This afternoon’s wine is a Beaujolais Villages by Georges Dubœuf, aka the “King of Beaujolais,” known for approachable, fruit-forward Gamay wines. At the Village level, it’s a step up in complexity from the Beaujolais AC due to hillier vineyards that get more sun exposure, but isn’t from one of the ten Cru villages, so it isn’t the most complex (or expensive) example from the region. This wine is 100% Gamay, which tends to have high acidity, but the carbonic maceration process involved in the winemaking helps boost the fruit flavors and aromas.

This wine is a clear, medium garnet with a watery rim and has medium-intensity aromas of fresh dark cherry, cassis, and a little bit of prune. I didn’t pick up any noticeable secondary or tertiary aromas; this is very fruit-dominant on the nose.

Gamay is a high-acidity grape, and this wine has some puckery brightness on first sip that lightens as the wine opens up. This wine is medium-bodied, with a medium-long finish and soft but present tannins that leave a light grip.

The flavors are much more restrained than the aromas, and I mostly observed dark cherry and currant. Dried leaves and forest floor add an earthiness to the wine, so it’s not the fruit-bomb I expected when I smelled it.

I chilled this bottle to 55°F, then popped-and-poured into a Spiegelau white wine glass. I chose the smaller-bowled glass to focus the aromas. The buttery Mt. Tam triple-cream in the photo made for a fun pairing (along with some whole grain crackers).

This bottle was $14.39. Drinkable now but not age-worthy due to low complexity and relatively low alcohol (13%). I enjoyed the opportunity to have a benchmark example for Beaujolais Villages, but I’m also glad it was under $20.