2020 David Large Gamayhameha

Region: Beaujolais < France

Grape: Gamay
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic/biodynamic farming; 50 year old vines on stony clay soils; 11 days semi-carbonic  maceration in concrete tanks, then aged in concrete; bottled unfined/unfiltered with zer added So2; zero-zero; 13% ABV
Winemaker: David Large

David Large is a young vigneron based in Montmelas, a mountainous area of the Southwest Beaujolais. He has all the natty winemaker creds: a family history of winemaking stretching back to 1840, diplomas from the elite schools, and experience working with the natural wine greats in the Rhône where he discovered biodynamic farming. Yet he views becoming a great winemaker to be a process of “unlearning”.

His farms a bunch of micro-parcels around the area, with soils that are predominantly granite, clay and the “Pierres Dorées”, a local and unique limestone formation pigmented with iron oxide, all with a volcanic rock base that Gamay vines especially love. He does everything himself, down to driving the delivery truck and composing
the verses inscribed on the side of his wine labels - David is an enthusiastic rapper and poetry aficionado.  Even the names of the individual wines are personal, like this “Gamayhameha” that is an homage to Dragonball, a popular anime series he watched as a kid (he's a HUGE anime fan).  His fixation on terroir specificity means that he
vinifies and bottles almost every plot separately, resulting in as many as 18 different cuvées from his small 5 hectare estate, so there's not much to go around.

The grapes for 'Gamayhameha' come from a small, old vineyard of stony clay soils in the lieu-dit (specific part of a single vineyard) called La Caillotiere in the village of Denicé. The wine is concentrated, with a silkiness and depth to the bright berry fruit, and some grippy, slightly peppery structure. It’s floral and seductive, and then it’s
all stony and layered in the mouth. Not a one-dimensional glou glou bottling, this is a serious example of how playful yet complex Gamay can be in the right hands.