Chermette, Clos Roche Blanche: Gamay under $15

One of my aunts recently showed her fine sense of judgment by telling me that she’s always on the lookout for light-bodied red wines under $15. Unfortunately, with the bump up in euro-denominated wines, this isn’t as easy a proposition as it was even one year ago. But here are two wines from the lip-smacking gamay grape that fit her criteria.

Pierre Chermette, Le Vissoux, Beaujolais 2007 (find this wine): Although a humble Beaujolais, as opposed to one of the smaller crus in the region, this wine still has lots of interest and is highly quaffable, with a good balance of fruit and acidity. They should put it in a bag-in-box to make it easier to squeeze off a glass or two! (Btw, this is a “drink now” kind of wine; I stumbled on a 2005 vintage in the Dr. Vino cave a few weeks ago and it was shot.)

Clos Roche Blanche, cuvée gamay, Touraine, 2007 (find this wine): A tad more minerality, though still not as complex as a good cru Beaujolais, this gamay from the Loire is organically grown and delicious with a wide range of foods. I went nuts at the Chambers Street Wines sale last month and bought several mixed cases. But this is the one wine where I splurged for a whole case (at $13 a bottle), which is now, sadly, running low, thanks to my own depletion–and giving one to my aunt. In all honesty, this wine is listed at $16 retail so a tad above her threshold. But with a 10% case discount, she’ll be in the clear. And who could resist buying a case of this?

Which light-bodied reds under $15 do you enjoy?

3 Responses to “Chermette, Clos Roche Blanche: Gamay under $15”


  1. I second both of those! But, I had a bottle of the 2005 Chermette Beaujo about one month ago and it was still tasting fantastically fresh and very full. 2005 was amazing in Beaujolais. Everything by CRB is insanely low priced. The Terres Dorees Beaujolais l’Ancien is always a great value lighter red. Castelli di Luzzano Bonarda (Oltrepo Pavese) 2006 is very charming earthy/spicy light red for about $15 depending where you live. Also Some $15 Bierzo made of the lovely Mencia, such as the Luna Beberide 2006 for about $13–no oak, lots of strawberry cherry juice yumminess. The crown will always go to the Beaujolias, though. Mmm.


  2. […] here, here and here for more on the Loire wines…and here, here and here for just a few of the many River of […]


  3. Just had the 2007 Louis Jadot and it was great. Needed a little bit of time to decant, but after it got a little oxygen, it was certainly gulpable. Not a ton of fruits and not too complex, but a simple, solid wine for $13. Also had the 2006 vintage, which I didn’t think was as good as the 2007


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