From: Bugey, Savoie, France
Varietal: Gamay
Taste: Simply delicious. Replete with spicy red fruit and with low acid and tannin, this wine is downright fun! This is the type of wine to open without thought during various occasions and with many types of simple, comfort food (hey, don't most of us eat like that every night?). Gulp it by the bottle, gulp it by the case! In contrast with the previous vintage, 2021, the 2022 Maison Angelot Bugey Rouge has more depth of fruit, with pronounced notes of baking spice and a hint of alpine sweet green herbs evident on the palate and the nose. The fruit edges into the territory of freshly picked raspberry, bing cherry, and wild sour cherry in the most refreshing way possible. I can’t believe I like this more than the 2021, but it’s seriously delicious and quaffable.
Pairing: Gamay’s mellow fruity flavors make it a rare red wine equally capable of pairing with delicate dishes like fish, and salty, caramelized foods like roasted poultry, and aged cheeses. Gamay is a good wine choice for Thanksgiving in particular: An echo of its strengths are already on the table with roasted turkey and cranberry sauce.
Roast chicken: Salty, crackly roast chicken skin and savory pan juices meet a high, clarifying note of fruit, with just enough acidity to revive the palate.
Charcuterie and rich, complex cheese: Both charcuterie and Gamay are good entry points for an evening: Gamay comes across as gentle and interesting while cutting right through all the cream and fat on the board.
Grilled fish: The added hint of smoke and char on a grilled fish pulls out the deeper musky floral notes of some Gamays. The lighter-bodied wine won’t interrupt the nuances of the fish; it’s less aggressively tart than an Albariño or sauvignon blanc, and more defined than a Chardonnay.
About. Maison Angelot is run by the brothers Eric and Philippe Angelot. Their 57 acres of vineyards are divided into about 20 different parcels, some hillside and others along the valley floor.
The white grapes Aligote, Chardonnay, Roussette, Altesse, Molette and Jacquere are planted around the town. For reds, Mondeuse, Poulsard, Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes come from some of the property's oldest vines.
Yields for the Gamay average about 55 hl/ha, while the vines themselves are 25-30 years old. The grapes are approximately 80% destemmed. The juice is converted into wine through carbonic maceration in temperature-controlled fiberglass tanks over the course of 6 days, and the caps are punched down twice a day. The result is a wine that is totally slurp-able.
Bugey: The French Wine Region You’ve Overlooked
It’s home to serious whites, reds, rosés, and sparklers.
by Kate Soto
