Cherries Doing Heavy Lifting
TASTING NOTES:
2020 Château de Nervers Gamay, Brouilly, France - “The words charm, balance and elegance are perfectly suited to this wine. In its red and purple robe, this Brouilly displays delicate fruity aromas, especially of cherry and kirsch. It presents an unctuous mouthfeel with suave and silky tannins and a persistent and silky finish. This is a balanced wine with excellent aging potential. A former hunting lodge, the Château de Nervers has been a family-run wine growing estate for almost 200 years. Six generations of de Chabannes have followed on from one another up to the current managers, Jean-Benoît and Tiphaine. The vines are 50 years old on average. They grow on rocks and clay, producing well-structured and spicy wines. The yield per hectare is quite low and the acidity is not very high, allowing for the production of full-bodied yet well-rounded wines.” (AbV 13.5%, pH 3.61, TA 5.58 g/L)
2019 Domaine de Javernière Gamay, Morgon, France - “Deep garnet color. A nice expression of the terroir with aromas of black fruits and black cherry matched with spices and a touch of pepper. Charming, voluminous and powerful on the palate with fine and coated tannins showcase the beautiful maturity of the grapes. Morgon is the name of a hamlet which, due to its reputation for wine, has been attached to that of the village of Villié. Morgon comes from a special terroir made up of decomposed rock and friable schist, and is without doubt the most typical of the ten Beaujolais “crus”: certainly the easiest to identify on tasting. Its “terroir” taste becomes more intense over time : we therefore say that it ‘morgons’, an enigmatic word that has been unanimously adopted by its supporters.” (AbV 13%, pH 3.75, TA 5.27 g/L)
VARIETALS: 100% Gamay. Vines over 50 years.
BARRELS: Foudre (large oak barrels), French, Neutral
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Kirsch, as in the “cherry and kirsch” in the tasting note for the Brouilly.
That note technically says “cherry and cherry.” Kirsche is German for cherry, and kirsch is short for Kirschwasser, “cherry water,” a clear brandy distilled from fermented cherries. It has no water-like qualities. It’s a colorless spirit that goes down like a lit match, and the cherries are fermented dry before distilling, so none of the candy part survives.
The place kirsch turns up most is Black Forest cake, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, which is named for the spirit as much as the scenery. German food guidelines say a cake sold under that name has to contain actual kirschwasser, so the one in a supermarket freezer case in the US is a cousin at best. One popular theory says the “Schwarzwälder” refers to the Black Forest’s long reputation for kirsch distilling. Another says the cake’s look (white cream, dark chocolate shavings, red cherries on top) mimics the Black Forest regional costume, complete with a hat covered in red pom-poms.
I can’t pick a side, and both are a little ridiculous. Either the cake was named for a liquor, or it was named for a hat, and in both versions the cherries are doing the heavy lifting. I’d also like to know who first looked at a bowl of cream, chocolate, and cherries and said “needs a shot of brandy.” Whoever it was, the whole country backed him up.
