Samuel Louis Smith Escolle Vineyard - Gamay Noir 2023

Samuel Louis Smith's eponymous winery is based in Salinas, California. Organic viticulture, mountainous sites, and minimal intervention in the cellar are tenets of the brand and a requirement when sourcing his grapes. Sam's wines offer a wonderful snapshot of the Central Coast, where he focuses on Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay, Monterey Pinot Noir, and Santa Cruz Mountains cool-climate Syrah. They are made in a neoclassical style where light handling, wild fermentations, and stem inclusion in the reds create wines of place and purity, aroma and structure. Sam's vision for the future is program based on estate-grown fruit though for now, he remains dedicated to procuring fruit from the most distinctive sustainably and organically farmed vineyards in the Central Coast.

Samuel Louis Smith's Gamay is sourced from the Ecsolle Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The wine pours a dark ruby red tinged with purple in the glass. This Gamay possesses and enchanting bouquet of bramble fruit mixed with notes of purple flowers and wild herbs. There is an abundance of crunchy berry fruits on the palate complemented with a hint of spice. The wine is light- to medium-bodied and displays fresh acidity and effortless tannins. This is an excellent option for a charcuterie board: cured meats (coppa, finocchiona, bresaola) and cheeses (gruyère and brie), as well as a delicious pairing for roasted duck with plum sauce.