Gilles Bonnefoy - Urfe, Gamay Volcanique, France (2022)

TASTING NOTES

Red and black fruits combined with a wonderfully refreshing acidity and a smokey, volcanic mineral character.

Biodynamic farming on the estate's high-altitude parcels of granite and basalt soils. Hand-harvested, very low yields, with a fermentation of mixed de-stemmed and whole-cluster grapes. No SO2 is added until a small addition before bottling.

The only red permitted in the AOC Côtes du Forez is the Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc, but Gilles also has old varieties of Gamay such as Gamay de Bouze, Gamay de Chaudenay and Gamaret. 

The estate began in 1997 with the rental of a few plots of old vines and has grown to 11 hectares, mostly on and around the volcano de la Madone near Montbrison, entirely certified organic and Biodynamic (Demeter). 

Due south of the "better" known Loire wine appellations, Roanne and Montbrison represent a treasure trove of undiscovered vineyards on hills and ancient volcanoes of the Monts du Forez and Monts du Lyonnais.