Beaujolais nouveau is intended for immediate drinking. It has been described as “wine of this vintage, fresh as the memory of harvest and raw as the experience of the year, unpolished by time, a reflection of the emotion of the moment.” In this same spirit, nouveau is intended to be consumed within a few months. While nouveau could be kept for a few years, there is no real reason to, as it does not improve with age. (For comparison, standard Beaujolais AOC wines are released the following year and can be stored for one or more years before consuming.) The nouveau wines show definite variation between vintages, and as such are considered to be an early indicator of the quality of the year's regional wine harvest.