PDX I heart gamay dinner
- Thread starter kirk wallace
- Start date
kirk wallace
kirk wallace
So, about 30 Oregon gamay producers gathered at Elder Hall gathering space. Most were pouring 2015.
My personal favorites were (in no particular order):
1) Vincent Fritzsche 2015 -- all fruit from Bjornson Vineyard. really fine stuff; complex and tasty; and not at all heavy in the mouth; great acidity and fruit; all in balance. 13% abv
2) The Color Collector 2015 -- fruit from two different sites; one on Chehalem Mountains and the other not (i didn't write down what the delightful owner and wine maker, Bethany, explained. The wine had completely captivated me. ravishingly beautiful. stems add a nice warm spiciness (just hints of something like sandalwood & cinnamon) her first release. Carbonic 7 semi-carbonic fermentation https://www.tccollector.com/story 13.5 abv (i think, i forgot to write it down, but it doesn't show hot at all.)
3) Brickhouse "Due East" 20015 --all from the 358 clone. quite a step up from their perfectly good regular release. this is pure and creamy with a sappiness and persistence. worth seeking out, if not as arresting as the prior two. (and Vincent's 2015 is sold out anyway.) Traditional open top fermentation.
4) Bow & Arrow 2015 (from magnum) -- traditional fermentation. very good. very similar in style and balance to the Brickhouse. maybe not as intense as the due east, but more refined and compelling than BH regular.
5) Love & Squalor 2014. how can you not love wines from a winery with this name? Esme is not on the label though. Juice in the bottle is excellent. The extra year makes this wine stand out from most of the others
12.5% abv (or so). see more here: https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...ad/1471904142197/2014_GNWV_TECHNICALNOTES.pdf
Then on Tuesday, dinner with the above menu. All wines showed very well, but to me the standouts were:
2012 Roilette Tardive
2015 Division Renardiere (and Tom Monroe of Division had Myron Redford (of Amity) speak about the plot and the farming, which was extra special )
the older wines also showed well, especially the 1995 Perroud, but the 2 older Oregon entries held their own, especially after a little extra air. the 2005 Aufranc showed a bit of the hardness and heat of that vintage, but was still a nice drink. just suffered a bit by comparison.
A super fun and instructive two events!
(oh, and if you ask me, well structured gamy does not pair well with sole.)
My personal favorites were (in no particular order):
1) Vincent Fritzsche 2015 -- all fruit from Bjornson Vineyard. really fine stuff; complex and tasty; and not at all heavy in the mouth; great acidity and fruit; all in balance. 13% abv
2) The Color Collector 2015 -- fruit from two different sites; one on Chehalem Mountains and the other not (i didn't write down what the delightful owner and wine maker, Bethany, explained. The wine had completely captivated me. ravishingly beautiful. stems add a nice warm spiciness (just hints of something like sandalwood & cinnamon) her first release. Carbonic 7 semi-carbonic fermentation https://www.tccollector.com/story 13.5 abv (i think, i forgot to write it down, but it doesn't show hot at all.)
3) Brickhouse "Due East" 20015 --all from the 358 clone. quite a step up from their perfectly good regular release. this is pure and creamy with a sappiness and persistence. worth seeking out, if not as arresting as the prior two. (and Vincent's 2015 is sold out anyway.) Traditional open top fermentation.
4) Bow & Arrow 2015 (from magnum) -- traditional fermentation. very good. very similar in style and balance to the Brickhouse. maybe not as intense as the due east, but more refined and compelling than BH regular.
5) Love & Squalor 2014. how can you not love wines from a winery with this name? Esme is not on the label though. Juice in the bottle is excellent. The extra year makes this wine stand out from most of the others
12.5% abv (or so). see more here: https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...ad/1471904142197/2014_GNWV_TECHNICALNOTES.pdf
Then on Tuesday, dinner with the above menu. All wines showed very well, but to me the standouts were:
2012 Roilette Tardive
2015 Division Renardiere (and Tom Monroe of Division had Myron Redford (of Amity) speak about the plot and the farming, which was extra special )
the older wines also showed well, especially the 1995 Perroud, but the 2 older Oregon entries held their own, especially after a little extra air. the 2005 Aufranc showed a bit of the hardness and heat of that vintage, but was still a nice drink. just suffered a bit by comparison.
A super fun and instructive two events!
(oh, and if you ask me, well structured gamy does not pair well with sole.)
Wow, that's fun. What was this? We need to come down next year.
Was the Aufranc plastique corked? I seem to remember that year was. If so, it would not show its best at all.
Perroud is a nice producer.
Idea that there are "30 Oregon gamay producers" sort of blows my mind. Who knew? Even up here in Jet City.
Was the Aufranc plastique corked? I seem to remember that year was. If so, it would not show its best at all.
Perroud is a nice producer.
Idea that there are "30 Oregon gamay producers" sort of blows my mind. Who knew? Even up here in Jet City.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Thanks for the report, Kirk. Very interesting!
kirk wallace
kirk wallace
Bj, This was the inaugural year of "I love Gamay" http://www.ilovegamay.com
They hope to repeat next year. I hope you and Madame L can come down!
And yes it was very much a mutual love society for an underappreciated grape. For quite a few of the winemakers, this was only their first, second or third vintage.
I am pretty sure that Aufranc the was under real cork, but I will try to find out for sure.
And glad you know Perroud. Totally new to me. A few of the winemakers there spoke of his vineyard and cellar practices in reverential tones.
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
Fabulous!
kirk wallace
kirk wallace
I should have noted that, as many of you know, although many makers at these two events were only able to begin making gamay wine recently, Myron of Amity and Doug of Brickhouse have been growing and making wine from gamay in Oregon on the same sites for 32+ and 23+ years, respectively.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
I've had Brickhouse gamay before - the "Year of the Dragon" bottling - and liked it just fine.
Very interesting report, Kirk. Our favorite domestic Gamays to date have been, natch, Steve Edmunds's Bone Jolly and Chateau Grand Traverse's Gamay (from the Old Mission Peninsula in Michigan), both of which bear a distinct resemblance to one another and neither of which is likely to be mistaken for a Morgon or Fleurie. I still have a bottle of the 2015 Vincent Gamay which I will crack open soon.
Mark Lipton
Mark Lipton