2006 Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir Reserve

This wine is $16 at the winery, but it looks like it's sold out through them. Perhaps it can be found in a local retail shop though.

A very nice nose - cherry and cola, two things I like to see, or smell in this case.

Nearly perfectly balanced with a very Old World quality to it - I notice myself saying, or implying, this about many Michigan red wines. A definite earth and even a graphite quality, solid acid, but by no means overwhelming - I would say this is an earthy wine for those hesitant about "earthy" qualities. You got your cherry, you got your cola, you got a bit of sassafras, you got your dirt - it really comes together nicely.

A bit of a raspberry thing comes out on the finish, which fades off to blackberry.

At $16 this is screaming - alas, the vintage is sold out from the winery. If you find it, snag it.

Wine: 8.5
Value: Yep

2006 Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir Limited Bottling

My apologies for the “photo” - I either forgot to take or mistakenly deleted the actual photo....normally I'd just cancel the review but this bottle strongly deserves praise.

Alrighty – a Gamay Noir, they call it Gamay in France but they throw the Noir here in the States to make it sound fancy I suppose. This bottle is about $12 which is about the pricepoint that you can get (or used to be able to get before the dollar collapsed) a decent Beaujolais Village wine....how do we compare?

Earth, cherry, and a bit of mint on the nose.

Good balance – lots of dirt, some tart cherry notes, some nice herbaceous qualities, a bit of chocolate covered raspberry as well...as the bottle opens, some interesting cola notes come through..

Some mint, menthol, and other herbs linger on the finish for quite some time with some good acid sticking around really making the mouth water.

Give this wine some food and you're good to go, a great deal at $12 - why in the world I only bought one bottle of this will be a mystery for years to come. Twelve bucks for a bottle this good made with an offbeat varietal in an unusual wine region? This bottle represents why I love wine.

Wine: 8
QPR: 9

2006 Gilles Bonnefoy La Madone Cotes du Forez Gamay sur Volcan

This was marked down to $8 and I thought it may be interesting to try a Gamay from outside Beaujolais. My understanding is the region of Cotes du Forez has areas where grapes are grown in volcanic soil – and if I had to guess by the “sur Volcan” - I assume this is one of those.

Earth, raspberry, barnyard, and tree bark on the nose.

Raspberry – some tartness – mild tannins, earthy notes, some cherry, and a bit of cola.

Some cherry and spicy notes comes through on the finish.

This is more along the quality lines of your standard Beaujolais (ie, not the Nouveau) – basically like a very light Pinot Noir - and for $8 you can't argue with it.