La Belle Angèle Gamay 2023 (France)

Description

Cherry, Floral, Spice

"Sweetly fruited and inviting, showing dark cherry, wild strawberry, clove, and floral aromas. The palate offers juicy fruit intensity with silky texture and elegant tannins, making it delightfully appealing and fabulously drinkable" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2025

"A value wine with a satin texture, fine frit tannins and a plush, gently crunchy texture. Flavours of cherries and plums, raspberry and red currant. Balanced, well made and ready to drink from day of purchase through 2028. Rather good value and a ‘porch pounder’ to boot" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Jul 2025

"Light ruby-red, even colour throughout. The nose is softly full, with aromas of strawberry, red berries, bubble gum and floral hints. Light-bodied, aromas of strawberry, red berries and a touch of floral, melded with bubble gum. The wine is packed with forward, juicy fruit along with supple tannins and lively acidity" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Jul 2025

Lovely ruby red hue with aromas of red fruit (cherries, raspberries), flowers (peonies) and a hint of spice. Round and fruity on the palate with soft tannins that impart a light, easy-drinking character. A very pleasant and fruity wine.

La Belle Angèle was a famous character of the early 20th century. Known for her beauty and joie de vivre, she was the muse of many French impressionist painters. La Belle Angèle wines praise this figure of the «Belle Epoque» by embodying the same values that characterized the woman : charm, elegance, joie de vivre and fine taste. Discover this range of fruit forward, expressive and approachable Vin de France with a new, distinctive, contemporary French presentation.

The grapes come, in part, from slopes with granitic soils and in part from sedimentary soils composed of clay-limestone, sandy loam and pebbles. This terroir enjoys a temperate climate with oceanic influences. The Gamay is a grape variety that is grown in many cold regions of France where it ripens well, but not too quickly. This bright and fruity Burgundy varietal produces a wine that is delicious when enjoyed young. It provides the wine with a good acidic structure and a refreshing, tangy and occasionally very luscious character.

The vinification is semi-carbonic and starts with a few days of cold maceration to extract as much of the fruit aromas as possible over around 10 days. At the end of the fermentation, the juice is placed in a vat at a temperature of about 35°C and this serves to soften the tannins and endow the wine with a lovely bright red hue.  Once the malolactic fermentation is complete, the wine is given a few months of ageing in vat to preserve as much of the fruit as possible.

Food Pairing: Served chilled at around 14-15°C, this wine will pair nicely with a platter of charcuterie or goat's or sheep's cheeses. Ideal with roast poultry, chicken skewers or grilled meat. It will also go well with a tian of Provençal vegetables as well as aubergine or bell-pepper bread.