Two Newbies

Yay, it's beaujolais nouveau time again! It's nice to sample a couple of these fresh wines, especially since we've already had a 10-inch snow storm here in Minneapolis.
On Saturday, I sampled the 2010 Labuouré-Roi Beaujolais Nouveau ($9); it was a luminous pale ruby in the glass, with an aroma of sour cherry. It had a flinty quality, and I found it very light on the palate, with some sweetness toward the finish.
And this evening, it was the 2010 Georges Duboef nouveau (about $8). This was a much deeper red than the Labouré, with notes of chalk and plum. It had a slight effervescence at first, and finished with more tannin than Saturday's wine. Some other reviewers found it tart this year, but I thought it was pretty well-balanced for a nouveau.
Very different styles, but both delicious.
Some critics say the whole nouveau celebration is a lot of hype for a wine that isn't that special, but I appreciate any event that helps make wine more fun and accessible. Even better, let's just think of it as an economical way to visit France!