Wine Focus - Wine 202 GaMay!

[David M. Bueker]

Another month has come and gone. We have reached the month of May, which has been Gamay month so many times on the WLDG, that is has become GaMay.

So open up a Beaujolais. Have a Gamay from California, Oregon, or the Loire. Have it red. Have it rose. Celebrate the middle of spring with a glass of pure funshine.

An interesting question about Gamay is whether it is capable of climbing out of its status of being the grape behind some of the world's most enjoyable "fun" wines. There are some producers now in the Beaujolais region who have the ambition to use it to make full bodied, structured, ageworthy wines often with the addition of oaky flavours and with high prices to boot. I have never been convinced by big "serious" Beaujolais but that may be because I've not been buying the best, having an in-built resistance to paying €30+ for a bottle of wine from this grape.

Any views here?

[David M. Bueker]

My views are uninformed by tasting more "serious" examples. That said, my gut reaction is similar to my reaction to Rosé of Cabernet Sauvignon. "I suppose you can do that, but I don't see why."

[Jenise]

So what's a serious Beaujolais? Where's the line between fun and serious? Is Roilette Griffe/Marquis serious? Is Foillard Corcelette fun but the 3.14 serious or are all Foillards serious? I would have thought the difference between villages and cru was pretty much the line.

So what's a serious Beaujolais? Where's the line between fun and serious? Is Roilette Griffe/Marquis serious? Is Foillard Corcelette fun but the 3.14 serious or are all Foillards serious? I would have thought the difference between villages and cru was pretty much the line.

Jenise, this is partly semantics. In my book the natural state of all crus, except some Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon, is to be "fun". Some producers are now trying to make much more serious wines out of Fleurie, Côtes de Brouilly, Juliénas, etc. Does it work in your view?

Deleted, because of Jenise.

Jenise, this is partly semantics. In my book the natural state of all crus, except some Moulin-à-Vent and Morgon, is to be "fun". Some producers are now trying to make much more serious wines out of Fleurie, Côtes de Brouilly, Juliénas, etc. Does it work in your view?

Yes, it is semantics. But the better wines from the crus go way beyond 'fun' for me, because they provide enough flavor and texture complexity to keep my interest throughout the evening. For me, a wine that is purely light-hearted 'fun' is only something I want a glass of before dinner or to drink at a dinner party when socializing is the main goal.

Yet, those better cru Beaujolais wines are also not 'serious' in the same stern and poised way that top Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo etc behave.

So, it's not fun vs serious for me, there is a more fine-grained spectrum of wine virtues!

[David M. Bueker]

Opened a 2010 Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py Javernières just now, and it is definitely a serious wine. I remember when I bought six each of this and the 'James' on release, and after a bottle or two of each I was left going "huh"?

Finally it seems like they may be turning a corner. IMO they are too serious for Beaujolais, but at least I might finally enjoy a bottle just as good wine.

Opened a 2010 Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py Javernières just now, and it is definitely a serious wine. I remember when I bought six each of this and the 'James' on release, and after a bottle or two of each I was left going "huh"?

Yes, I tried the Burgaud wines around that time period and they seemed to lack the energy and verve of my preferred Beaujolais producers. So I stopped exploring. Sounds like all I needed to do was wait 10 years!

[David M. Bueker]

It’s not really Beaujolais at this point. It’s definitely gone Pinot.

Just posted in the main forum about tonight's lovely bottle of 2016 G. Descombes Saint-Amour VV. So so good. Crystal clear vivid gamay berry fruit, light and refreshing but with sappy snap. So so good. A lovely interpretation of the Descombes style, different from the other crus. I wish I had more!

Definitely lots of fun for me, and probably not weighty enough to qualify as 'serious'. But also far from frivolous. Worth my attention!

[David M. Bueker]

Not sure why, but Descombes has never really connected for me. Maybe I’ll hunt down that bottling. Always willing to try again.

Not sure why, but Descombes has never really connected for me. Maybe I’ll hunt down that bottling. Always willing to try again.

We all have our own tastes. This is the only vintage I've had the St Amour VV, so not sure how it does otherwise. It was also his first vintage with St A, as he went looking for new fruit sources once it became clear that the vintage was going to have such reduced quantities. Which I suppose means he was not (very) involved in the farming that year. But it is a very high quality wine and very much in line with his style. More accessible and not as deep as the Morgon VV but also not as fragile and delicate as the Regnie VV. I like them all, depending on vintage, time, purpose, etc.

[Jenise]

Two last night served with blue cheese souffles and a little BB King and Gary Clarke on the stereo:

2015 Domaine Mee Godard Morgon Corcelette Gamay
Dark red fruits with lots of pepper but not the spice I associate with Corcelette vis a vis the Foillard version. Rustic texture, tannins need more time to soften.

2018 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Gamay
Silky texture compared to the Godard, but grapey and lacking any depth past the opening notes. Not thrilled.

2015 Domaine Mee Godard Morgon Corcelette Gamay
Dark red fruits with lots of pepper but not the spice I associate with Corcelette vis a vis the Foillard version. Rustic texture, tannins need more time to soften.

I don't know anything about the vinification at Godard, but many of the 2015 Beaujolais wines that I tasted have been loaded up on the dark red fruits that you mention, without showing the more finesse spice notes that we might see in a less sun-drenched year.

I always enjoy the notes and thoughts Rahsaan.
About ready to open a Gamay from Malivoire, one of my fave Ontario producers. Seems like they have quite a range of Gamay?
Wonder how the grape grows in Finger Lakes and possibly Virginia?

[Jenise]

I don't know anything about the vinification at Godard, but many of the 2015 Beaujolais wines that I tasted have been loaded up on the dark red fruits that you mention, without showing the more finesse spice notes that we might see in a less sun-drenched year.

This is my first Godard, and at the time I bought them (at about half the original price, 2-3 yrs ago) I only knew that Mee Godard was supposedly a vigneron to watch and that these were atypical '15s, and thus would need, and supposedly reward, patience. I liked the wine, but it was more like a barbera than what I hope for from Beaujolais. (Your Descombes, for instance.)

Fleurie-exhibition-2020.jpg

2020 Jacques Depagneux Fleurie The Society's Exhibition (France, Beaujolais, Fleurie)

Had this last night. It was our U3A Wine Tasting Group. The theme was the Tour de France:

"We start at Fleurie, then follow the Rhone Valley south to the vineyards of Ventoux. From there, we cycle to the top of Mont Ventoux (just because we can!) before turning west through The Parc National de Cevenne, on to Figeac, to eventually arrive at Lalande de Pomerol.

You'll deserve a drink at each point; the distance we cycle is 550m, with 21,000ft climbed."

We all had half bottles of the same three wines. We started with the Fleurie, which I expected to be my least favourite but it was my number 1.

Deep cherry red, bright fresh red cherry flavours, exciting and interesting, made the following southern Rhone Ventoux seem dull in comparison.

I do not have currently any Beaujolly in the cellar but expect my 2 Canadian Gamays will deliver! Look forward to an inspiring note from Jenise on one from Virginia .

2018 13th Street Gamay, Niagara.

SC, $27 Cda, served slightly chilled with a meat pie. Wine has a delicious dark plum, blackberry, cherry nose.."earthy" from across the table. Some floral and spice notes as it opens up after an hour.
Light to medium-bodied, very soft tannins, great acidity. Great depth and nice fruit balance with some noted spice. Would love to try again when we have some folks around in the garden.

[Jenise]

I do not have currently any Beaujolly in the cellar but expect my 2 Canadian Gamays will deliver! Look forward to an inspiring note from Jenise on one from Virginia .

Wrong coast, Bobby! Got one from California I plan to open, though.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2019 Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly (5/7/2021)
  It’s debatable whether it’s positive or negative, but climate change has made Beaujolais a more serious category of wine. The Thivin has always been a favorite, due to its depth of flavor, as well as its breadth of flavor. It’s even deeper now, and forgiving a little higher octane, it’s a more serious wine. Has some of the fun of Beaujolais been sacrificed on the altar of profundity? Perhaps, but it’s a hell of a bottle for $30.
  
  I would actually advocate drinking it sooner rather than later, lest the remaining vestiges of joy be subsumed under the pull of its gravity.

Château de la Chaize was a well known domaine in the days when most Beaujolais was sourced from négociants and was almost synonymous with Brouilly, for me the epitome of "fun" Beaujolais. I remember visiting the estate in the 70s and coming away with a dozen, which we quaffed with great pleasure. I think the estate must have fallen from grace judging by this bottle, which would not have stood out in the company of most generic Beaujolais. I read that it has recently changed hands and that the new owner is investing heavily.

2018 Château de La Chaize Brouilly - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Brouilly (08/05/2021)
This was lighter and slimmer than I was expecting but agreeably fruity and mineral drinking in an uncomplicated way. I think this lacks cru personality and at c.€10 is overpriced. Fairly good.
Posted from CellarTracker

...at c.€10 is overpriced. Fairly good...

!!!!

Are prices really that reasonable in your part of Normandy?

I know Parisian cavistes have all sorts of price pressures, but it's hard to find top-notch Beaujolais in Paris for 20euros, let alone 10euros!

...at c.€10 is overpriced. Fairly good...

!!!!

Are prices really that reasonable in your part of Normandy?

I know Parisian cavistes have all sorts of price pressures, but it's hard to find top-notch Beaujolais in Paris for 20euros, let alone 10euros!

Caviste prices tend to be quite high but there is decent cru Beaujolais available round here from some at c.€8. With a little hit or miss, even better prices can be found in supermarkets. For example, there is a Morgon Domaine des Souchons for <€7 which is better than this Chaize. Obviously it doesn't have the character of wines from better known growers like Chermette and Brun whose wines are priced in the teens, let alone Foillard or Lapierre, but I enjoy it a lot as a quaffing wine.