Very mature fruit

A man tastes the beaujolais nouveau in Beaujeu at the official launch of the French wine. Photograph: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty
After several weeks in which France has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, at last comes a chance to raise a glass: the 2005 beaujolais nouveau has arrived, and this year's vintage is not at all bad, writes Ros Taylor.

As is traditional, the new vintage was tasted at midnight - though Japan, which glugs more than 11m bottles a year, was allowed to taste it a few hours earlier.

"Red and black berries with a hint of confit," says Le Monde of the Domaine de Vissoux's effort. Beaujolais nouveau often tastes of banana thanks to the addition of yeast, but Pierre-Marie Chermette now aims for a more grape-like flavour.

Fernand Bonnier, a leading Beaujolais winemaker, was effusive. "Very mature fruit," he said approvingly. "Not just a bit mature or a bit blackcurranty, the fruits are really mature." He pronounced it the best vintage since 1976.

This is just as well, because France's wine exports need all the help they can get.