Initially it’s strident, tightly wound, with ropey astringency and a gleaming coil of acid ringing a core of barely ripe Gamay fruit. But with an hour or two of air, even a day, it relaxes, brushes itself out. The scent, in the end, is pleasantly vegetal, its leafiness a foil for tart cranberry and juniper berry. Its lean and attenuated body is sharp like a red arrow. The finish washes clean.
This is not a wine of gravitas and not a vin de plaisir, either, but it’s old-school sharp, which makes it, of course, great with food.
12.5% abv | $15, Imported by Esprit du Vin
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