Gamay - November 10th 2009 - Ms. Abbie

Gamay - November 10th 2009 - Ms. Abbie

Wikipedia: Gamay, a red wine. also Beaujolais
Pairings: Cornish Hen, raspberries, onions, dates, oily, fatty, or salty foods pair well with Gamay
About: Gamay, purple grape, grown in the Beaujolais or Loire valleys of France. Popular wine made from it, called "Beaujolais Nouveau" - released just before Thanksgiving Day (festive). Even if we can't get Beaujolais Nouveau in time, we can get Gamay wines now (at Total Wine or other stores). 3 levels or tiers of Beaujolais, the every day kind, then Beaujolais Villages, then the highest tier is called a Cru. There are 10 recognized Cru's of Beaujolais. We tasted 2 Cru's this time around: Brouilly and Moulin-A-Vent.

We dined on a customized flank steak flat bread from Seasons 52 (had flank steak, chipotle sauce, poblano peppers, mushrooms, onions, goat cheese, spinach, not sure what else, but it was good) , oil-cured black olives, peanut M&Ms, artisan cheese rice crackers, as our pairings for this wine club meeting.

Tasting Notes:
1) 2007 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages (12.5% alcohol) - $9.99 at BJ's Wholesale
Ruby/brick color, medium depth, clear-ish, low scent, low tannins, long finish
Bouquet: No scent, clean
Notes: tart, almost carbonated feel on the tongue, light, yet subtly lingers, dry-ish
Mina tastes blackberry, Jennifer tastes Boysenberry, Mina says there is a bitter note at the end

2) 2007 Moulin-A-Vent Georges DuBoef Domaine des Rosiers (13% alcohol) - $15.99 Old Milton Pkg
bouquet-soft, mustiness,
notes: tart, lingers, mulled fruit sauce taste, fuller body, dry, more mature wine
darker color, Matt tastes honey caramel, dry crisp.

3) 2008 Brouilly, Jean Claude Dubeaune, Domaine des Nazins (12.5%)- $14.99 Total Wine
no scent,
tart, fuller body than #1, sweeter/dry finish, but it fades much too fast, I feel let down.
Matt says smoked cherry, Mina says dry, less tannins,

WINNER: We had a tie. The winner was #2 (for Abbie & Jennifer), or #3 (for Matt & Mina)