Notes from a brown bag Gamay tasting with the Dorks over the weekend:
2011 Georges Descombes Morgon Vermont Vieilles Vignes Gamay
Unfortunately my only note says "excellent". It started the night off well, though.
2023 Patton Valley Vineyard Queen Bee Willamette Valley
50/50 blend of gamay and pinot. Modern, pleasant but no excitement or authenticity here.
2013 Marcel Lapierre Morgon Gamay
Corked. Damn!
2023 Blue Mountain Gamay Noir Estate Cuvée Okanagan Valley
Strange cactus pear fruit, does not resemble the other gamays or Blue Mountain Gamays I've had in the past.
2022 Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Gamay
High alcohol and ripeness. Needs time. OR something.
2015 Domaine Mee Godard Morgon Corcelette Gamay
My bottle. From an American winemaker who acquired a small plot of land in Morgon and uses traditional winemaking. Deep color, lots of pomegranate, spice, red and black currants, stony minerality. In its prime right now, so sorry this is my last bottle. A WOTN for me.
2022 Château Thivin Brouilly Reverdon Gamay
Unfortunately only wrote "tasty" and "grippy", but I did give it a B grade so obviously I liked it.
So here's the Beau Tie part: 2019 Maison Leroy Gamay
So Erik pulls out a bottle and passes it around. When he unsheathed it after the discussion I nearly fainted. Of all things, I had brought the same wine--for which I paid $130 out of state a few months back. So I immediately unveiled mine and passed it around for comparison. His had only been open for about an hour, but I had uncorked mine two days prior and further aerated it in a decanter for five or six hours prior to the event. Both drank like serious young burgundies, and elegantly so, though both were too young and, notable producer aside, didn't compete with the best wines of the night as hoped. HOLD.
2019 Tawse Winery Gamay Noir Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA
Palest wine of the night with cranberry and watermelon notes, reductive nose. Not a fan.
2023 Domaine Saint-Cyr Chénas Les Journets Gamay
Light and spicey on the palate but the only aroma is reductive.
2023 Division Winemaking Company Gamay Noir Division-Villages, "Les Petits Fers" Oregon
Cranberry, rhubard, cinnamon jelly belly and a dash of Vit B minerality. Interesting.
2022 Hospices de Beaujeu Morgon Cuvée Jean Gaudet Gamay
Good, but on the plain side compared to the Bachelards it followed.
2020 Château des Bachelards Comtesse de Vazeilles Saint-Amour Gamay
Paul's wine. Gorgeous, silky dark red fruit with geranium and a spice level that reminded me of a Foillard Corcelettes. Outstanding value for a young Beaujolais in the low 20's that you don't have to wait for. A WOTN for me.
2023 Domaine Pluchot Gamay Saint Romain Côte Roannaise
DS's. Earthy, balanced, with bold new-worldish fruit.
2009 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py Gamay
WST's. Has evolved well since Erik's bottle in 2019. Has lost a little weight but it's no less fascinating. Copying Warren's notes: Pinot-like. Fantastic. Big but not dense. Great acid. Structured. Dried flowers. Cherries. Fleshy. Cranberry. Another WOTN.
2011 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette Griffe du Marquis Gamay
Also WST's: A delight for me since I once owned a six pack but blew thru it when it hit a sweet spot years back. I wrote: great nose, old fruit, fine tannins, muscular. Warren wrote: "Very structured. Integrated tannin. Spice. Gorgeous. One of the best bottles of the night. Still young, with years until its apogee." Another WOTN.
2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Morgon Gamay
Very good; has aged well.
2022 Thibault Liger-Belair Bourgogne Les Deux Terres Gamay-Pinot Noir blend
Had been opened the day before. Elegant red and blue fruit, classy, drinks well. Available locally, I'm a buyer.
2022 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais FRV 100 Rosé Gamay
I can enjoy the off-dry flavors of a good Bugey, but though I've had several of these over many years it's always just too sweet for me.
