Clos des vignes du Maynes Big Trouble in Little Chenas Beaujolais Gamay 2015

Marissa A. Ross

Wine Editor, Bon Appétit

Loved the previous vintages, but the '15 is reeeeaaal hot. While this is expected for '15 Beaujolais, I'm still surprised. Reminds me more of a Syrah than a Gamay on both the nose and the palate; jammy with ripe red fruits & heavy dark plum, sweetly spiced, stemmy, quite a bit of tannin. It's still a well crafted and good wine, but not as quaffable as I like my Gamay. I pulled it out as a chilled, late afternoon sipper but definitely needs to be served with a meal.

Bloody Amateur

Never thought I'd enjoy a wine named after a Kurt Russell film, but there you go.

Kit H

Intense, deep color. Opaque. Purple. Quite surprising for gamay. Undrinkable reduction the first night, spritz, too. I just let it rest in the bottle overnight rather than decanting. Night two it was wonderfully fresh. Granite. Nose of soil, redwood bark, anise, alcohol. Reminded me a bit of fresher wines from P. Jambon. Medium grained tannins all over the mouth, gums to tongue, front to back. It’s hard to reconcile these notes with with the pleasure it gives. It’s very fine one moment and a challenge the next. I thought this was fine with food, though I would not drink it alone.