2013 Malivoire Gamay, Niagara Escarpment VQA, Ontario, Canada $17.95
If you are a regular reader of this website then you’ll be more than familiar with my undying passion for the Gamay varietal in so many of its conjugations. Now, whilst I have always been a enthusiastic flag-waver for the wines of Malivoire‘s Winemaker Shiraz Mottiar, it was only last week during our sweaty Toronto heatwave that I discovered the perfect application for one of his more accessible wines, the delightful Niagara Escarpment Gamay. Of course with it being a Vintages Essential you should have no issues tracking down a few bottles… and trust me, you are going to require a few bottles.
I’ve always espoused the chilling of Gamay before consumption, as I feel that serving it a lot cooler than “room temperature” works particular wonders with this varietal, bringing out some of its more attractive characteristics. Last week I had left a bottle in the kitchen fridge overnight, only to pull it out at a decidedly chilly 3 degrees centigrade. Although I would never usually serve even a lighter red quite that cold, on that particularly blisteringly hot afternoon it really did work a treat. Just what the Doctor ordered.
Often an extreme chill like this would shut down the nose of a wine, but the Malivoire Gamay still exhibited its usual devilishly attractive raspberries and red cherries. On the palate the temperature made the wine wholly crisp, refreshing, cranberry-like, and extremely drinkable… dangerously so actually. As the bottle warmed up just a tad, aromatics of freshly ground black pepper and a touch of oak spice became apparent.
I’d recommend this wine with basically anything meaty off the grill: sausages, burgers, lamb chops, and the like, but to be quite honest it’s a real treat to drink really chilled down and by itself. My perfect wine for the Summer.
(Three and half apples out of a possible five)
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And he cannot express the importance of the chilling enough.
Hooray for Gamay! This one is a great value, too.