Amazing night last night: the Beaujolais magnum party at Magpie. A great crew and some fab Gamay in magnum. Here’s the film.
The classic Beaujolais wines of Château Thivin
Claude Geoffray is the sixth generation of his family domaine, which was purchased in 1877 by Zaccharie Geoffray, a farmer from Villefranche sur Saône. Then, it had just a couple…
In Beaujolais: the elegant wines of Domaine David Chapel
David Chapel has a restaurant background, having worked as a sommelier. His father (Alain Chapel) owned a restaurant that had the full complement of three Michelin stars. David also spent…
Gamay 39, Jean-Marc Burgaud Les Vignes de Thulon 2016
Latest in the Gamay series: it’s a relatively inexpensive but delicious Beaujolais Villages from Burgaud, a producer I really like. He tends to make quite dense, burly expressions of Gamay,…
A lovely evening at Scotch Bar, Blenheim
I’d been in Blenheim for three days before another big night at Scotch, the epic wine bar in town where it’s easy to rack up quite a spectacular bill if…
Gamay 38, Maison Dominique Piron Fleurie 2016
This is a lovely expression of Fleurie, from Dominique Piron. I visited him in 2016, and was really impressed by the consistency and nice terroir expression of the wines. He’s…
Gamay 37, Haywire Gamay Noir 2016, Okanagan Valley, Canada
For the latest in this series on Gamay, I’m heading to Canada’s Okanagan Valley. Here, Gamay does really well: I reckon more should be planted! I’ve been following Haywire’s work…
Gamay 36, Mount Edward Muirkirk Vineyard Gamay 2017
Had this last night at Scotch Bar in Blenheim. It’s a new wine from Mount Edward, and it’s a Gamay with no additions at all, including sulphites. And it’s utterly…
Gamay 35, Château de Grandmont Beaujolais Villages Nouveau 2017 France
So, it’s Beaujolais Nouveau day. For quite a while, those of us who love Gamay and Beaujolais were a bit embarrassed by this seemingly outdated celebration. We cringed when we…