2002 Chateau Thivin en Beaujolais Cote de Brouilly

Real Beaujolais is as different from Beaujolais Nouveau as a bassoon is from a piccolo. Whereas the new wine is meant to be drunk right after the harvest, Cote de Brouilly and any of the other crus are made to last. Maybe not 10 years, but certainly a few, that is, if you manage to keep any bottles around that long.

The 2002 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly is juicy and lush, tasting like ripe black cherries with something darker and more complex in the background. It’s so delicious it’s hard to sip and not gulp. It goes with everything from charcuterie -- rosy pink hams and those dried sausages called rosette -- to homey soups, pots au feu and grilled sausages. Drink it with a roasted chicken or some baby back ribs with thyme. It’s a wine that pleases everybody and does what a good wine should do: induce a state of contentedness.

-- S. Irene Virbila

Quick swirl

Region: Beaujolais

Price: $15.99

Style: Juicy and lush

Food it goes with: Charcuterie, homey soups, stews and grilled sausages

Where you find it: Du Vin Wine & Spirits in West Hollywood (310) 855-1161; Wine Country in Long Beach (562) 597-8303; and Wine Exchange in Orange (714) 974-1454; (800) 76WINEX.