Let it not be said that Wines of Interest don't introduce you to new things.  OK, so you know Gamay, it's the grape variety of Beaujolais... the red wine that lots of people think they should drink more of, but somehow never get round to.  Committed red wine drinkers tend to like "oomph" - plenty of power in their reds and perhaps a good slug of oak as well.  Gamay doesn't do that though so it can get overlooked, or even worse dismissed completely.  Gamay is refined, it's elegant - often pretty - and tends to produce reds to drink when most people might opt for a fuller white wine.  I'm thinking pork, poultry...you get the idea.

This is Gamay from Australia though, and the angular minerality that Beaujolais exhibits isn't there.  Instead we find a wonderfully fresh and rounded Gamay which hugs you like a favourite cushion.  The familiar raspberry fruit is very evident, but there's something else here as well which is so wonderfully smooth and which comforts you in the same way that decent chocolate does, though this is not chocolate.  This is beautifully fruity with summer fruits on the nose flowing through to the palate which is elegantly balanced and wonderfully fresh but with that comforting smooth finish.  I can hear Dr McCoy saying "It's Gamay Jim... but not as we know it."

The vines that produce this were grafted onto established Syrah rootstocks in 2022.  The grapes are hand-picked and whole bunch fermented with carbonic maceration for 7 days.  This is not unusual for Gamay where the fruit is the whole point, rather than the tannin.  The juice is then rested in 500 litre French oak casks but you won't taste any oak here, it's just used to enhance that wonderful smooth mouthfeel.  Whether you love Gamay, or think it's not for you, this is a wine you really must try.  It may just open a door to a completely new experience.