Grape Varietal Part II: Gamay

Name: George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

Varietal: 100% Gamay

Vintage: 2012 

Region: Burgundy, France

Sub-region: Beaujolais

Price: $4.95 on sale (Vintage Cellar)

I paired this wine with meatloaf and green beans because my boyfriend begged me to make meatloaf and I knew that I wanted to open this bottle of wine that night. It was an okay pairing, but the wine tasted somewhat watery compared to the very strong flavors of the meat (I opted to serve the wine chilled like Kevin Zraly suggests on page 115 of his book). Given the opportunity to purposely pair a specific food with the Beaujolais Noveau, I would pick something extremely simple so that the mild flavor of the wine is not overpowered. A good pairing would be a caprese salad or caprese sandwich- the basil adds a salty crispness that would be balanced by the watery fruit of the wine. This wine would definitely be something I would drink at lunch, not dinner.  I am curious to try a full-bodied Gamay (as opposed to a Nouveau) and see if my thoughts on food pairing would change.

Overall, I found the 2012 George Duboeuf to be a major disappointment. After reading all about Gamay first in Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course and then in my varietal report research, I was expecting a fruitier, more fulfilling experience. What I got was a flabby wine that might as well have been watered-down Koolaid. Based on the translucent color of the wine in my glass, I was expecting it to be light, but not as weak as it was. Descriptors of Gamay wines include berries and cherries but I really did not get any distinct smells or tastes from the George Dubeouef 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau, if anything, perhaps some watermelon or raisin. Because the wine is recommended to be consumed young and I opened it right around the six month mark, I am wondering if perhaps it was just starting to go downhill and that is why it was so disappointing…

The astringency of the wine was low, which I always prefer but the sugar-acid balance was very out of whack- as I mentioned previously, the wine was beyond flabby. At 12% alcohol, it is obvious that the wine was earlier harvest- much closer to a German wine in alcohol content than a typical French wine! I generally like wines that have a short finish and mild to no aftertaste and this wine satisfied that requirement of mine (which I expected it to be like seeing that it was basically water with some red food coloring). Despite my less than stellar experience for my first time trying a wine made with Gamay, I am definitely up for trying more soon, perhaps a full-fledged Beaujolais.

Map of Beaujolais region where the 2012 George Dubeoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau came from (AOC)

While the Beaujolais sub-region of Burgundy grows strictly Gamay grapes, the other varietals planted in all of Burgundy include: Pinot Noir, Grenache and Syrah; to a lesser extent: Cinsault and Mourvedre [1].

As discussed before, Gamay is actually a very adaptable grape, if not finicky like its relative Pinot Noir. The major challenge to growing Gamay is expressed in the Beajoulais Nouveau- minerals in the soil can impart so much acid into the plant that leaving it on the vine to increase sugars/alcohol is simply not an option. I can infer that this is not a problem for just Gamay, but is due to the terroir of the Southern Beaujolais region.

                                                                  References
1. Zraly,K.,Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course.2011:Sterling Epicure.323.