Duboeuf

This lush, ripe, smooth red wine from the Beaujolais region of France offers a penetrating mix of black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and herb flavors. This versatile and lively Brouilly can be served lightly chilled and needs no further aging. Serve with roast turkey, chicken, beef.

Thursday is release day for 2012 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the big release, always scheduled for the third Thursday of November. Metropolitan Coffeehouse and Wine Bar in Federal Hill is having its 6th annual "From the Barrel" Beaujolais Nouveau release party on Thursday, featuring all-you-can-drink Beaujolais Nouveau and "tons of classic French cuisine," including boeuf Bourguignon, coq au vin, duck confit casserole, ratatouille and "killer French cheeses.

The 1990 vintage is reputed to be a great one for Burgundy, just north of Beaujolais. It is also reputed to have been a a great year for the Rhone Valley, just south of Beaujolais.For Beaujolais itself, it was not.Hot, dry weather such as that in the summer of 1990 favors more robust wines, but it can bake all the delicacy and charm out of the gamay-based red wines of Beaujolais. That is what happened to many Beaujolais wines in 1990.There were, in fact, some excellent wines made in the Beaujolais district in 1990, but overall the results were spotty.

2006 Georges Duboeuf Fleurie, Flower Label From: Beaujolais, France Price: $15 Serve with: Thai-style beef, grilled chicken The Fleurie village of Beaujolais typically produces very floral wines with penetrating fruit and lively acidity. This excellent example from Duboeuf accomplishes that and adds an extra measure of raspberry and black-cherry flavor. It can be served slightly chilled, which complemented a spicy dish known as "Crying Dragon Beef." This light but intensely flavorful red wine is ideal for summertime drinking.

This top Beaujolais estate is loaded with raspberry fruit. It's racy and lively, but with a tannic edge found in few Beaujolais wines. It's good now but could improve over the next two or three years or more. Dropping prices have made the top Beaujolais cru wines bargains again.

This may seem a strange time to recommend a Beaujolais from Duboeuf, who is mired in a blending scandale in France, but it's what's in the bottle that counts. This complex, lush wine from the region's best village and the best vintage in decades is an exceptional value. It offers intense, layered flavors of raspberry and black cherry with hints of blueberry and chocolate. It finishes long and clean and, oh, so satisfying. SERVE WITH // roast turkey, chicken; grilled tuna

This is what Beaujolais is all about. This intense, penetrating wine from Cote de Brouilly is a racy red wine with much more complexity and flavor interest than the modest frame would suggest. Its flavors are downright explosive -- the peppery black raspberry flavors of the Rhone's Cote Rotie packaged into a more delicate frame. Duboeuf scored a series of triumphs in the 1993 vintage, but this single estate wine is one of the best.

Leave it to Georges Duboeuf, the "King of Beaujolais," to produce the seemingly impossible: a good, inexpensive viognier. The price of this intensely flavorful dry white wine is about one-fourth of those from the grapes' ancestral home in Condrieu in the northern Rhone and one-half to one-third that of the recent spate of Condrieu imitators in California. And while it doesn't rank with the best Condrieus, it does a better job of capturing the lychee nut, peach, tropical fruit and spice flavors of fine viognier than do most of its American rivals.

Georges Duboeuf is to Beaujolais as . . .a.) Morton is to salt.b.) Cal Ripken Jr. is to endurance.c.) Elvis is to sightings.d.) All of the above.If you guessed d.), you are correct. The estimable Monsieur Duboeuf dominates his region more thoroughly than any other important figure in the world of wine.Go into just about any serious wine shop in the United States and ask for Beaujolais. Most likely the sales person will lead you to a display of Duboeuf wines. There might be a few scattered offerings from other producers, but there will be no doubt who holds the title of "King of Beaujolais."

This lush, ripe, smooth red wine from the Beaujolais region of France offers a penetrating mix of black cherry, blackberry, raspberry and herb flavors. This versatile and lively Brouilly can be served lightly chilled and needs no further aging. Serve with roast turkey, chicken, beef.

This may seem a strange time to recommend a Beaujolais from Duboeuf, who is mired in a blending scandale in France, but it's what's in the bottle that counts. This complex, lush wine from the region's best village and the best vintage in decades is an exceptional value. It offers intense, layered flavors of raspberry and black cherry with hints of blueberry and chocolate. It finishes long and clean and, oh, so satisfying. SERVE WITH // roast turkey, chicken; grilled tuna

2003 Georges Duboeuf Morgon "Jean Descombes" ($12). I would not normally suggest a beaujolais as a last-minute wine to acquire for the Thanksgiving turkey dinner, but 2003 was no ordinary vintage and the Jean Descombes Morgon is no ordinary beaujolais. There's a fullness and creaminess to the texture and flavors of this wine that put it on a par with a very fine red burgundy with five times the price tag. It is bursting with lively flavors of blackberry and black raspberry, with overtones of chocolate and herbs.

2000 Georges Duboeuf Morgon Cuvee Prestige ($12). Duboeuf's Beaujolais wines are a model of consistency, but they can reach back and give you something a little extra-special in fine years such as 2000. This Morgon, one of the best wine villages of Beaujolais, offers flo ral aromas, generous fruit and a silky texture. The black-cherry and black-raspberry flavors are pure and inviting, with the concentration of a fine Burgundy (for which this would be an excellent inexpensive sub stitute)

2000 Georges Duboeuf `Domaine des Quatre Vents' Fleurie ($13). The 2000 vintage in Beaujolais has been quite variable, but the best have been extremely impressive. That is the case with this excellent Fleurie. This wine displays intense raspberry fruit and excellent balance. The finish is long and the flavors are ripe. There's both freshness and powerful flavor. This wine could be served with a wide variety of mildly seasoned pasta dishes, as well as roast chicken and grilled red meats.

2000 Georges Duboeuf Regnie ($11). Georges Duboeuf is normally among the most reliable wine producers, but his 2000 Beaujolais have been uncommonly variable. One that does stand out as very good is the 2000 Regnie, which outshines some of the more esteemed Flower Label wines in this vintage. The Regnie is atypically full-bodied, with lush flavors of raspberry and wild berries. Its acidity is in excellent balance, keeping it lively on the finish. This would be an excellent red-wine selection with grilled chicken or tuna.

Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, which by itself is not all that romantic. But centuries of experience have taught us that, when carefully chosen, attractively presented and served to an appreciative partner, wine can enhance a romantic occasion like Valentine's Day in a most delightful way. In this regard, it is distinctly superior to, say, malt liquor. So what makes one wine a more romantic choice than another? It's a difficult question, and there are no hard-and-fast rules.