Root, fruit, flower and leaf day
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on April 18th, 2009
The biodynamic practise require the operations on the vineyard to be conducted according to the lunar phases. But there is also a growing debate on whether the lunar days affect the way biodynamic wines express themselves in the glass.
So we are going to conduct a little experiment with a biodynamic wine form Provence - MA TERRE Henri Milan Provence France 2006, a blend of Grenache and Syrah.
DAY ONE (18th of April 2009, 1 pm)
Root day, Lunar phase - Last Quater
The wine is showing rather earthy and dusty. Tannins seem to have tighten the grip too. Acidity seems higher. Tried it with some bread and it does seem to get overwhelmed, not unpleasant but definately lacking some vibrancy. Will try it again later on today
Čotar, Gorjansko, Primorska, Slovenia
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on March 5th, 2009
Branko and Vasja Čotar
Čotar winery and vineyards are located in the village of Gorjansko, 5 km from the Adriatic sea, which sits on a rocky limestone plateau between the Vipava River Valley and the Bay of Trieste. The landforms are called karst, named after Slovenia’s Karst region. The father and son duo, Branko and Vasja Čotar, made their first wine for their own restaurant, which proved very popular and later they decided to dedicate themselves exclusively to vinegrowing and winemaking. The first bottled vintage was 1988.
The soil is Terra rossa is typically found in regions with a Mediterranean climate. Similar type of soil can be found in La Mancha in Spain and Coonawarra in Australia. The vines are cultivated in environmentally friendly way, officially certified organic. The vineyards are planted equally with red and white grape varieties. The reds are Refosco, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the whites are Malvasia, Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Vitovska.
In the winery they use exclusively indegenous yeasts, without the addition of selected strains and apply no filtration whatsoever which quite evident in the final products as the wines are usually slightly cloudy. The family makes two lines of wine, Čotar and Dražna, according to the aging period in the cellar.
Sébastien Riffault, Sury-en-Vaux, Sancerre, Loire Valley
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 28th, 2009
The Sancerre wines by the young Sébastien Riffault (aged 26) are a permanent feature in all of natural wine bars Paris and his world-wide reputation is growing by the minute.
He started working in 2004 with a plot of only 0.70 ha in Verdigny, on the west bank of the Loire River. He now works on 12 ha of the family vineyards planted with Sauvignon Blanc (with a few lines devoted to Pinot Noir). The plots are mostly facing South, South-West with 35 degrees slopes on a clay-limestone soil and subsurface limestone. The age of the vines ranges from 5 to 50 years old for the oldest. Manual harvesting takes place as late as possible to collect ripe grapes with hints of orange, sometime almost purple colour. No green harvesting.
In the winery, just outside of Sury-en-Vaux, the pressing is done with a pneumatic press, compared to the modern “washing machines”. He perform racking only in difficult years and no racking when the grapes are perfectly ripe. No sulfitation during the vinification and the aging of the wines is in Burgundy barrels. No chaptalization, no acidification and alcoholic fermentation of 3 to 4 months, followed by malo which is triggered naturally followed with aging on the lees. No gluing, no filtration or extraction and bottling after 9 to 24 months of rearing. Sulfitation varies from 0 to 10 mg per litre depending on the vintage and vintages.
Sébastiens wines coming from vineyards are named by his Lithuanian wife, Akmenine meaning “stony”
La Renaissance des Appellations (Return to Terroir)
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 28th, 2009
La Renaissance des Appellations (Return to Terroir)
Very often we get asked the question: How can I tell that this wine is natural as I don’t see any indications on the label? The usual answer we give is that we work closely with a winery to establish as to what degree they follow the requirement set by the Return to Terroir group.
Return to Terroir is group 153 winegrowers in 13 countries founded in 2001 by Nicolas Joly. The aim of the organisation is to establish commonly accepted vineyard methods that pursue the true and inimitable expression of terroir and cellar practices that respect the high level of originality and unique characteristics of each appellation. To be accepted into the group, the winery must present their wines to be unanimously approved by a tasting committee of directors.
The main criteria is the Quality Charter, which requires members to have applied biodynamic or organic vineyard practices on their entire domaines for at least 3 years. For more information click here to visit their website.
Teobaldo Cappellano, Barolo Piedmonte R.I.P
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 25th, 2009
The greatest Barolo producer Teobaldo Cappellano died on 21st of February 2009! He was co-founder of the Vini Veri (Real Wine) movement in Italy, which represented the growing number of natural wine makers in Italy.
His wines and devotion to to the cause of vino secondo natura, will be greatly missed!
May he rest in peace!
Domaine Prieuré Saint Christophe, Fréterive, Savoie
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 24th, 2009
Michel Grisard
Atypical, an aesthete, the pope of Mondeuse, passionate, a poet, a hellion: these but a few of the epithets dotting the articles about Michel Grisard. Moving forward, building, creating, innovating, sharing, are all verbs used by Michel Grisard throughout his career. He is the troublemaker of the Savoie wine industry. In 1982 he decided to leave his father’s vineyard, where he had been working along with his two brothers, in order to “turn Mondeuse into a great wine”. Working out of his old country, he then created the Domaine Prieuré Saint Christophe. Once unappreciated, Mondeuse is a cousin of Syrah and a local variety with a lot of character. It has now become the main red variety in Savoie.
In 1985, Michel began reconquering the beautiful Savoie slopes replanted with Altesse. This white wine is fermented, stirred and aged in casks. In 1991, the year of the Alberville Olympic Games, Michel introduced Mondeuse to the best restaurants in Paris. In 1994, he was won over after an encounter with biodynamic wines and winemakers. In 1999, his daring spirit caused him to restore an ancient vineyard, an abandoned terraced property complete with dry stone walls and cellars. The first vintages produced on this shale soil, are hinting at an exceptional potential: those are the wines of Domaine des Ardoisieres in Cevins. After refurbishing the image of Mondeuse and bringing the Savoie wines to “Haute Cuisine”, Michel is now successfully reconquering this exceptional vineyard.
Here’s what Jancis Robinson wrote about one of his wines.
Domaine Prieuré Saint Christophe 2004 Roussette de Savoie
Altesse (Roussette).
Michel Grisard is the owner of the domaine, at Fréterive in the French Alps. On this evidence it’s a real pity Altesse isn’t better known and more widely grown. Pale silver flecked with lime, this has a super aromatic nose – very leesy, showing an attractive yeasty, spicy and nutty quality. This has had 8-9 months of oak ageing and there is clear evidence of burgundian battonage at work. Nutty flavours are reprised on the palate, with good fresh acidity and minerality, finishing gently creamy with hazelnuts to the fore. Very elegant and with lots of character. This wine is said to age like fine white Burgundy – this won’t peak for another 5 years and will easily hold for 10. I imagined drinking this with a freshly caught Trout. Probably even better with France’s related Ombre Chevalier. Excellent.
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20061220_3.html
Domaine Causse Marines, Gaillac
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 22nd, 2009
Patrice Lescarret and Virginie Maignien
Patrice Lescarret started the adventure in 1993. Originally 8 hectares, now 12, the domaine endeavour to honour the indigenous grapes varieties formely cultivated in the region, such as Duras, Braucol, Prunelard, Loin de l’Oeil, Jurançon, Mauzac and Ondenc. There is no “clone” in their vineyard. All their vines, from before the war, have been “grafted in place” and the new plantations come from a meticulous selection called “selection massale”.
The domaine’s name is derived from the word for limestone table-plateaus, the so-called Causses and the litte creek named “Marines” which runs at the bottom of the property.
In the last ten years, the average yield went from 13 to 35 hl/hectare. Obviously the totality of the grapes are harvested and selected by hand. And as a logical continuity of their effort in the vineyard, the vinification and maturation of their “Babies” is done without chemicals. The fining and filtration are kept to the most simple expression. Somes of Patrice’s wines are totally free of added suphites.
Patrice’s conclusion “we can make organic wine without having long hair and smoking grass! One can do natural wines that don’t smell cow’s fart…”
The couple produces a very interesting style of wine called “vin de voile” (veil of wine) referring to the yeast film (veil) which covers the juice in the casks during the ageing process without being regularly topped-up, like Jura’s vin jaune. Along the years (10 years in total without topping-up) the wine develops an oxydative style with unique aromas. The wine is called “Mysterre” (vintage 1996, produced from the Mauzac grape variety, most suitable for this kind of treatment. The name of the cuvee Mysterre is an anagram of Mystère (mystery) and terre (soil or land).
Domaine de Souch, Béarn, Jurançon, South-West France
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 19th, 2009
Bearn-Basque Country
Following the death of her journalist husband, at the age of sixty, Yvonne Hegoburu, manager of Château de Viaud (Lalande de Pomerol), decided to plant vines on 6 hectares of her property in the south west of France Domaine de Souch in Laroin. She opted for a number of the area`s traditional grape varieties- Petit Manseng (70%), Gros Manseng (20%) and Courbu (10%).
Yvonne HegoburuYvonne planted her vines , on a site where vines had been planted from at least the 16th century. But in 1940 the vines were left to die, when the men went off to war, to Germany or into the Resistance. It was decided the slopes were too steep for even young women to cultivate.
She also embarked upon work of monumental proportions- 13,000 trellis posts made from trees cut down on the estate driven into terraces carved out by bulldozer. She also equipped herself with bladder-type pneumatic press, de-stemmer and temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. That was in 1985. The first harvest in 1990 was already very promising. Since 1994, the vineyard has been tented in line with the principles of biodynamic viticulture which exclude the use of any chemicals, pesticides or herbicides.
Yvonne Hegoburu
In just a few years, Domaine de Souch has acquired a reputation as one of the best in its appellation. Yvonne Hegoburu sees it as an intellectual initiative, almost a vocation; “Here in the South West of France, where the wind from spain mingles with the fragrances of the ocean, Yvonne Hegoburu does everything within her power to ensure her grapes are happy”. Taken from the “Vignerons Independants” – November 2001
Yvonne appeared in the famous wine documentari MondoVino, where she is quoted as saying, ‘I planted vines when my husband died. Ever since then, all this love inside me, I give it to the vines. I talk to them. I have an exchange with them’.
Upon tasting it become apparent that both grapes and wines are extremely grateful to her for all the “maternal” care she has given them.
Domaine de Souch
805 chemin de Souch
64110 Laroin
Tel: 05.59.06.27.22
Cuvee Marie Kattalin
Domaine de Souch MARIE KATTALIN Jurançon South West France 2004
Shimmering bronze in colour! Voluptuous nose with intense fragrances of citrus and flowers and yellow fruits confits (orange blossom, lemon, grapefruit, melon, quince, fishing, lychee, etc …) and delicious shades of vanilla. Fresh and clean. A rare sweet nectar! Great bottle! 100% Petit Manseng
Domaine La Marèle, Argelliers, Languedoc, France
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 18th, 2009
Frédéric Porro
Frédéric Porro, once “The Hope of French Motocross” (same generation as Bailye, several time world champion), saw his career end at the age of eighteen after an accident which left him Tetraplegic…
After many years of hoping to get back on the motorbike, it is in the vineyard that Frédéric will find his new passion, but it is not easy to start in this industry “people were trying to discourage him; never directly, always asking - Are you sure?”. However, a lot of work, studying and dedication see the Domaine la Marèle born in 2000.
At Argelliers the micro-climate is very specific, not ideal to produce quantity. The difference of temperature night/day is very high, so the maturation of the fruit is very slow. However, that allow the grapes to slowly come to maturity, better than other part of region, and the result is, when the wines are driven to produce low yield, an exceptional finesse and elegance as well as purity. His philosophy? Not to make wine the way everyone else does and concentrate on a small production of very high quality. At the Domaine nothing is done in a hurry. The harvest is done manually, when Frédéricthinks his vines are ready. The grapes are then taken to the cellar in small baskets; there the berries are carefully selected, then the vinfication takes place in barrel.
Domaine La Marèle Vin de Pays d’Oc Argelliers Languedoc France 2004
On the nose aromas of candied fruit and leather with woody notes. Powerful, long and persistent finish. Already in good taste, it is best to be kept between 5 to 10 years. Blend of 65% Syrah, 20% Cab. Sauvignon, 8% Carignan, 7% Grenache.
34380 ARGELLIERS
Mas de Agrunelles, Argelliers, Languedoc, France
Posted by Naturalist in Natural Wines on February 18th, 2009
Mas des Agrunelles is the result of cooperation between Frédéric Porro “Marele Estate” in Argelliers and and Stéphanie “Mas Nicot” in Murle. After years of “experiments” they decided to join forces in creating of “Mas des Agrunelles. The domaine is located 20km northwest from Montpellier on the communes of Argelliers and Murles, with an average altitude of 200 m. The climatic condition are rather harsh with the influence of cold winds such as Mistral and Tramontane coming from the Cevennes via St Martin de Londres.
Fleur Blanche (70% Chardonnay, 30% Roussanne)
The winemakers has managed to turn these disadvantages in their favour by having embraced biodynamic practises allowing them to work in harmony with nature. The agricultural practices aim to maintain the environment in balance rather than intervene systematically upon the occurrence of any disease.
Mas des Agrunelles FLEUR BLANCHE Argelliers Languedoc 2007
Yellow colour, delicate flowers and almond on the nose. Big and rich with lime, apricots and chalk on the palate. It finishes round with limy chalky flavours. Lip smacking delicious!!! Blend of 70% Chardonnay, 30% Roussanne
1501 Chemin de Fontméjeane
34380 ARGELLIERS
Recent Comments