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selection, 1227, has a long growing cycle, normally harvesting 15 days later than Beaujolais’s most common clones. Château de L’Éclair Gamay 1227 2022 (14% ABV), from a hot vintage, offered up floral, ripe, red-fruit/red-cherry/ black-cherry characters. Although full-bodied, its finely structured tannins and acidity countered any potential alcohol heaviness.
Gamay clone 1170 is a late ripener
from the Auvergne, selected specifically for climate mitigation. The 2022 Château de L’Éclair Gamay 1170 was comparatively more dampened aromatically, with blueberry fruits rather than the red fruits of the 1227, fuller-bodied, slicker, and more viscous, but firmer structured and more tannic. Only 12.5% ABV, its ample volume fooled me into thinking that it was more like 13.5–14%.
The institute’s two most promising Gamay-parented grapes are Gamaret and Gaminot. They bottle both commercially, offering a chance to taste several vintages of each alongside one another, with their own Gamay as control. Gamaret is a 1970s-era Swiss cross with Reichensteiner. An early ripener, with rot and fungal resistance, it leans toward spicy, blackberry-fruit characters and softish, mid-palate tannins. It’s already gained some traction, with several Beaujolais producers bottling their own versions.
Compared to Gamay, Valerie sees Gamaret as “always having more color, less acidity, very level tannins, but [the] sensation is small because [of the wine’s] thickness and volume in mouth.” Unexpectedly, given the super-hot vintage, the 2020 Gamaret de L’Éclair was 13.5% ABV, compared to the 2020 Gaminot at almost 16%. Quite sweetly fruited, with intense blackberries on the palate, it reminded me of Blaufränkisch but was slicker and more viscous, with softer, less rustic tannins. The 2022 Gamaret de L’Éclair (13% ABV), from a less hot year, was spicier and more floral, a touch coarser but clean and fresher than the 2020. Tasting it alongside the Gamay, I found the latter more floral, spicier, finer, and much more acidic. More compelling is SICAREX’s own 1980s crossing of Gamay with Pinot Noir: Gaminot. Officially listed in 2014, it is clearly viewed as an important grape in Beaujolais’s future. Lempereur described it as having the “fruitiness of Gamay and the delicacy of Pinot Noir.” Bertrand tips it as “a wine of the future” that handles “higher alcohol but with good levels of acidity.” So far, SICAREX is the only producer. The three vintages I tasted suggested a wide range of possibilities. The hottest—and perhaps most futuristic—was from a super-hot vintage, the 2020 Gamaret de L’Éclair, with a blazing 15.9% ABV and accompanying ultra-ripe, dried black-fruit characters.
Below (from left): A bunch of Gamaret; the garden at Château de L’Éclair; a harvester feeling the heat in Fleurie vineyards. Opposite: Netting to guard against hail, now a greater risk than ever.
Although mouth-filling and broadly structured, it had unexpectedly fine tannins, enough acidity, and quite good length. Most surprisingly, however, there was no perceptible alcoholic burn or whiffy spiritiness; a bit Gamay-gone- Shiraz-ish, but in a good way. I found the 2018 Gaminot de
L’Éclair more agreeable. From a cooler vintage, it was much better balanced, spicier, and more freshly fruited than the 2020; still quite full-bodied, but neatly cut through with fine acidity. A really nice wine. The 2023 Gaminot de L’Éclair (14% ABV) sat between the two stylistically. Tasted side by side with L’Éclair’s 2023 Gamay, it was spicier, brighter, and more lifted, with red-fruit aromas and flavors. Lighter-bodied, with a slick viscosity, it showed longer, finer-grained tannins. Relatively more transparent and linear than pure Gamay, its Pinot parentage showed through in spades. Again, I wouldn’t have picked it as being anywhere near 14% ABV. A classy wine. Given a choice between Burgundy’s
blended Passetoutgrains and Gaminot, I’d opt for Gaminot, because it seems a more complete, better-balanced, and better-integrated wine than a concoction of Pinot and Gamay. Tasting Gaminot versus Gamaret,
strong differences became very apparent. The former is more Pinot Noir-like aromatically and structurally, the latter more Syrah-like; maybe not bad options, given the regions Beaujolais sits between and possible future transitions.
26 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025
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