Best known for producing red Beaujolais wines, Gamay is also a prominent Loire Valley grape variety.
Gamay is particularly widespread in the Touraine wine region where it is often vinified as a single grape variety … as it is done for Beaujolais wines. It then produces fruity wines, with a beautiful red color and low tannins. In Touraine, Gamay is also used in blends with Cabernet (Franc or Sauvignon) and Côt (better known as Malbec). In addition to red wines, Gamay also gives fruity and elegant rosé wines, the major production of which is in Anjou. Although Gamay is a world famous grape variety, it is hardly ever planted outside of France. Another French exception!
The various historical sources place the origin of the Gamay grape variety in the small village of Gamay in Burgundy. In the Middle Ages, the cultivation of Gamay outpaced that of Pinot Noir, because of higher yields. But that was to the detriment of quality : in the second half of the 14th century, Philippe le Hardi, Duke of Burgundy, ordered the uprooting of all the Gamay vines in Burgundy. The uprooting stopped at the limits of the Beaujolais wine region where he continues to produce the majority of its red wines today.
Gamay grape characteristics
When it is vinified as the main grape variety or alone, Gamay produces wines that display a beautiful aromatic palette of red fruits (raspberry, strawberry, blackcurrant) with subtle floral aromas (violet) and even spicy notes (black / white pepper). With age or older vines, the aromas can evolve towards more ripe or stewed fruit. In its youth, the Gamay grape variety produces supple, fruity wines with a beautiful freshness. In Touraine, Gamay is often blended with Malbec (Côt in French) which gives it this tannic supplement which allows it to age longer and brings different aromatic notes (leather, cherry).
Cellar
Gamay grape aromas
Wine appellations using Gamay grape
In the Loire Valley, Gamay is vinified in two colors: red and rosé wines. It is mainly in Anjou and Saumur wine regions that you can find Gamay for the production of rosé wines. In Touraine, Gamay is vinified alone mainly in red wines, or in blends (with Malbec, especially around and upstream of Amboise, or Cabernet). Three other appellations use Gamay as the main input in their production of red wines: Valençay (at the crossroads of Berry, Sologne and Touraine), Châteaumeillant, in Berry and Touraine Mesland (around Chaumont-sur-Loire, near Blois).
All appellations using Gamay for their wine production
- Anjou, Chateaumeillant, Coteaux du Loir, Touraine, Touraine azay-le-rideau, Touraine Mesland, Val de Loire, Valençay
Loire Valley wines
Invite Gamay in your cellar !
Our selection of Loire Valley wines: flagship producers but also great wines to be discovered from a new generation of passionate winegrowers.
