I popped a bottle of the 2016 Ch. Cambon [Beaujolais] to go with a slab of steelhead trout baked on a hot iron skillet under a mango chutney glaze. They paired very well! The wine has some connection to Marcel Lapierre, and gets the usual hand harvesting, biodynamic treatment that hand crafted wines can pull off It’s light in color, 13.5% abv, and feels crisp, buoyant. It has a berry kool aid type of nose, and a fresh uplifting type of palate. But its not shrill or anything, and drinks nicely by itself, while preparing dinner. I like this generic Beaujolais and would buy it again; I think the estate tries to make low/no sulfur wines and that would be helpful since I have some family members who have developed sulfite sensitivities over the years.
Kudos to the importers and retailers who find these for us.
Jealous of the steelhead availability. It’s one of my favorites. I almost always do pinot with salmon and steelhead. I’ll have to give a berry-slanted Beaujolais a roll. I suspect that the chutney/sauce/seasoning will be the key in making the pairing work.
Giving the “biodynamic” stamp to Cambon is not paying a right tribute to Marcel Lapierre or Jean Claude Chanudet (the winemaker for this 2016), co-founders of Chateau Cambon.
Both are perfect examples of the free thinking vignerons that started the “natural” wine movement in the '80s in Beaujolais, following Jules Chauvet’s principles, very far from Steiner anthroposophy and biodynamie…
Jean Claude Chanudet aka Le Chat (Cuvée du Chat) is also the vigneron behind Domaine Chamonard (one of the most ageworthy wines made in the Beaujolais) and one of the most knoledgeable and talented natural winemakers, in charge of the winemaking/vinegrowing at Chateau Cambon, Marie Lapierre doing the sales.
Looks like the importer creates a little confusion. He says
“Having lived and worked among the superstars of Beaujolais, Joseph Chamonard created a wonderful environment for his vines in Morgon, practicing biodynamics and organic farming from one of its earliest moments with natural processes in the cellar.”
Confusion between organic, biodynamic and natural seems to be the rule these days
I tried a few time to explain, but no one seems to care, anyway…
For the sake of the history of the natural wine movement, I think that pointing out that Lapierre or Chanudet are surely not best drinking buddies with Nicolas Joly gives a better and truer idea of their work.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}