I am back after a one month hiatus. Despite the break I have been enjoying some great summer wines, including the 2019 Haywire Gamay from the Okanagan Crush Pad, located in Summerland, BC.
Gamay Noir is the perfect summer red. It is most notably grown in France where it is called Beaujolais. Gamay is low in alcohol, light-to-medium in body and low-to-medium in tannins. Gamay Noir can be served chilled and has medium-to-high acidity, making it food friendly.
2019 Haywire Gamay $28.99
The grapes for this wine were farmed organically at a high elevation vineyard on Secrest Mountain, in Oliver, BC. A portion of the grapes were destemmed prior to fermentation, while the rest of the grapes were left as whole clusters and underwent carbonic maceration. Fermentation took place in both open top and concrete fermenters, prior to aging the wine in concrete tanks for eight months.
After two hours in the decanter there are aromas of leather, strawberry jam, cherry and cedar. This is a dry wine, medium- in body, with medium- tannins and medium+ acidity. The palate is full of ripe, juicy fruit, with plums, strawberries, cherries and a touch of white pepper on the medium finish.
I tasted the Haywire Gamay a few weeks ago. It was a well balanced and delicious wine although a little one-dimensional. I would give it a Parker 88. A well made wine with nothing outstanding or exceptional. At $29 this is badly over-priced and I would never buy another bottle. It should be closer to $20 to $22 to represent any kind of value. I see in my notes that I had the same comment about the 2018 at $25.
Thanks for you comment James. I certainly agree that this Gamay is not overly complex, as is evident in my tasting notes. And I too wish this wine was around the $20 mark. Unfortunately I’ve noticed a lot of BC wines have increased quite a bit in price over the last year. I would love to hear any favourite Gamay recommendations that you might have. 🥂