Winemaker Notes
Alpine strawberries and cherry skins. Translucent electric gamet in color, light-medium body and loaded with joyous fruit and spice. Very buoyant and light on its feet, it is packed with gorgeous and continuously unfolding flowers, spices and juicy fruit. This wine is too fun for words, Gamay purity, alpine freshness, juicy melons and summer berries exuberance all in one glass.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
A wine of exquisite purity and class, the 2023 Gamay Noir Alpine Peaks is positively stellar. Crushed flowers, mint, dried cherry, orange peel, cedar and tobacco are all beautifully lifted in the glass. Readers will find a wine with understated structure. The long, clean finish is compelling.
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James Suckling
Vibrant and racy aromas of dried strawberries, cranberries, rhubarb and hibiscus. The palate is light-bodied with fine tannins and bright acidity, giving flavors of raspberries, cola and blackberry bush. Delicate, lifted and slightly reduced from seven days of carbonic maceration.
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
Originally a source of oenological sustenance for gold-seeking miners of the mid-1800s, the Sierra Foothills was the first region in California to produce wines from European grape varieties. Located between Sacramento and the Nevada border, this area’s immigrant settlers chose to forgo growing the then-ubiquitous Mission grape and instead brought with them superior vines from the Old World to plant alongside mining camps.
Zinfandel has been the most important variety of this region since its inception, taking on a spicy character with brambly fruit and firm structure. Amador and El Dorado counties, benefiting from the presence of volcanic and granite soils, are home to the best examples. Bold, robust Rhône Blends and Barbera are also important regional specialties.