Château des Charmes St. David's Bench Vineyard Gamay Noir Droit 2017 Wine Review

Château des Charmes St. David's Bench Vineyard Gamay Noir Droit 2017

St. David's Bench, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada

Community Score:89/100

Community Reviews: 5

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Price: $19.95

Drink: 2020-2022

Bottle size: 750 ml

Alcohol: 13%

Sweetness: Dry

Wine Type: Red Wine

Winery: Château des Charmes

Agent: Chateau des Charmes

Natalie's Score: 89/100

A juicy Niagara red wine with lots of mouth-watering acidity on the palate and made from the Gamay Noir Droit grape. The vines for this wine are planted on the side of ancient limestone slopes of the St. David's Bench Vineyard in glacial soils located furthest from the cooling temperatures of Lake Ontario benefiting from warmer temperatures and a longer ripening season. Juicy flavours of ripe cherry, raspberry, spicy and vibrant on the palate. Gamay Noir ‘Droit’ is a red wine unique to Château des Charmes. In the early 1980s, Paul Bosc discovered a single Gamay Noir vine growing straight up and taller than the others in the vineyard. The wine had classic Gamay cherry flavours and a medium body, but there was also more complexity. Genetic testing revealed that Canada’s first vinifera vine was born right in their vineyard. They were granted International Plant Breeders’ Rights so no one else in the world can grow this vine or make this wine called Gamay Noir ‘Droit’. I’ve loved this wine for many years: not only does it have fleshy ripe dark berries, but there’s also a peppery top note. Pair this wine with grilled pork chops or chicken.

Gamay Noir Droit food pairings: prime rib, beef brisket, gourmet burgers.

Heavenly Hamburger Wine

This Château des Charmes St. David's Bench Vineyard Gamay Noir Droit 2017 was reviewed on August 11, 2020 by Natalie MacLean

More Vintages: 2019 2016 2015 2014 2010

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Pricing & Stock Information

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346742
$19.95
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Reviews and Ratings

Jennifer Havers - WSET Level 3 rated this wine as 90/100 with the following review:

Lovely and a great summer red to enjoy with any BBQ. Aromas of cherry, raspberry and strawberry, with hints of black pepper and a hint of oaky smoke. Medium-full bodied, smooth on the palate, with tons of ripe berry and again a hint of pepper on the finish. Enjoy with BBQ pork, steak, or grilled vegetables.

Melanie Lloyd - Certified Sommelier rated this wine as 89/100 with the following review:

A Gamay Noir that is unoaked to let the expression of the Gamay “Droit” shine. This Gamay “Droit” is a unique clone that is both created by and exclusive to the winery.

Concentrated aromas of black current jelly, ripe raspberry, and decomposing leaves, with dried petals and a hints of eucalyptus . Although unoaked, there is perceivable sweet vanilla been aromas. For a Gamay, it has oomph on the palate. The tannins are present yet gentle. The flavours are of concentrated black cherry and plum with floral notes seeping through and a touch of smoke. A perfect wine to pair with grilled red meat.

Tasted Aug 2020

Kendra & Matthew Elliott rated this wine as 89/100 with the following review:

This Gamay has notes of cherry + berry but a great hint of smokeyness as well. A bit more body than your typical gamay given the "droit" vines. It also has a bit of oak to it, even though it is not oak aged. Love the pepper undertone to this gamay - perfect slightly chilled with BBQ.

Molly Amoli Shinhat reviewed this wine as follows:

A Canadian-born vitis vinifera wine? This one is Canada's first. Gamay Noir Droit can only be grown in St. David's Bench Vineyard in Niagara.

It's a medium ruby headed for the deeps, which gives smoke on the nose, and speaks to the juicy, ripe cherriness to come. On the palate, it's an unusual blend of flint, dark cherry, cassis, with black pepper and spice notes in a medium body along a supple mineral spine. At 13.5% a.b.v., it's higher than many Gamays, and bone dry at 2 g/l. A dark, juicy wine, with ripe fruit, strongly balanced, a kind of Heathcliffe of Gamays, if you will.

Grown in an ancient limestone ridge from mature vines, this wine is unoaked. Who on earth would want to change this fabulous combination of flavours and aromas? Do consider putting aside a bottle or two to see how this would stand up a couple of years from now. But right now, slightly chilled, drink on a sunny day as a sipper or drink year-round with BBQ - meat, vegetables, or tofu.

During a morning walk through a Gamay planting some 30 years ago, winemaker Paul Bosc spotted a single plant growing straight up, taller than all the rest of the Gamay plantings. A fifth-generation winemaker from France, he immigrated to Niagara in the 1960s with his family and founded Château des Charmes winery in 1978. As he suspected, the plant was genetically different - Gamay's cousin? - and because of its smoky, dark fruit profile (?), he called it 'Gamay Noir Droit.'

Château des Charmes St. David's Bench Vineyard 2017 Gamay Noir is produced from vines planted on the warmer side of ancient limestone slopes of the St. David's Bench Vineyard, Niagara-on-the-Lake wine region. Lots of mouth-watering acidity to match the ripe cherry, cracked black pepper spice and smoky flavours on this wine. This clone of Gamay (Droit) is unique to this winery and is unoaked. The clone is a natural mutation of the Gamay wine grape from the Beaujolais wine region and was discovered in the 1980s by winery founder, Paul Bosc Senior. - Community Wine Reviews

If you liked the Château des Charmes St. David's Bench Vineyard Gamay Noir Droit 2017, you might also like these wines:

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Château des Charmes St. David's Bench Vineyard Gamay Noir Droit 2017 Wine Review

Natalie's Score: 89/100

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