West Coast Wine Network
Vineyards & Wineries
Promise Cabernet Sauvignon
Muscadine Wines
Three coins wine
Hooker wine
Another view from Chappellet
The view from Chappellet
Hooker Wines - Wine for Rugby lovers
Garnet Vineyards
Lawer Family Wines - Vineyard Estate Rentals in Calistoga
Chappellet Winery
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#306356 - 04-24-2006 19:34:45 Renaissance for Napa Gamay Noir?
bsolis Offline
Newbie

Registered: 04-24-2006 19:25:09
Posts: 2
Andrew Lane 2004 Gamay

I tried this the other night after attending an event hosted by 7x7 Magazine in San Francisco. I meet Andrew Dickson, winemaker of Andrew Lane Wines. It was amazing, so I tracked down a bottle for myself.

I paired it with spicy sesame/chili noodles with chicken and green onions. OH MY OH MY!

The AL Gamay Noir has the mouth-feel and velvety texture of a Pinot Noir, but with a more vibrant, red fruit character. It offers a lively bouquet and flavor of fresh red cherries, red currents, with touches of strawberry and spice on the finish.

The 2004 Gamay is produced from one of the last remaining Gamay vineyards in Napa Valley.

Food Pairings
Andrew Lane Gamay pairings often relate to the “style” of Beaujolais, France, where the bistro originated: tomato soup in puff pastry and coq au vin for example. Maple glazed king salmon and Andrew Lane is a match made in heaven. Gamay is also a compliment for many delicate, and even spicy, Asian dishes. The wine is diverse and considered as close to white wine as red wine gets.

A fresh fruit style is prevalent here acting to form a natural bridge for sweet (n’ sour) recipes even though the wine is dry. Crisp acidity will cut through fat. Andrew Lane Gamay Noir enjoys low alcohol levels (12.9%), low tannin levels and aged in neutral oak barrels so oak extraction is minimized. All three of these components act to reduce the amplifying effect of spicy food while also complimenting vegetarian cuisine. Low tannin, crisp acidity and the star bright- fruitiness of Andrew Lane Gamay Noir is a profile that begs for soy sauce!

Andrew Lane Gamay Noir is a fantastic picnic wine drinkable on its own or with food.

The Gamay Noir promises to turn Pinot Noir fans sideways over this incredibly fruit-forward, vibrant, anytime, anywhere wine.



Edited by JFO (04-25-2006 13:58:11)

Top
#306357 - 04-24-2006 20:13:17 Nice Note....
TomHill Online   content
Venerated Icon
Elvis Has Entered the Building!

Registered: 02-15-2004 17:42:19
Posts: 12127
Loc: LosAlamos
Not heard of AndrewLane before. I gather they specialize in Gamay. What is known as Napa Gamay is both a clone of PinotNoir (thanks to Paul Masson's screwup) and sometimes the French grape Valdiguie. Do you know which one this wine is made from.
I gather there's precious little of the true Beaujolais grape, GamayNoir a Jus Blanc, planted in Calif. Steve Edmunds makes one from ElDorado/WhitterVnyd that is true GamayNoir and awfully good. With the earthy character that comes from ElDorado terroir, it bears a resemblance to GrandCru Beaujolais I think.
NapaVlly strikes me as a pretty high rent district to be growing Gamay. Would think Cabernet would be much more profitable. Unless the Dicksons are a bit nutso and have this thing for Gamay.
As for a Rennassiance for Gamay....one good btl doesn't make a trend...you can make all sorts of extrapolations from one data point. But I'm glad to see someone's interested in Gamay... other than the REAL Charles Shaw... before his name became famous.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the wine Brian.
Tom

Top
#306358 - 04-25-2006 02:28:28 Re: Nice Note....
Drew Spaulding Offline
Obsessed

Registered: 08-24-2003 07:00:00
Posts: 2169
Loc: Outer Qwghlm
Tom, this one is 100% Gamay Noir/true Gamay. It is from a small plot near the Palisades at the NE end of the valley (I can't recall which vyd, exactly). The vines are 60+ years old according to Andrew, and are naturally very low yield due to the vine age and dry-farmed nature of the site. Pretty stunning stuff, really, and I'm glad to have followed him "from the very start".

Cheers!
_________________________
I do not like the Cone of Shame!

Top
#306359 - 04-25-2006 13:50:33 Re: Nice Note....
bsolis Offline
Newbie

Registered: 04-24-2006 19:25:09
Posts: 2
Thanks Tom, I appreciate the feedback. I believe it is true GamayNoir, a Jus Blanc. I'll have to look up Steve Edmunds wine, sounds worth trying. Do you have a link?

You're right about the real Charles Shaw! And, very true, one great wine does not make a renaissance. The rich history and a handful of current producers in California and Oregon gives one hope. Vive le gamay!

Brian

Top
#306360 - 04-28-2006 14:03:31 Re: Nice Note....
Steve Edmunds Offline
Regular

Registered: 02-18-2004 16:44:33
Posts: 631
Loc: Berkeley, CA
I had the Andrew Lane Gamay and I believe it is Valdiguie. Gamay ripens before Pinot Noir. There's no way one could produce a 12.9% alcohol wine from real Gamay in a place where you can make 14% Petite Sirah.
More importantly, the wine tastes nothing like Gamay.
_________________________
Don't know why a man can't make his way through this life, without diggin himself into a hole; don't know why I can't give these blues away, to save my soul...

Top


Misc. Stuff
Muscadine winegrapes
Muscadine wine collection
2010 Garnet Pinot Noir - Rodgers Creek Vineyard
Promise Wine
Dom Perignon
Chappellet Wine
Lawer Family Three Coins Wine
13 Blackbirds
Old Wine
2009 HdR Last Seminar
Newest Members
Jplotty, mws941, Emily, samishra, PippoMura
1693 Registered Users
Top Posters
Brad Harrington 13966
JFO 13065
TomHill 12127
Marshall Manning 10482
Florida Jim 7733
David Andreozzi 7157
blil 6251
Marc Hanes 5639
BEB 5444
Dave Dyroff 4867