Gamay and Morgon

If there were ever a Rodney Dangerfield of a grape out there that “don’t get no respect,” it would have to be Gamay, and for good reason, I suppose.  A red wine grape, it doesn’t produce big, long lived wines that score huge numbers and win awards, and although grown in various far-flung regions around the world, in only one of those is it the preeminent variety by which the appellation is known, and that is Beaujolais.

Beaujolais is a satellite region in the southern part of Burgundy, France, and Gamay is a member of the same family as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the red and white Burgundian stalwarts.  Most Gamay is light, fruity and innocuous, perhaps best exemplified by that party-in-a-bottle released every third Thursday of November, Beaujolais Nouveau, as well as oceans of ever-present lightweight Beaujolais Villages.  Not all Beaujolais is created equal however, as there are 10 sub-appellations, or Crus, that produce more serious wines of various weights and strengths.  One of those that produce some of the biggest and most substantial wines is Morgon, whose Gamays can sometimes resemble Pinot Noir and perform similarly when paired with food.

I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy two very nice Morgons recently, both of which are imported by noted Wine Merchant Kermit Lynch.  Lynch has a small stable of Morgon producers whom he playfully refers to as his “Gang of Four;” whether a reference to the Chinese Cultural revolutionaries or the ‘70s-‘80s post-punk rockers, I cannot say.  Two of the four are Guy Breton and J-P Thevenet, and their 2005 efforts are both excellent and rather different from each other.

2005 Guy Breton Morgon Vieilles Vignes, 13% alc., $25.52: Ruby red, almost light enough to read through, with an earthy red currant and cherry nose shaded with a hint of red licorice; the pretty, almost perfumed flavors echo and expand on the promise of the aromatics on a medium to medium full bodied frame. Deceptively well structured for at least three to five years of development and improvement; silky textured, almost delicate and exotic in character, unlike any Cru Beaujolais we’ve had before and quite different from Breton’s earthy 2002 Morgon.
 

2005 J-P Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes, 13% alc., $26.34: Ruby red, with a smoky tinge; very Gamay in character, with attractive earthy cherry and cranberry flavors and aromas and just a hint of the barnyard on the nose. Medium to medium full bodied, with fine balance, silky tannins and good acids. I’m not sure I’d want to age this more than a few years, because it’s pretty much right there right now.   

If you’ve never had Gamay, or better yet, Cru Beaujolais, these two would make great starting points, but don’t wait too long.  As of this writing, there are 6 bottles of the Thevenet and a little over a case of the Breton still in stock, and there’s no more at the distributor, so it is what it is.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

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