BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU

This is a category of red wine within AOC regulations and the wines can be labelled Beaujolais Nouveau AOC or Beaujolais Villages Nouveau AOC depending on where the fruit is grown. (Primeur is an alternative designation, an authorised synonym, for Nouveau). 

According to French wine law, the earliest any AOC wines can normally be sold is 15th December, though most individual AOCs in France require longer ageing. By contrast, an exception was made for Nouveau styled wines that can be sold earlier from the third Thursday in November.

The wines are made by carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration. They are bottled 3–5 days after fermentation has finished. Some wines go through malolactic conversion; others do not. Fining and sterile filtration are common as is a moderate to high use of SO2. This is particularly important if malolactic conversion has not taken place to ensure that it is does not happen later in the bottle.