Gamay Noir

Gamay takes its name from a hamlet near Saint-Aubin on the Côte de Beaune, and it has been grown in Burgundy at least from the 14th century, when its supplanting of some Pinot Noir territory was regarded as scandalous by some. It yields more generously than Pinot Noir and is much easier to grow. The Black Death hit the region in 1348-1356 and flared up again in 1360-63 and 1374, leaving the countryside short of people, and growers switched from their low-yielding, costly Pinot to the easier to manage and more productive Gamay. Philip the Bold's edict of 31 July 1395 banned Gamay from the Côte d'Or. As quoted by The Drinks Business, the ordinance called it "a very bad and disloyal variety called Gameez, from which come abundant quantities of wine". The same edict also condemned the abandonment of good vineyard sites, the use of fertilisers to encourage a greater crop and the practice of adding hot water to the must. His grandson, Philip the Good, repeated the order in an edict of 12 May 1441, and further anti-Gamay decrees followed in 1567, 1725 and 1731. Pockets of Gamay survived in Burgundy long beyond the 14th century, and Burgundians, Decanter notes, tend to look down their noses at it, arguing that it lacks the finesse of Pinot Noir. In the Beaujolais, Gamay has been planted since the early 17th century.

• Named for a hamlet near Saint-Aubin on the Côte de Beaune; grown in Burgundy at least from the 14th century
• Philip the Bold's edict of 31 July 1395 banned Gamay from the Côte d'Or
• Philip the Good repeated the order on 12 May 1441; further anti-Gamay decrees followed in 1567, 1725 and 1731
• Planted in the Beaujolais territory since the early 17th century

True Gamay is known as Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, black Gamay with white juice, to distinguish it from a host of red-fleshed grapes often called Gamay Teinturier that were once grown to add colour to red wines. It is a natural cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, a pedigree confirmed by DNA markers. Microsatellite analysis of more than 300 grape cultivars found that sixteen wine grapes long grown in northeastern France, including Chardonnay, Gamay noir, Aligoté and Melon, have genotypes consistent with their being the progeny of a single pair of parents, Pinot and Gouais blanc, both widespread in the region in the Middle Ages. Gamay is thus among the grapes whose genotypes are consistent with the same pair of parents as Chardonnay, Aligoté and Melon. Gouais, now little used, was one of the most widely planted white varieties in western Europe in the Middle Ages. The variety once known in California as Napa Gamay is a different grape, the south-west French variety Valdiguié.

• Known as Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, black Gamay with white juice, to distinguish it from red-fleshed Gamay Teinturier grapes
• A natural cross of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, with the pedigree confirmed by DNA markers
• One of sixteen northeastern French wine grapes, including Chardonnay, Aligoté and Melon, whose genotypes are consistent with being progeny of the same two parents
• The variety once called Napa Gamay is Valdiguié, not Gamay

Gamay's stronghold is Beaujolais, which depends entirely on the grape, and it is the common thread running through all 12 Beaujolais appellations. The hilly Beaujolais vineyards stretch from north to south over 55 kilometres, bordered to the west by the foothills of the Massif Central and to the east by the Saône river plain. In the south the soil is often clayey, sometimes chalky, across a series of rolling hills; in the north it is often sandy, half granitic in origin, and the ten crus cluster in the north on granite and schist soils. Granite soils seem to be Gamay's soil of choice, though the variety is good at adapting. Just to the north, Gamay is grown widely in the Mâconnais, where red Mâcon is usually based on it. In southern Burgundy, as in Switzerland, there is a tradition of blending Pinot Noir and Gamay, in Bourgogne Passetoutgrains and in the Swiss Dôle. When the INAO created Burgundy's appellation system in 1937, it permitted Gamay under just two appellations: Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire (replaced in 2011 by Coteaux Bourguignons, which can be a varietal Gamay or a blend) and Bourgogne Passetoutgrains. In the lower Loire Valley, Gamay's stronghold is Touraine, with wines labelled with names such as Cheverny and Coteaux du Vendômois, while Côtes du Forez, Côte Roannaise and, in the upper reaches of the Loire, Coteaux du Giennois all produce Gamay-based light reds. The Swiss grow Gamay in quantity.

• Beaujolais depends entirely on Gamay, the common thread through its 12 appellations
• Southern Beaujolais soils are often clayey, sometimes chalky; northern soils are often sandy and half granitic, and the crus sit on granite and schist
• Red Mâcon is usually based on Gamay; Bourgogne Passetoutgrains and Swiss Dôle blend it with Pinot Noir
• In the Loire, Touraine is its stronghold; the Swiss grow it in quantity

The Beaujolais vineyard has 12 appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages and ten crus. Beaujolais AOC covers the whole region; Beaujolais Villages, in the northern part of the vineyard, includes 38 villages; and within the Beaujolais Villages area ten crus have been awarded their own appellation. Roughly north to south, the crus are Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly. Chiroubles, Chénas, Fleurie, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent became AOCs in 1936, AOC Beaujolais was created in 1937, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly and Juliénas followed in 1938, Saint-Amour in 1946 and Régnié in 1988. The Beaujolais specification (the version issued for the national opposition procedure that followed the Comité national's opinion of 10 February 2022) names gamay as the principal grape for the red and rosé wines. Its accessory varieties include gamay de Bouze and gamay de Chaudenay, together no more than 10% of the planting, while the others (aligoté, chardonnay, melon, pinot gris and pinot noir) are allowed only as mixed plantings within the vineyard, capped at 15% in each parcel. Red wines need a minimum natural alcohol of 10.0% for Beaujolais and 10.5% for Beaujolais Villages or a commune name, and the yield for red and rosé wines is 60 hl/ha in Beaujolais and 58 hl/ha in Beaujolais Villages. After a few years, Moulin-à-Vent wines develop aromas of iris, wilted roses, spice and ripe fruit with notes of undergrowth and truffles, giving tannic, structured wines; when younger they are floral and fruity, with violet and cherry aromas. Morgon's wines offer aromas of stone fruit like sour cherries, with notes of violet and kirsch, and the appellation has added a verb to French winegrowing vocabulary, "morgonner". Fleurie's nose runs to iris, violet, rose, red fruit and vine peaches. Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent, according to the Jancis Robinson website, "are supposed to taste more and more like Pinot as they age", even though they are made exclusively from Gamay.

• 12 appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages (38 villages) and ten crus
• AOC dates: Chiroubles, Chénas, Fleurie, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent 1936; Beaujolais 1937; Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly and Juliénas 1938; Saint-Amour 1946; Régnié 1988
• Reds need a minimum natural alcohol of 10.0% in Beaujolais and 10.5% in Beaujolais Villages; red and rosé yields are 60 and 58 hl/ha
• Moulin-à-Vent gives tannic, structured wines with aromas of iris, wilted roses and spice after a few years

Beaujolais for early consumption is vinified fast in sealed vats using carbonic maceration. Bunches of grapes are put in vats filled with CO₂, where they undergo intracellular fermentation, producing alcohol and juice as the grapes burst and are pressed under their own weight. The carbonic or semi-carbonic process extracts colour but not tannin, giving a light, soft, juicy wine with distinctive kirsch and bubblegum aromas for early drinking, and carbonic maceration is responsible for aromas and flavours ranging from bubblegum and banana through to strawberry and cherry. Winemakers in Beaujolais commonly use techniques that maximise colour extraction while minimising tannin extraction, and wines made from Gamay are usually produced in inert vessels and rarely display aromas from oak. A 1985 decree set the third Thursday of November as the release date for Beaujolais Nouveau. More and more growers, particularly in the Beaujolais crus, ferment in open wooden vats and age the wines in small barrels, in the way of traditional red burgundy, making much deeper-coloured, more tannic, long-lived wines that may not be ready to drink until four or more years after the harvest, while keeping Gamay's trademark refreshing acidity. Jules Chauvet gathered several winemaker disciples, including Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Jean-Paul Thévenet and Guy Breton; based in and around the appellation of Morgon, the four were dubbed the 'Gang of Four' by their American importer, Kermit Lynch.

• Carbonic maceration: bunches go into CO₂-filled vats and undergo intracellular fermentation
• The process extracts colour but not tannin, with aromas from bubblegum and banana through to strawberry and cherry
• More and more cru growers ferment in open wooden vats and age in small barrels for deeper-coloured, long-lived wines
• Jules Chauvet's disciples Lapierre, Foillard, Thévenet and Breton were dubbed the 'Gang of Four' by Kermit Lynch

The Gamay vine is notably precocious, budding and ripening early, so it can flourish in relatively cool regions such as Anjou-Saumur and Touraine in the Loire Valley. Its thin, delicate purple-black skinned grapes are cylindrical and compact. Gamay requires meticulous care and attention: the more vine stocks on a plot, the more prolific it is, so it has to be tamed to balance grape quantity and quality, and if it overproduces it tends to make light, thin, very acidic wine. Short, gobelet-style pruning is one of the best methods for managing the variety, although other techniques such as fan and single cordon are now on the rise. Gamay is naturally resistant to rot.

• Buds and ripens early, so it can flourish in relatively cool regions such as Anjou-Saumur and Touraine
• Prolific: it has to be tamed to balance grape quantity and quality
• Short gobelet-style pruning is one of the best methods for managing it; fan and single cordon are on the rise
• Naturally resistant to rot

Primary sources: https://www.beaujolais.com/en/cepage/gamay/ https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=4377 https://www.beaujolais.com/en/discover/nos-12-appellations/ https://www.beaujolais.com/en/discover/know-how/the-vineyards-milestones/ https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-grape-varietals-our-colors/gamay/gamay-a-varietal-with-a-southern-accent,2806,10663.html https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO-cdcBeaujolais-cn220210.pdf https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/beaujolais-villages/ https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/morgon/ https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/moulin-a-vent/ https://www.beaujolais.com/en/appellation/fleurie/ https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2024/what-is-beaujolais-nouveau-a-wine-tradition-making-a-comeback https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/6715/wset_l4diploma_cag_theory_en_aug2018.pdf https://www.wsetglobal.com/media/13022/wset_l2wines_sessionplans_en_may2023_issue2.pdf https://doi.org/10.1126/science.285.5433.1562 Approved secondary sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/red/gamay https://www.decanter.com/wine/grape-varieties/gamay/ https://www.winefolly.com/grapes/gamay/ https://www.decanter.com/wine/burgundy-wine/bourgogne-passetoutgrains-a-taste-of-burgundy-as-it-once-was/ https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2016/07/31-july-1395-the-banning-of-gamay/ https://www.decanter.com/premium/marvellous-morgon-a-guide-to-this-star-beaujolais-cru-535143/ Last verified 2026-11-02