THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 106, September 2021
Dog of the Month: Pippa The Flying Cork, Bedford
Will our Beaujolais Nouveau arrive on time this year? Many importers are nervous about ongoing complications in the supply chain which mean deliveries risk disruption
B
eaujolais Nouveau Day risks being something of a damp squib this
year due to continuing problems
in the supply chain.
Bottled wines can be released by
producers on Monday, October 11 and can be exported to the UK on Friday, October
22. But some merchants are worried this won’t allow sufficient time for wines to reach stores for the appointed day of © Richard Semik / stockadobe.com
Thursday, November 18.
Beaujolais Nouveau Day has become
increasingly popular with many indies
the terrace.
following its long spell in the doldrums.
The last pallet from Beaujolais that we
in recent years, who have seen growing consumer interest in the category
Louise Peverall from La Cave de Bruno
in East Dulwich says: “We usually import it from Domaine Penlois, and time it so that
we get a full pallet of Beaujolais and top up with some Nouveau.
“It’s been really popular over the last
few years and for the past two we’ve had a waiting list. We also sell it by the glass on
“That said, it won’t be happening this
year as it’s too hard to manage the timings. ordered in February took three months to get here as it got stuck in customs in the
Netherlands. It’s a pretty quick turnaround from the bottling to the actual day itself, and the way things are it’s unlikely we’ll
be able to manage it. It’s such a shame and another unnecessary Brexit blow.”
Tony Schendel of Hayward Bros, which
imports Jean Loron Beaujolais, shares Peverall’s concerns.
“We are offering ex-cellar customers the
wine but we are not going to ship this year,” he says.
“The reason is although shipping is fine,
if you add possible delays at LCB we cannot guarantee we will get the wine in time, and if it arrives late we will be left with it.
“Ex-cellars customers are generally
shipping straight into their own
warehouses and are saving seven to 10 days.”
Burgundy specialist Tom Innes of Fingal-
Rock in Monmouth says a delay would not necessarily be a disaster for Beaujolais Nouveau sales.
“I’m going to risk it,” he says. “Last year
I completely sold out and had to ship a Vineyards at Chénas, Beaujolais
second order super-quick, which didn’t
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