Not the lightest wine I have had recently.  Medium-light ruby, shall we?  A good half of the Pinots I’ve had lately are lighter than this.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Wide pink edges.  Nice nutty, root-beer-tinged nose with carrot and celery vegetal notes.  Almost grassy with a tinge of oak.

I’ve been having so much fun lately with a grouping of local resties who have brought in a variety of various Loire’s and Beaujolais for the summer, and I just had to try a bottle of this.  This is DEF not CF.  That’s the first thing you need to get over.  This is Gamay, pure and simple and if you’re looking for tarry, deep fruit and pepper, stick to Chinon.  And if you’re looking for ridiculous floral and minerality, stick to crew-bojo.

Thin on entry–watery, almost with acid kicking in immediately and whole-heartedly.  Def watery over the middle and quite harsh tannin takes over from there.  I can’t get too excited about this wine.  Yes, it’s a Gamay.  But it’s not supposed to be thin watery crap.  Yes, I even have a teensy chill on it.  This is a little too thin and watery.  I need  a little fruit.  If you are going to pour me Gamay:  I need a little fruit.

2013 MARTIAN WINERY Gamay Noir Santa Barbara County 13.0

www.martianwinery.com