The 16th International Gamay Competition was held on 10 January at the Cité Internationale in Lyon. 615 cuvées from 4 different countries (France, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil) were tasted. After honouring a Moulin-à-Vent in 2024 and a Beaujolais Villages last year, a Morgon was awarded the title of World’s Best Gamay 2026!
Learn more about the 12 Beaujolais appellations.
A panel enchanted by 204 cuvées
Each year, this competition is the opportunity for wine experts and enthusiasts to test their tastebuds. 130 panellists, brought together by the same passion for wine, blind-tasted the 625 wines entered in the competition. This first tasting allowed the panellists to award gold and silver medals. They awarded 204 medals, including 79 gold and 125 silver.
View the full list of winners on the official website.
After this first selection process, as always, a “grand jury” of experts tasted the gold medallists again in order to award the title of “World’s Best Gamay”.
The World’s Best Gamay is a Morgon 2024 from the Ruet Jean-Paul estate
This Morgon cuvée from the 2024 vintage is a rich, harmonious wine that combines freshness and finesse. It comes from old vines with an average age of 80 that thrive in clayey limestone soils. The grapes were harvested by hand and fully destemmed, and then left to macerate for a long time. This Morgan can be enjoyed now but will also keep well over time.
Mélodie Lardon, a wine merchant who was on the second panel that awarded the title said: “this wine enchants with its well-integrated oak, its great elegance and beautiful balance. The mouthfeel is precise, with a well-managed texture, fine tannins and a remarkable structure for the appellation. A fine and gourmet wine, an ideal pairing for rare meats or lamb-based dishes.”
The Ruet Jean-Paul estate, a family business
Fabienne and Jean-Paul Ruet set up their operation in 1983 with 1 hectare of vines in the Beaujolais region. Over the years, driven by a passion for a job well done, they acquired many hectares of vines of various Beaujolais appellations such as Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon, Côte de Brouilly, Beaujolais Villages, Beaujolais white, allowing them to offer their customers a large variety of cuvées. Every weekend for the last 35 years, they have travelled to the capital to sell their wines on Parisian markets. Their son, François, joined the family operation and shares their work ethic and passion for wine, but provides a new dynamic. Their daughter Noémie has also worked on the estate for the last 2 years. The perfect way to continue this incredible family-run venture they built from the ground up.
