Lesser-known French Gamay — bright, juicy, slightly chillable.
$31.00
750mlVintage may change. If it does, we’ll notify you of any price adjustment before dispatch.
About
Not from Beaujolais — from outside the AOC, hence the name ('unwelcome grape'). Juicy red fruit, soft tannin, refreshing acidity.
The fruit grows in the hills northwest of Lyon, on granite and siliceous soil that sits outside the formal Beaujolais boundary. Boutinot bottles it as Vin de France on purpose, rather than force it into rules it does not qualify for.
The name goes back to 1395, when a Burgundian duke banned Gamay outright. Growers hid vines among their Pinot Noir to keep the grape alive. Boutinot picks the fruit early to protect its freshness, then ferments it by carbonic maceration, the whole-bunch method Beaujolais made famous. Most of the wine rests in stainless steel. A quarter spends six months in second and third-fill French oak, just enough to round the edges.
Serve it a few degrees below room temperature, closer to a light chill than a full red-wine pour. It wants a table with cured meats, thin-crust pizza or roast chicken on it.
Structure
Flavour
Pairs with
Picked on Stef's structure profile.
