Trophée Beaujolais Nouveaux®

Trophée des Beaujolais Nouveaux regulations

The rules comply with the decree of 13/02/2013. It is included in the list of wine competitions organized by bodies established in France whose awards and medals are authorized to appear on wine labels.

Article 1. Purpose of the competition

The Trophée des Beaujolais Nouveaux is a competition for the selection of new red and rosé Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages wines. It is organized by the EURL Œnologues de France, Bourgogne Centre-Est region, with the support of Inter Beaujolais. It promotes Beaujolais wines.

Article 2. Rights holders

All winegrowers, cooperatives, merchants and companies selling Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveaux from the latest harvest, packaged in cans, jars, bottles or bag-in-box.

Article 3. Conditions of admission

Wines must be presented in their final packaging and labelling, with a clearly identifiable batch number, as shown on the entry form. Samples subject to circulation formalities (bottles and wineskins) must be presented with a CRD capsule or equivalent document (DAE). There is no limit to the number of wines per company name. The wine must come from a batch of at least 10 hectolitres.

Article 4. Sample

It consists of 2 samples of the same batch, each representing a minimum volume of 50 cl, or the number of samples corresponding to this minimum volume. Samples must be delivered direct or carriage paid to the attention of "TROPHEE DES BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAUX - salle de la Bibliothèque, porte D1, 210, Bd Vermorel - 69400 Villefranche-sur-Saône", no later than 5pm on the Tuesday preceding the tasting. Packaged samples must come from a single homogeneous batch intended for consumption, the number of which is indicated on the registration form; A homogeneous batch is defined as a set of sales units of a packaged wine or containers of a bulk wine that has been produced and, where applicable, packaged under practically identical conditions and which has similar organoleptic and analytical characteristics (cf Article 5 of the Order of February 13, 2013). Each box must be sealed and clearly labeled "Trophée des Beaujolais Nouveaux".

Article 5. Entry form

The registration form must include information about the sample submitted: company name, contact name and surname, postal address, telephone number, e-mail address and website, appellation, colour, name of the cuvée, batch number, quantity of bottles or volume of the batch and information about whether or not the wine has been awarded a label. A copy of the declaration of appellation claim and the label of the wine presented must be attached to each form. All forms must be completed and uploaded to the online registration platform.

Article 6. Analysis report

This must be less than one year old, and must accompany the registration form. It must include the following analytical parameters: actual and potential alcoholic strength by volume at 20°C (%vol), total acidity (mEq/l), volatile acidity (mEq/l), glucose/fructose (g/l) and total SO2 (mg/l). Sample identification must be identical to that on the registration form (cuvée, lot number).

Article 7. Registration fee

The fee is €65 excl. VAT per sample, paid by bank transfer or cheque made payable to EURL Œnologues de France, to be enclosed with the samples. The registration fee may be revised each year. A receipt of payment will be sent by e-mail once payment has been received.

Article 8. Organization of the Tasting

Wines are presented anonymously, under bottle covers, and assigned a random number. Only one bottle per sample is presented to the jury, even in the case of organoleptic disorders. Juries are made up of at least 3 members, and generally of 5 to 6 tasters, at least 2/3 of whom are competent professionals. Tasters are chosen for their knowledge of wines, and their aptitude for sensory analysis, and recruited via professional associations and contacts, as well as by internet registration, after verification of their experience. They include French (at least 50%) and foreign oenologists, producers, sommeliers (professional categories deemed competent for tasting) and amateurs chosen from our partners. The organizer collects a sworn declaration from the members of the jury, stating their respective links with the wines being tasted. Tasters who are also competitors may not judge their own wines. Each panel is chaired by an oenologist, who ensures that the tasting runs smoothly, that the tasting sheet is used correctly, and that panel members are impartial. The tasting sheet used is the one jointly approved by the Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (O.I.V.) and the Union Internationale des Œnologues (U.I.OE); the maximum score that can be awarded is 100 points. Anonymity, tasting and entry of results are ensured by people with no direct link to the samples they will be dealing with.

Article 9. Awards

A maximum of 33% of the wines entered may be awarded prizes for the entire competition. This competition has only one category, comprising Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau. No distinction will be awarded if fewer than 3 distinct competitors have presented their wines. Two levels of awards are given according to the scores obtained: "Médaille d'Or" and "Médaille d'Argent". The best Gold Medals are awarded the "Grand Prix du Trophée". Winners receive a diploma in paper format, bearing the name of the competition, the category in which the wine competed, the distinction awarded, the identification of the wine, the volume declared, and the name and address of the winner (holder). Operators are solely responsible for the information they enter on their registration forms. Only the details given on the entry form will appear on the diploma and prize list. They may affix Gold Medal or Silver Medal badges corresponding to their distinction, issued by the organizing committee. The "Grand Prix du Trophée" award is an honorary distinction and may not appear on wine labels. Official results will be published on Monday on the Inter Beaujolais website (www.beaujolais.com) and on the organizer's website (www.trophee-beaujolais.com). No results will be divulged before the official validation of the prize list by the organizing team. Only the official results published on the Monday on the various partner websites of the competition will be taken into account for the awarding of medals. The Competition organizers cannot be held responsible for any erroneous or fraudulent use of any award obtained or not corresponding to the official prize list.

Article 10. Control

Entries are checked on receipt. Wines that do not meet the requirements of these rules by 5pm on the Tuesday before the tasting will not be allowed to compete, and entry fees will not be reimbursed. Control of prize-winning wines and wines in circulation is carried out within the framework of the Suivi Aval Qualité scheme run by Inter Beaujolais, the Beaujolais wine trade association. A control committee is appointed within the Organizing Committee to verify compliance with the present regulations.

Article 11. Obligations of the Organizer and Participants

The Management Committee sends a notice to the Direction Régionale de l’Economie, de l’Emploi, du Travail et des Solidarités (DREETS) 2 months before the competition takes place, concerning the place and date of the Trophée des Beaujolais Nouveaux, as well as the present regulations. No later than the Wednesday following the tasting, it also forwards to the DREETS Rhône Alpes a report signed by the head of the control committee certifying that the competition has taken place in accordance with the regulations, and including in particular the number of samples entered in the competition overall and by category, the number of prize-winning wines overall and by category, the list of prize-winning wines and, for each prize-winning wine, details enabling the wine and its owner to be identified, the percentage of prize-winning wines in relation to the number of wines entered, the number of distinctions awarded and their breakdown by type of distinction. The owners and organizers of the Trophée des Beaujolais Nouveaux must keep a sample of each prize-winning wine for 1 year, and the information sheet and analysis report for 5 years. Wine labelling must comply with regulations.

The Organizing Committee reserves the right to withdraw awards if the winning wines do not comply with current regulations. Winners may use the graphic charter and visuals downloadable from the website or on request to the organizers by email.

Article 12. Force majeure and modifications 

Should an event beyond the control of the organizer prevent the contest from running smoothly, the organizer may in no case be held responsible. The organizer reserves the right to cancel the contest, to modify the date initially planned, to shorten or extend it, or to modify the conditions or running of the contest in the event of force majeure (epidemic, fire, natural disaster, strike, act of terrorism, etc.), an event beyond its control or justified necessity. The organizer may not be held liable by participants. Furthermore, the organizer cannot be held responsible for theft, loss, delay or damage to samples.

Article 13. Trophy participants

The present rules can be consulted on the www.trophee-beaujolais.com website. All participants in the Trophy hereby accept the terms and conditions.