WTN A Loire Gamay

With roast chicken, a green salad and a a baguette, we usually drink a young fruity wine such as Cote du Rhone, yesterday I decided to taste something different and opened a Jean Francois Merieau Les Bois Jacou Touraine, 2007 . Fruity nose of raspberries, lovely color, a little grainy on the palate but with a lot of herbs (a LOT of herbs) and minerals. The wine is clean and vibrant with bright acidity. At 12% alcohol, we had no trouble finishing the bottle. Felt like a bistro night, all that was missing was the apple tart

Cool. I know it's a gross generalization, but Loire gamay often seems a little tauter than Beaujolais, and that extra edge makes it really perfect for some situations.

It keeps me out of the true geek inner-circle, but I've never really warmed to Loire Gamay. There's a strange taste (I call it "potted plant") that I consistently get, and just doesn't attract me. It's herbal, but not the green of Cab Franc (pyrazines?). Others look at me strangely when I say that, but I can usually nail Loire Gamay blind. The degree I find varies a lot, but at best I like but do not love.

It keeps me out of the true geek inner-circle, but I've never really warmed to Loire Gamay. There's a strange taste (I call it "potted plant") that I consistently get, and just doesn't attract me. It's herbal, but not the green of Cab Franc (pyrazines?). Others look at me strangely when I say that, but I can usually nail Loire Gamay blind. The degree I find varies a lot, but at best I like but do not love.

I know exactly what you're talking about. The wines need to have all the right components in balance for me, and I rarely turn to them as something exciting to drink in the States. I was introduced to them when living with a French family outside of Tours, and these gamay wines were perfect for drinking in the garden on late summer nights. The freshness and the vibrancy of drinking them so close to home was a treat. But much like the rose that everyone loves when travelling in Provence, I must admit I have less use for them here at home.