There aren’t too many gamays in Australia, but the climate suits it in the Yarra Valley. From Punt Road Wines, this gamay is fashioned in a varietally correct style and has enjoyable aromas and flavours of raspberries and fresh red fruits, rounded by 9 months in old oak. Ready to drink now, this is a lovely medium bodied gamay with immediate appeal. Rating: Good. Abv: 13%. Price: $20s. Website: https://puntroadwines.com.au. Reviewed: December 2019.
This is a very classic Beaujolais cru from Georges Duboeuf. From Chiroubles, it has classic cherry and redcurrant aromas and a linear, chalky texture on the palate. Delicious drinking. Rating: Good. Abv: 13%. Price: $20s. Website: http://www.duboeuf.com
Deeply coloured, this is a refreshing Chiroubles Beaujolais from Georges Dubœuf. Fruity in impression, it has primary dark cherry aromatics. The palate is medium bodied, with medium length and presents in a fresh and youthful manner with chirpy acidity. Rating: Good. Abv: 13.5%. Price: $24.
The 2015 vintage was an outstanding one in the Beaujolais region, and it shows. Domaine Lupé-Cholet’s 2015 Beaujolais-Villages is deeply coloured, with aromas of blackcurrants, cherry and bright red berries. The palate is mid weighted with good length on the finish. A good import and a wine for thirsty drinking. (Alc: 12.5%, Region: Beaujolais, France, Rating: Good to Very Good, Would I buy it based on this tasting? Yes, Drink: now, Tasted: April, 2017, Source: Sample)
Read more:
discovervin.com.au
www.lupecholet.com
Other vintages reviewed:
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This is a joyous Beaujolais-Villages, all purple and gluggable. Deeply coloured in the glass, it has a cherried exhuberence to its nose. Yet it is not a simple wine either. The palate is fresh and shows some complexity with its raspberry and cherry expression. Stock up. (Region: Beaujolais-Villages, Burgundy, France, Rating: Good, Drink: now)
I’d plant gamay, I think. There are few local versions, and those that are there, can enjoy prices that would surprise some from Beaujolais. I got a few quizzical looks when over there recently. This is a good gamay from Punt Road in the Yarra Valley, reminding of a Chiroubles tasted the other day (reviewed here). Light cherry aromatics, and a savoury palate with some fruit sweetness and a hint of grip. Oh, and the wine list. Local, interesting and a range of varieties. What’s not to like? (Region: Yarra Valley, Rating: Good, Drink: now)
Read more:
puntroadwines.com.au
The local weather in Melbourne seems to have taken on a decidedly far north Queensland guise over the last couple of days. Perfect though for a chilled Beaujolais, a style and region that I particularly enjoy. This Chiroubles was spotted in a local wine store, a tribute frankly to the depth of the offering available in the local wine scene. It’s a tasty wine, all fresh cherries and earth with hints of complexity. The palate has just enough grip and is well balanced and a sense of place (you can read notes on my trip to the region last year here). (Alc: 12.5%, Region: Chiroubles, Beaujolais, France, Rating: Good to Very Good, Drink: now)
Read more:
www.domainedesmarrans.com
This is a lovely Beaujolais-Villages wine from Louis Jadot. Our (French) waiter happily pointed out that this family was older than Australia, although I see that Maison Louis Jadot was established in 1859, and therefore, I suspect an entirely unintended technical distinction drawn. There is some fruit power in this wine, with its aromatics of dark chocolate and plum fruits. The palate is textured and balanced. Rating: Good
Read more:
www.louisjadot.com
I was a little stumped recently when asked why I like Beaujolais. It tends more to be consumed than necessarily pondered upon. It does fill however a permanent vacancy at home for a lighter red that works with or without food. Visiting this (beautiful) region last year certainly didn’t hurt either (you can see my notes here). This wine is actually a pretty good Beaujolais Villages from Château de Belleverne that punches above its appellation. The Beaujolais that land in Australia can have some intensity to them, and this fits the pattern. Aromatics of cherries. The palate is fresh with a full flavoured expression of cherry and redcurrants. Lovely drinking. Rating: Good
Read more:
www.chateau-de-belleverne.fr