Anna Asmaquer 2016 Domaine de la Prébrende Beaujolais Vielles Vignes ($17.99)

This clear reddish-purple wine from Gamay Noir grapes starts with a burst of ripe strawberry fruit aromas, still exuberant and youthful at three years old. The flavor is fresh and bright, with plenty of mouth-filling red-berry fruit. It seems simple at first, but cleansing acidity and soft tannins provide structure with 13.5% alcohol, and an intriguing red-clay minerality builds in the long finish. It’s a very interesting wine, good with food, and a good value. U.S. importer: Kermit Lynch, Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif. (June 27 , 2019)

FOOD MATCH: Even if Beaujolais is easily dismissed as Burgundy’s forgettable little brother, don’t forget that it’s the local wine of the region around Lyon, arguably France’s second food-and-wine city after Paris. It’s food friendly and versatile, and if it serves a burger as well as a steak, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just for fun, I tried it with a hot-and-spicy breakfast sausage …

WHEN TO DRINK: With the possibile exception of a few of the higher end Beaujolais wines from named villages, the Gamay grape doesn’t make wines that bear long-term aging. Still, this one is quite youthful in its third year and would surely last a few more.

VALUE:
It’s a good value table red at or near Wine-Searcher.com’s $17 average retail and my $18 retail price.

WEB LINK
Importer Kermit Lynch offers this detailed, specific fact sheet on Domaine de la Prébrende and its Beaujolais wines.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and compare prices for Domaine de la Prebende Beaujolais on Wine-Searcher.com.

Read more about Beaujolais and scan a list of some 500 bottles and their vendors on this link at Wine-Searcher.com.