Description

Chateau Cambon tastes of macerated apple, strawberry ice cream, hay, and stones. It is dense pure, direct, and savoury. In the mouth, Chateau Cambon has a great mouthfeel, tart acid, with a lot of upfront fruit. There is almost tannin perceptible but the good core of fruit carries through on the sooty, tart finish.

As far as Beaujolais goes, Chateau Cambon offers a lot more depth and complexity. It is definitely in the ‘natural’ sphere but carries fruit and cleanliness with the funk. It is a wine you can drink on its own or pair it with an aged gouda. I wouldn’t age Chateau Cambon.

Chateau Cambon was originally planted as 3 parcels totalling 13 hectares in 1914 between Crus of Morgon and Brouilly. Despite not being in the ‘great villages’, the potential was seen by Beaujolais legend Marcel Lapierre. Lapierre roped in two other Beaujolais legends, Jean-Claude Chanudet and Joseph Chamonard, to buy and revive the estate in 1995. In 2017 vines in Brouilly were added to the holdings. Organic viticulture and low intervention/addition winemaking is the style here. The wines have fantastic depth and character. They do not taste like Burgundy, but they are very likely to be more impressive than any French wine at a similar price point. The wines do age gracefully.

Chateau Cambon Importer Notes

“From 50 year old vines all hand-harvested in October. Carbonic maceration occurs with natural yeasts in enamel tank (separate parcels). Some pumping over might be used to stimulate activity. All wine moved to foudre to rest on lees.”

Beaujolais

Most famous for aromatic, light of body, high acid reds made from the Gamay variety. There is a Burgundian sensibility on Rhone soil types which makes for an exciting style. The quality wines are refreshingly tart with aromatic complexity and enough fruit weight to balance out the tartness. You do have the option of cellaring your quality Beaujolais, but often it is not required. The best wines are from the 10 Crus of the region with the lesser appellations being akin to an ocean in more ways than one. Whites from Chardonnay are available but hard to find.

Gamay

Grown in the French regions of Beaujolais and Loire Valley. It is early budding, high cropping, aromatic and high acid. It was outlawed from Burgundy by Duke Philippe the Bold for being disloyal. But has no doubt made up for that with honourable service. The best wines from Gamay can be Burgundian in flavour and well worth seeking out. Often they are exceptionally good value too.