Beaujolais Nouveau 2012 Wine Celebration at Teātra Bārs Restaurant

Talking about wine is always captivating, as it inevitably leads to conversations about the country and place the wine comes from, its production and drinking traditions, and the feelings and associations that wine tasting evokes. The event took place on the evening of Thursday, 15 November, coinciding with the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration in France's Beaujolais region and beyond. It is on the third Thursday of every November that this year's vintage wine goes on sale.

This tradition of celebrating the new wine has repeated year after year for sixty-one years running. The Beaujolais region's dominant grape, Gamay (95% of all grapes grown in the region), is celebrated and admired for its unusual nature - a deeply pink skin that gives the wine its rich red colour, and a pale juice characteristic of white grapes. Moreover, just one month of ageing is enough to give the wine a pleasant, rounded, fruity flavour with floral notes in the aroma.

The Beaujolais Nouveau celebration took place at Teātra Bārs restaurant, nestled in a quiet courtyard in the near-centre of Riga. The moment we stepped through the door, we knew this was exactly the right place to spend the evening. The French mood was conjured both by the aroma of wine and by the wonderful, universally beloved melodies performed by accordionist Inita Āboliņa.

Over the course of the evening we sampled four wines, starting from this year's new vintage through to aged Beaujolais cru-class wines. The food pairings for each wine had been lovingly prepared by Teātra Bārs head chef Vineta Bārtule. Already with the first wine, Henry Fessy Beaujolais Nouveau 2012, paired with raspberry vinegar-marinated beetroot with goat's cheese and a dried cranberry-rosemary sauce, it was clear that the menu had been matched to each drink with absolute perfection. The wine is rounded, fruity, not massive, without tannins, but with a piquant note. Best served chilled at 11–12°C. Pairing with the food: excellent, nine out of ten (subjective rating).

The evening's host, wine expert Larisa Krūmiņa, introduced the Beaujolais region and also told us about the fascinating race The Beaujolais Run, organised by drivers competing to be the first to bring the newly released wine - available just after midnight - from France to England and present it to the owner of the Rica hotel in London.

The second wine, already a step higher, Henry Fessy Beaujolais Villages 2011, was paired with orange and Dijon mustard-glazed zander with rocket salad and grilled, marinated fennel. The wine already showed some character; in the flavour - hmm, something reminiscent of Latvian redcurrants. Pairing with the food: veeeery good, eight out of ten. The food and wine complement each other beautifully.

A musical interlude, a palate-cleansing bite of bread and water, and it was time to enjoy the third wine - already a cru-class wine, Henry Fessy Beaujolais Regnie Chateau des Reyssiers 2010. Alongside: butternut squash velouté with squid ink paste and caramelised duck livers. In the wine: raspberry notes, tannins and spice make themselves felt. At first it seemed the wine overpowered the soup somewhat, but later, savouring the finish, came the realisation that the rich, dense soup handled the wine's astringency in the mouth beautifully, making the full-bodied wine lighter and more enjoyable. Pairing: eight out of ten. Super delicious!

Henry Fessy bottles are easy to recognise by the distinctive moustaches featured both on the label and on the paper neck tag. Underneath lies a whole story about moustaches and the month of November - which turns out to be Men's Month. But by then the pleasant buzz and the relaxed evening atmosphere were no longer conducive to delving into the details.

The crown jewel of the evening, as one might say, was the wine Henry Fessy Beaujolais Fleurie 2009 - a cru-class wine of thick consistency, with serious, astringent tannins, highly rated by wine experts including Robert Parker. But the real surprise came when we tasted the wine with the dessert - warm chocolate cake with Dor Blu cheese and rowan berries. No comment needed - pairing: ten out of ten.

Thank you to the event organisers for the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in the world of French wine flavours!