Loire Valley meets the Gamay Grape

Gamay is just one of those grapes that's hard not to like, unless you don't like simple, honest and straightforward. It's a kind and peaceful wine that in my mind is perfect for just about any occasion. I've tried Gamay wines from Ontario, BC and of course also it's native homeland in Beaujolais which is in the southern part of Burgundy in France. All of them have pleased me for their delightful character and charm, their fresh fruitiness and uncomplicated persona. They aren't wines that want to slap you in the face or screw you over, they just want to help you forget about how evil the world can be for a little while.

When I came across the Domaine Octavie 2008 Gamay from Touraine in the Loire Valley, I immediately knew I would have to try this wine. The Loire Valley in France in a part of the wine world that I've only recently started exploring. It has a variety a climates and as a result produces a whole range of red, white, rose, sweet and sparkling wines.

I wasn't fully aware until I started researching this bottle that Gamay was much of a grape in the Loire Valley, and while it's not one of the main grapes of the area, it's common enough to at least get a mention in the litterature for the area.
Domaine Octavie is part of Terra Vitis which encompasses vitners and growers from around France who are working together to promote sustainable viticultural practices. This movement towards environmentally concious grape growing practice is a trend that seems to be taking root more in the Loire Valley than anywhere else in France, although many other areas such as Burgundy are seeing a growing trend in this direction. I personally beleive that it does make a difference in the wine and this is part of the reason why I love the Loire Valley so much. Plus, I just like alot of the wines from here. What's also nice about the Loire is that Robert Parker never really liked wines from this area so the prices are still reasonable and the winemakers tend to stick to the ideas they have for their wines instead of trying to create wine specifically for the Parkerized market. Consumers therefore end up with unique, terroir driven wines. This alone is a great reason to explore the Loire Valley.

Now about this wine; 100% Gamay grapes, 12% abv, It has the typical fruit forwardness of Gamay with the distinctly cherry, almost sour, kind of underripe cherry flavour I associate with cooler climate Gamay's like Ontario or BC instead of the warmer Beaujolais ones. It has also some distinct leathery/earthy tones that add a nice rusticness to this wine, as well as some slight peppery notes. It's medium body and elegant, well balances with tannins that aren't harsh at all. Overall a very enjoyable, easy drinking red wine. I imagine it would go well with a cheese and cold cut platter.
Have already had this bottle twice and would definately get it again. Worth trying for the adventurous and the cautious wine drinkers alike!

Carchelo 2008, round 2

Originally I told you all that I really didn't enjoy this wine. I found it manufactured and fake and overly fruity and oaky and over all really unbalanced. Well, that's still true, but I always like to give wine (and winemakers) the benefit of the doubt and try wines again a day or two after to see how they've opened up. This one was just as bad the second time around as it was the first time I tried it. I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone when I tried it this second time and he suggested that since it tasted so manufactured, it might go well with manufactured food....so, at 11pm I decided to take a little walk to my local McDonalds's for a cheeseburger. I would be hard pressed if I had to come up with any food that's more manufactured than good ol' MikeyD's. Now the problem with going to mcd's at 11pm in North Vancouver is that the walk in part is closed...which means I'm left with the drive thru. I don't have a car because I just don't need one and it would seem that for some reason they don't allow walk-thru's in the drive-thru. I even had the window shut on me when I tried to reason!! Thankfully my lucky car arrived after not too long a wait to save me from the non-walk-thru McDonalds and was kind enough to procure this food item for my experiment. So thank you kind samaritan! Your good deed helped to forward progress in the food and wine world and for that we will be eternally grateful :D
Sadly, however the burger and the wine formed a deplorable pair and I'll have to be reminded to only try this experiment again under controlled circumstances. It made the wine somewhat more palatable but it just wasn't strong enough to hold it's own against it. Maybe a thick rare steak with no extra marinade flavours might have worked, but even with that, I can think of a lot of other wines to pair with that dish that would make it way more enjoyable.

This wine still fails is my conclusion.

The Pinotage

Pinotage is an intersting grape variety in that it's exclusive to South Africa and was created for growing and making wine specifically in South Africa and as such is not found anywhere but here. It was bred as a cross between Pinot Noir, which is an extremely tricky grape to grow, and Cinsault (which is knows as Hermitage in South Africa), thus giving the grape the name of Pinotage and somehow this cross makes it ideal for the growing conditions i South Africa. I have only tried 2 Pinotages in my life, and both of them have been over the past month and while I thoroughly enjoy the gamy, leathery components of this grape variety, it really doesn't seem to sit well with a lot of other people. I brought it with me to a dinner party and while the other winos at the table thought it was fascinating no one really wanted to drink more than a glass, which means I had the whole bottle to myself! One of the vegitarians at the table said that all she could taste was leather in this wine. I thought it went pretty good with the steak we had for dinner but even with this meat, it was bordering on being too overpowering for something like Beef. Maybe it would go better with a heavier, thicker, richer meat of some sort, Giraffe was one of the suggested pairings from those at the dinner table. I've never had Giraffe and as far as I know neither has anyone I tried this wine with so this pairing is only speculation. All I know is that this wine really isn't for everyone and with it's meaty, earthy tones and leathery notes, I'm not surprised the vegitarian didn't enjoy this wine. It's uniqueness is essentially the reason I like it so much and the fact that the specific flavour combination don't exist in wines from any other regions makes it absolutely fascinating for me. Worth a try if you're into being adventurous with your wine but be forewarned of what to expect and you might just be plesantly surprised like I was!

What I also like about this wine is that just about any pinotage you see here in Canada is under $20. Plus what I like is that unlike some more popular varieties (like Australian Shiraz that differs so much from bottle to bottle) you can expect similar flavours and characteristics from most Pinotages in the store.

The bottle I had was the Beyerskloof Pinotage 2007 from Sellenbosch South Africa, 14%abv. The 05 and 06 vintages are available for $12.00 at BC Liquor stores and since this wine is supposed to age well, I might just head out and try an older vintage to see if it maybe soften's up enough to hold it's own against my steak.