Florez Gamay "Fat Cat Loves Nene" Gimelli Vineyard 2023

From the winery:

The origin of the contemporary ‘natural wine’ movement is heavily intertwined with the French region Beaujolais. With the dominant Beaujolais grape being Gamay — how could I, as an aspirational winemaker, not want to work with this cépage!

The name comes from a graffiti tag that my family always commented on in my hometown. Somehow warmly nostalgic.

Grape (2023): 100% Gamay Noir

Vineyard: Cinega Valley, decomposed granite & limestone

Making of: Grapes are placed entirely whole cluster, “méthode ancienne,” into covered upright French oak cuve. Semi-carbonic maceration lasts 3 weeks before the wine is pressed and transferred to barrel to age sur lie for 10 months. Racked once and bottled with zero added sulfites. 

Personality: “A deeper color than one might expect from Gamay. Aromas of raspberry, violet, and freshly wetted stone. This is a California wine, but perhaps more Auvergne-akin than Beaujolais.”