Gamay "Beaujolais"

I find the trend of Gamay in Beaujolais has affected my palate; normally if I need a juice wine with great drinkability I'll go for one of my prefered grape varieties from Italy the Barbera. I know they are completely different however I love the similarity through them.
Beaujolais is a southern region of Burgundy on granitic and schist soil, Gamay it is the varieties more planted along some rare chardonnay, Pinot noir and Aligotè let's say Gamay is the man in this region.
There are ten crus make this region diversified and almost unique and if they are apply to the label are red so Gamay, the crus are:
St-Amour
Julienas
Chenas 
Moulin A Vent
Fleurie
Chiroubles
Morgon
Broully 
Cote de Broully
Regniè
This area is very skilled for the carbonic maceration an interesting technique of winemaking to ferment the grapes normally stemmed inclusive "whole bunch" in absence of oxygen with carbon dioxide, the bunch are closed in vats and filled with carbon dioxide gas, or more interesting are the semi carbonic maceration which the producer rather then filled with gas CO2 they using the natural carbon dioxide happening on the natural fermentation. This system extract flavor and color very quickly and very little tannin. So the wine are virtually rosè, light, fruit and juice. However some cru and some producer can make a very cool mineral and serious wine in Pinot style.
Let's start with some of my recent tasting:
Fleurie Yvon Mètras, I discover this producer in the restaurant where lately I have been working.
This simple white label are is "Villes Vignes" old vines from 2010 
Beautifully transparent with great ruby color lovely viscosity, clean and perfumed red cherry, cranberry and strawberry with a lovely ripeness. Some lavender, fennel and sage.  Resinous and tar. Sour and precise. Great wine. Fleurie is the queen of the crus, I will say the Chambolle Musigny of Cote de Nuit.

 
Second one Le Printemps Fleurie 2010 from Yvon Metras. Less complex than is Villes vigne but I found it with more mineral very granitic and schisty, stony steely and rubbery. Another Queen
Next producer according to Kermit Lynch a wine merchant in States is one of the gang of four of the Gamay from Beaujolais.
 Jean Foillard
 The biggest part of his vineyard are in Morgon the sturdy and masculine cru of this region a "Gevery Chambertin". Granite and schist on a deposit of clay and sandy, very fertile soil. From this vigneron I had the Cote de Py from 2011. "Cote de Py" stand for a famous slope outside the town of Villie Morgon, an exceptional  Grand cru.
This wine every time I had I was amazed by its beauty and funkiness; more concentrated in color than Fleurie, some black and red cherry lovely tannin quite mellow but present. Palate red plum juice and structure very mineral, sour and great length… My goodness how good it is "Funky free jazz". 
The next wine from Foillard was a 2007 "Cuvee Corcelette" a 80 years old vine on a completely sand stone soil I wasn't amazed by this one, I do think without granitic soil Gamay doesn't express himself very good. I'll taste it again and review next time... for now let's said the bottle wasn't in a great condition.

Still another Cote du Py from Foillard from 2010 a very different vintage more approachable but more typically Beaujolais, the nose more rubbery and bit shorter but still great and outstanding wine.
Another Fleurie was from Julie Balagny a young producer with very cool labels. This wine still from 2010 a classic approachable vintage was perfumed peach and racy, bubble gum with hint of smoked hay, sweetly fruit but not excessive. Any lady will enjoy the wine of this amazing girl "Julie". A very passionate winemaker.
Classic Fleurie 


Now it's time for a legend Mr. Marcel Lapierre a father of the biodinamique in Beaujolais. Detail, precision and meticulous are his approach to winemaking his wine are more pinotesque than Gamay. I love all his wine for me there is no different of vintage; with this producer you can lock yourself in any dinner with your friends or partner and make them happy with a bottle of Marcel.
Many thanks going to the grand father of the movement of natural winemaking in this region Mr. Jules Chauvet a negociant who unfortunately died in 1989.
Chauvet was a rare combination of winemaker, research of chemist and super taster. He argued for naturalness in wine from a position of scientific expertise and immense experience.








 
 









Comments

Post a Comment

A drinker

Chablis Climats and Lieux-dit

Image
Climat: from the Greek Klima via the Latin Cliamtis.  Precisely delimited plots of land which benefit from specific geological and climate conditions...  Lieux-dits a designated area of land with a historical particularity from a topographical point of view of an ancient story... These two terms in wine always as an interchange used; however, you can find several Lieux-dits within a single Climat... Chablis is a really good example of how these two concepts work together.   See the map above and you can see how many Lieux-Dit compose a climat, in this case, 1er Cru. For example Montmains 1er Cru, a famous block of vineyard on the left bank of the Serein river at the bottom holds two famous Lieux-dit called Forets and Butteaux; according to the INAO, this can be a label on his own or as Montmains 1er Cru.  Vaillons 1er Cru got several different names, those are: Sechet, Les Lys, Les Epinottes, Ronciers, Mellinots, Beugnons and Chatains.  Another good example is the
Podcast

Domaine de la Cras, Marc Soyard "Coteaux de Dijon"

Image
In 2013, the city of Dijon purchased a 160-hectare agricultural property called Domaine de la Cras, located just outside the city. They decide they want to release the land to farm the vines were planted there. So they taught to create a kind of competition open to winemakers:  The criteria were:  - The vineyards had to be farmed organically.  - Had to be a young winemaker with no existing family vineyards.  - Also interested in opening the Domaine to the public for educational visits.  - The conditions that the winemaker pay a yearly “rent” of 2000 bottles per year to the city of Dijon.  Marc Soyard was chosen; a young winemaker from Jura with no family past in winemaking or background on wine.  Marc works for six years at Domaine Bizot in Vosne Romanee as chef de culture "vineyard management" also he helped Jean Yves in the cellar and was able to learn the winemaking process.  Messieurs Soyard at Domaine de la Cras as the same hands-off natural philosophy
Podcast

Cahors Simon Busser - Corbières Maziere Fabrice Monnin

Image
SIMON BUSSER from the village in Prayssac, in the AOC Cahors: Cahors is a small town in southwestern France, located 160km to the east of Bordeaux. The climate here is subject to multiple influences; from the Atlantic coast which bring a continental climate, and the Mediterranean from the south which gives a maritime influence. We can divide the AOC into two different terroirs the "Causses" based limestone plateau that produces more tannic, mineral lived wines. The other vineyards profile is the one that influenced by the river Lot with a more gravelly slope which makes more approachable wines on the fruity spectrum profile.  Cahors is home of Malbec, Bordeaux grapes mainly Merlot, and also a small amount of Tannat more present in the neighborhood Madiran AOC.  Simon Busser has been training with Olivier Cousin in the Loire. He returns to his village Prayssac and start to looking after his father’s vineyards. He works his small vineyard with a horse, as Cousin taugh
Podcast