Anyone in need of a perfect Summer red?

I did the hard work for you, and found one!

Granted, it was not really very hard at all- in fact it was easy.  A fellow ginger wine nerd friend of mine happens to sell this wine.  And we were all like, hey, we need some new juice.  And he was all like, hey, this one’s the bomb, y’all will literally feel like a Koala bear crapped a rainbow in your brain if you try it. So we did, and we do, and that’s the story of how we came to have this wine!  *ba-dum-chhhkk*

So I’ve visited this wine a few times in the last two weeks (visited is a word I like to use that means DRANK), and it it truly sublime.  I’ve only ever written about one other Gamay, the Verdier & Logel Cotes du Forez (see here), which really was one of my favorite wines of 2011.  And customers seemed to like it, too.  And as I said in that post, Gamay is an awesome Fall red.  The flavor profile falls in very nicely with a various sundry of Fall-flavored culinary delights; this is true.  But it begs to be mentioned that Gamay is a PERFECT Summer red, too!  And egads, do we ever need good Summer reds here in Cola.  Seeing as how it lasts almost half the year.  Most of you know me to be a huge fan of whites and pinks in the summer, but you can’t escape the need for a nice red now and then, even when it’s 95 degrees.

So why, exactly?  Well, first of all- this wine is most delicious slightly chilled.  No need to stress about exactly how slight a chill- just stick it in the fridge for 10 or 15 minutes and you’ll be good to go.  And if you forget to do that, and you think you might rather have a root canal than wait 15 minutes for your wine to chill- take an ice cube- drop it in the glass with the wine- swirl it around for 30 seconds, and then take the ice cube out.  You should be good to go.  Some may consider that sacrilegious, but it works.

So now you have a slightly chilled glass of red wine and it’s hot out, and you desire something easy to sip, low in alcohol/high in acid, and fun to drink; since Summer is fun and all.  Cha-CHING!  This wine is all of those things.  What I like most about Gamay in general is that it is incredibly friendly and vibrant.  It gives you all it’s awesome right up front.  But not in a slutty Lindsay Lohan kind of way.  Just a quirky, glad-to-know-ya kind of way.

There are so many fun flavors and aromas to be found; it leans towards darker fruit up front (plums, a hint of black cherry) but also plenty of characteristic Gamay bright red fruit (strawberries, pomegranates, raspberries).  The nose is a bit exotic- herbal notes of sage, violets and fresh lavender, followed by a touch of grass, black pepper, and a bit of lemon that gives the finish a nice lift.  It tastes like a wine that was grown in a specific place (well- duh, all wine is).  But this one really encapsulates it’s terroir beautifully and with spunk.  It is fresh and happy to be alive.

So that’s about all I got to say about this wine, and I highly recommend you stop in and try a glass, or take a bottle home for $15.  I’m going to keep drinking it and watching The Fugitive.  Happy Monday Funday!