Wine of the week: 2013 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

Of the several Beaujolais nouveaux that make it to our shores every year in mid November, the one we have most consistently sampled and tracked is that offered by Georges Duboeuf. We continue that tradition here with the 2013 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, widely available in the bay area for as long as the supply lasts at $9 to $11.

This early bottling is touted as the first taste of the Beaujolais vintage and is meant to be drunk immediately and with gusto. The new wine was something of a cult fetish for years but a perhaps too successful marketing campaign has pretty much erased its mystique. Still, it's always interesting to taste each year's entry, and this year's is especially agreeable. Fresh and frisky, of course, but satisfyingly complex, too.

The 2013 is a deeper purple in the glass than in some years and has a richer nose of cherries and toffee. On the tongue, juicy cherry and understated toffee combine with a smidge of bright strawberry counterpointed by a touch of mild chicory. The finish is fleeting.

Beaujolais nouveau is a favorite with aficionados at holiday parties, where it customarily is quaffed rather than savored. This wine was born to party.

Colette Bancroft is the Times' book editor, and John Bancroft is a freelance writer specializing in food, wine and travel.