immediately. If you encounter any Beaujolais Nouveau more than 2 years old, it’s best left to die alone in the back of the wine shop. In our humble hipster opinion, you probably wouldn’t bring this wine to a dinner party – unless it’s that kind of party. This is a “buy 6 bottles, drink to get drunk” celebratory sort of wine. It’s entirely possible that you may pass out in a gutter in Paris, bottle in hand, and wake up in an alley in Belgium (much to Ben’s chagrin).

The 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau starts out with a delicate autumnal nose of dried leaves and a crisp early winter breeze. This year’s vintage tastes of grapefruit, overripe strawberries, and lemon rind. The mouth feel is bigger than your average Beaujolais Nouveau and actually seems to have some structure. It’s no Château, but it has a good foundation. It is a very juicy wine, and the refreshing feeling you get from drinking it is well worth the 8 bucks you spent.

The Wrap: Georges Duboeuf’s 2009 incarnation of Beaujolais Nouveau is somewhat beyond its years. It does have a greater complexity than past vintages we’ve had, so it’s worth giving a shot. Considering most of these wines are around a 3rd grade reading level, we give this vintage a gold star. Now that you’ve read this review you know what you’re getting yourself into; so grab a bottle, lower your expectations and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

We hipsters usually shun bandwagons, but our desire to espouse our opinion was stronger. So, we grabbed our glasses, hopped on the good foot and summarized our favorite wine experiences of 2009. Not many wine blogs can lay claim to four palates, so we felt it best to let each tongue, er, voice speak. Here now, for your unedited enjoyment, is each member’s top 3 wines of 2009. Drum roll please…

WHO: Famille Quiot WHAT: 35% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 20% Cinsault, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Mourvèdre , and 5% other grape varieties from les Arnevels vineyard. WHEN: 2008 WHERE: Côtes de Provence, France HOW: The grapes are partly pressed and macerated with a short fermentation period of 12-24 hours for color. According to the bottle: “Special efforts are made to preserve freshness and fruit with the use of CO² gas to exclude oxygen during the harvest.” To this, we tilt our heads like curious kittens.

WHO: Bear Flag Wines WHAT: Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Merlot, Tempranillo [Percentages Unknown] WHEN: Our money is on 2009 WHERE: Modesto, really? HOW: Beth and Hillary Cutler took their favorite grapes and left them to multiply like fuzzy dice in a car.