Gamay
The Gamay grape is famous for Beaujolais, the wine from the appellation Beaujolais on the banks of the Rhône near Lyon. Beaujolais is released young late in autumn as the "Nouveau Beaujolais," but can also be drunk throughout the year. Gamay grapes often have flavors of strawberry, bubble gum, and banana. They are high in acidity and low in tannin, and usually aren't aged in oak.
Beaujolais pairs well with cheeses that range from mild to pungent such as Brie, Camembert, Feta, Morbier, Muenster, Bra, Reblochon, and Durrus.
Château du Basty, Nouveau 2003 Beaujolais Lantignié $9.99 at Central Market. 12% alcohol. It is medium ruby-red. It smells very grapey. I can also smell strawberries and fresh fruit. It tastes a little like Kool-Aid. Very low tannins. High in acidity. It really tastes a lot like fruit juice. I am surprised this is 12% alcohol. It reminds me of sweetened cranberry juice. It is good, but kind of weird. Very light-bodied. Sweet and sour. A little spicy and tingly, like tart fruit.
Château du Basty Nouveau Beaujolais 2003 with Appenzeller. This tastes like ashes and dirt together. My husband thinks it works ok because it makes the cheese more pungent. The wine definitely brings out the stinky flavor of the cheese, but you lose the wine in the process. I think the cheese is too earthy for this delicate wine.
Château du Basty Nouveau Beaujolais 2003 with Bleu d'Auvergne. Very spicy, creamy blue cheese. At first it is ok together, but then it tastes rotten and horrible. It is highly offensive. My husband says that it makes the wine taste like Thunderbird, which is not a good thing.
Château du Basty Nouveau Beaujolais 2003 with Leerdammer. This cheese is like a Baby Swiss. I liked these two together because the cheese cut back on the fruit in the wine a little bit. They are also both very light and delicate. Most red wines kill the Leerdammer.
Château du Basty Nouveau Beaujolais 2003 with Mizithra, salty Greek cheese, like dried out Feta. This was kind of weird. The salt and fruit work together, but this cheese is just way too salty for wine. I think Feta would work better, as has been suggested. This cheese just happened to be in the fridge, so I tried it.
Château du Basty Nouveau Beaujolais 2003 with 18 month Mimolette. Very good! This cheese is nutty and has a caramel flavor. It makes the wine taste spicier and cuts back on its fruit flavor. I think this cheese is too powerful for the wine, but I still like it. It makes the wine feel tingly. I can't stop eating it. The wine really brings out the nuttiness in the cheese. Maybe I like this because both the cheese and the wine remind me of candy!
Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau Moillard 2004 $11.49 at Grapevine on the day it arrived. 12.5% alcohol. It smells fruity and almost buttery, like juice that is a little old. Very fruity, some pine flavors, good body. I bought this one over the others because it had no tannins (being young, like the others,) and some herbal qualities. Strawberry and cherry. Lightly effervescent.
*Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau Moillard with P'tit Basque. Salty, sweet sheep's milk cheese. This is an absolutely perfect pairing. It is the best strawberries and cream match I have ever tasted. The fruit is maintained. Nice acidity. Light tannins. Creamy cheese. They blend so well together. I taste the cheese, and it just fills my mouth. Then I have a splash of light wine, and instead of distracting, it penetrates the cheese flavor and just blends in. It is excellent. I have been looking for a perfect match for this cheese for so long and wish I could get this wine year-round.
Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau Moillard with Robiola. I liked the textures of these two -- the light effervescence with the creamy, musty cheese. This cheese didn't go with all the Beaujolais at the tasting. It went with the ones that had some body, piney herbaceous flavors, and stronger tannins, but still not too strong. Very good. It tastes a little like a tire, but I like the mold flavors with the fresh wine. The wine brings out the cheese flavors a lot. The cheese gets really strong and cuts into the wine, but it's still good. I love the textures together.
Morgon "Côte du Py" Jean Foillard 2002 $26.99 at Whole Foods. 13% alcohol. Beaujolais-Villages. Morgon is one of the best of the 10 Beaujolais appellations. They grow along the 15 mile strip of granite hills to the north of the region. The wine is made without sulfur and is often unfiltered. Produced by Jean Foillard. This wine's bottle is shaped like a Burgundy bottle, and at the top, the neck-covering, where the lip is, is made of a thick, red, ceramic putty. It was extremely difficult to get into. My husband had to hack into the top with a knife and it chipped everywhere. It was almost like cracking into plastic-y glass. I have no idea why they didn't just use simple foil. Medium red and cloudy. It smells like strawberries and raspberries like the Beaujolais nouveau. It also tastes very fruity, but fuller and sturdier than the Beaujolais Nouveau. I haven't really had a wine like this before. I think what I am tasting is a little wood, or maybe not wood, but something rustic-tasting. This wine is excellent. It is tart, berry-ish, and spicy on the finish. It is way too easy to drink.
*Morgon "Côte du Py" Jean Foillard with Emmenthaler. Nutty, mild, mountain cheese. It's nice, but the aftertaste fruity in a rotten way. A stronger mountain cheese would not be good. The wine, as mild as it is, overpowers the cheese somewhat, but it's a really good match. I like the tart, bright, yet earthy wine with the creamy-tasting, nutty cheese. The spicy, fruity, alcohol burn is tamed by the full, sturdy, yet mild, cheese.
Morgon "Côte du Py" Jean Foillard with P'tit Basque. Substantial, but light, sheep's milk cheese. These are a good match because the cheese has a certain earthiness. I love Beaujolais with P'tit Basque, and especially Beaujolais-Villages becasue it stands up to it a better. This is a nice pairing, though I feel sometimes like the cheese could be less earthy. This is a slightly more aged P'tit Basque.