2021 Âmevive Wine, Gamay Noir, Santa Barbara County.
The intensely bright and crisp Gamay from Alice Anderson at Âmevive Wine is a light translucent ruby in the glass with an almost Jura like character and it is impeccably varietal at its core with pure Gamay flavors, led by dark berry, strawberry, sour cherry and wild plum fruits as well as zesty acidity, crunchy herbs and cut flowers. Light and lively, this fresh red enjoys a slight chill and goes nicely with a range of cuisine, but prefers simple and easy foods. Alice says, this wine is made entirely of Gamay clone 358 planted at Shokrian Vineyard in Los Alamos, a vineyard that is farmed all organic and set on clay based sandy loams that brings out fruit concentration, while the vintage brought plenty of energy as this wine shows. Anderson chose to pick with lower sugars and high acid for her Gamay after which she fermented it with whole cluster and indigenous yeast in open top barrels with pour overs durning a three week maceration. Once things were dry she pressed the wine and put it in used French oak, without sulfur, for about 6 months before bottling it unfiltered. This is pretty stuff, coming in at 12.8% natural alcohol and it is drinking very good, sadly only 80 cases were made and it is going to be a tough find at this point.
As noted in my prior reviews of this new label, the Âmevive name translates to soulful and or the living soul and in winemaker Alice Anderson’s case it means to live soulfully with nature, with her wines being an authentic and transparent extension of that. Alice is hands on in the vineyard and she is in tune with each and every vine and parcel, with this connection being her mission, and this wine is a direct of this relationship. Anderson is, as mentioned, focused on holistic and organic grape-growing with a nod towards full regenerative farming practices and certification. The journey is just beginning for Alice and her partner Topher, who have leased 10 acres, since 2020, the vintage of their first releases, at the Ibarra-Young Vineyard that they farm to make their signature Âmevive wines, which are all very limited offerings and only available on their mailing list, I recommend joining it to get a chance at trying these delightful wines. I have really liked what I’ve tasted so far from Âmevive, these are transparent and dynamic wines that don’t need any showy elements too be enjoyed and I am excited to see what they have in store for the future. Again this Gamay Noir is quaffable and has that Jura style lightness, but still complex enough to entertain the palate, it was even better on day two, gaining a bit of weight and concentration.
($34 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive