Canada has a bit of a talent for Gamay. Ontario’s Niagara region is making some smart ones, and under completely different conditions, BC’s Okanagan is also doing some good work with the variety. This one is from Heidi Noble’s Joie Farm on the Naramata Bench. It’s a wine that sort of creeps up on you. On opening it, I wasn’t quite there. But after a while, I began to understand it, and it revealed more of itself to me. It’s a really good wine. I wonder whether it could have even be picked a tiny bit earlier?
Joie Farm Gamay 2014 Okanagan Valley, Canada
12.6% alcohol. From the Naramata Bench, this is a gentle, supple Gamay with smooth, slightly stewed cherry and berry fruits. There’s a subtle herby, undergrowthy edge to the sweet fruit, which is more black than red, and there’s an appealing fine-grained savouriness here. This Gamay shows an easy elegance. It’s not profound, but it has a serious side, and it’s very, very drinkable. It’s also one of those wines that shifts and grows in the glass. Coming back to it, I’m getting a nice savoury, layered personality. 91/100
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- Gamay 1 – RPM Gamay Noir California
- Gamay 2 – Domaine Metrat Chiroubles ‘La Scandaleuse’
- Gamay 3 – Orofino, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia
- Gamay 4 – Julien Sunier Fleurie
- Gamay 5- Radford Dale Thirst Gamay, South Africa
- Gamay 6 – Louis Claude Desvignes Morgon Javernières ‘Les Impénitents’
- Gamay 7 – Hauts de Chasselay, Coteaux du Lyonnais
- Gamay 8 – Serol Les Originelles, Cote Roannaise
- Gamay 9 – Te Mata Gamay Noir, Hawkes Bay
- Gamay 10 – Puy de Dome, Auvergne
- Gamay 11 – Beauregard Fleurie
- Gamay 12 – Antoine Sunier Morgon 2014 and Regnie 2014
- Gamay 13 – Thibault Liger-Belair Les Roucheaux 2011
- Gamay 14 – Bow and Arrow 2014 Oregon
- Gamay 15 – Domaine de Fa Beaujolais en Besset 2014
- Gamay 16, Pearl Morissette Cuvée Mon Unique Gamay 2013
- Gamay 17, BK Wines et Le Grappin Les Deux Fous Gamay
- Gamay 18, G Spot Vin de…France, Beaujolais Villages
- Gamay 19, du Grappin Fleurie 2014
- Gamay 20, Lapierre Morgon 2014 ‘N’
- Gamay 21, Bass Phillip Gamay 2014 Gipplsand
- Gamay 22, Château de Durette Morgon ‘Hommage’ 2014
- Gamay 23, Joie Farm Gamay 2014 Okanagan, Canada
At 12.6% , it was around 22.5 brix when it was picked . On the bench that’s when the seeds are just brown and some lignification of the stems is underway . Pick it any earlier and it’s going to show a bit vegetal .