by Patrick Ogle
A number of years back you may have seen a wine labeled as "Napa Gamay" and you may wondered why you no longer see it gracing the shelves of your local wine shop. The reason is that the grape wasn't actually gamay but a lesser-known grape, valdiguie.
This Broc Cellars 2014 valdiguie really does remind of gamay--Beaujolais like Morgon. It is fruity with some sneaky, below the radar, tannins below the surface. It is medium bodied with noticeable acidity. As I read up on this grape I saw, again and again, how it was "undistinguished" and now only a minor grape in parts of Southern France. Part of the problem with this grape (used as part of a blend in table wines) is that it is a high yielding grape. That sounds great and it is--if you are growing table grapes. When you are growing wine grapes lower yields are preferred. BUT a winemaker can MAKE a vine grow less grapes via pruning and old vines naturally produce fewer grapes.
Another way a winemaker can intervene is in HOW they make the wine. In this case (as has apparently historically been the case with valdiguie) the wine is made using a technique called carbonic maceration which is often used making the wines of Beaujolais. You can find out more about the process HERE but it generally creates a lighter, fruitier wine but this isn't an indication wines made using it lack character (or even some body). Don't mistake Beaujolais from Grand Cru areas with Beaujolais Noveau; these are quite different creatures.
This is a wine you can drink right away and is one that will please both casual wine drinkers and people who take every bottle seriously. It also comes at a price that is competitive with the prices of comparable bottles of actual gamay. One reason valdiguie was mistaken for gamay is that it shares some qualities with that grape.
A number of years back you may have seen a wine labeled as "Napa Gamay" and you may wondered why you no longer see it gracing the shelves of your local wine shop. The reason is that the grape wasn't actually gamay but a lesser-known grape, valdiguie.
This Broc Cellars 2014 valdiguie really does remind of gamay--Beaujolais like Morgon. It is fruity with some sneaky, below the radar, tannins below the surface. It is medium bodied with noticeable acidity. As I read up on this grape I saw, again and again, how it was "undistinguished" and now only a minor grape in parts of Southern France. Part of the problem with this grape (used as part of a blend in table wines) is that it is a high yielding grape. That sounds great and it is--if you are growing table grapes. When you are growing wine grapes lower yields are preferred. BUT a winemaker can MAKE a vine grow less grapes via pruning and old vines naturally produce fewer grapes.
Another way a winemaker can intervene is in HOW they make the wine. In this case (as has apparently historically been the case with valdiguie) the wine is made using a technique called carbonic maceration which is often used making the wines of Beaujolais. You can find out more about the process HERE but it generally creates a lighter, fruitier wine but this isn't an indication wines made using it lack character (or even some body). Don't mistake Beaujolais from Grand Cru areas with Beaujolais Noveau; these are quite different creatures.
This is a wine you can drink right away and is one that will please both casual wine drinkers and people who take every bottle seriously. It also comes at a price that is competitive with the prices of comparable bottles of actual gamay. One reason valdiguie was mistaken for gamay is that it shares some qualities with that grape.
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