Beaujolais's Grapes: Gamay

Gamay

Gamay is the grape responsible for Beaujolais and, although it does pop up in a few other places, it is probably more than any other internationally known grape variety associated with this single wine region and single wine type. Officially called Gamay Noir a Jus Banc, it is a early budder, flowerer and ripener, making it prone to spring frosts, but it is able to flourish in regions as cool as much of the Loire, as well as other French regions � Maconnais and Savoie. Outside Beaujolais, this grape is chiefly valued in Switzerland. Gamay may well have originated further north than its main home � in the Cote d�Or, where it was planted extensively in the 14th century. However, now it has given way to Chardonnay bar a minor amount. Gamay wines, most of which are for drinking young, tend to be light purple with relatively high acidity, low tannin and the aroma of freshly picked red fruits often layered with bananas, boiled sweets and acetone, which are the smells that result from rapid, anaerated fermentation. Gamay excels on the rolling hillsides of the Haut-Beaujolais on granite-based soil. It is here that the finest wines are produced from the 10 Beaujolais crus, such as Fleurie and Morgon.