Impressive, no?
Flying visit to a tiny village about an hour from Carcassone in the Languedoc. Here, a trade tasting of 25 natural wineproducers has been organised and as most of these are in the portfolio of Fabulous Fred, he took a group to have a look at new vintages etc.
It was of course a professional tasting which is absolutely not an appropriate arena for drunkenness. This is why you learn to spit. However, if a person has eaten nothing but some oatcakes all day, had only about 4 hours sleep and by 4pm in the afternoon has tasted rather a lot of wine, sobriety becomes a relative concept.
I have got rather out of the habit of large tastings and I think this is a good thing. They are good only for forming a very general impression of a wine after the first 25 - 30 and so if there is anything I think seems rather good, I always want to try it later anyway. Plus, there are the additional irritations to cope with – having to stopto talk to people when you are trying to concentrate; having to taste wines you really don’t want to because the wine maker looked a bit dejected and in need of cheering up OR was the pushy type who had something in your glass before you could slip by; the crowds, the jostling, the fug of fumes.
However, this doesn’t really count as large (25 growers is still in the category of small, if at the upper end) and it was in France. And all natural wines, so many reasons to be there.
These were the highlights :-
The 2007 and 2008 Clos Beru Chablis, tasted side by side. Very different vintages – 2007 was tiny, so the fruit is extra concentrated and showing beautifully now. Plenty of richness to balance the stony austerity I so love in these wines. The 2008 though will be the superstar in a few years when it is less lean and tight.
A chat (in French!!) with a winemaker I didn’t know who has a team of horses in Burgundy and who makes a living ploughing with these in the vineyards of Biodynamic producers. Part of his payment is in grapes which he then makes into tiny quantities of wine. Don’t you love that? Completely natural AND operating in an alternative economy.
Sadly, I did not love his wines. They were not terrible at all,but they were lacking something. The basic Chardonnay from St Veran was definitely the best of an underwhelmingbunch. He does add a bit of sulphur justbefore bottling as he believes that without it, a true sense of terroir is lost beneath a generic raw fruit character; particularly in Burgundy. He has a point as in many cases, this is true but then there are thewines of Phillipe Pacalet which entirely discredit this argument.
A fantastic white blend from Chateau La Coste, the Provencal Domaine where former rugby player Matthieu Cosse is now making wine. Fred doesn’t ship this but I wish he did – a blend of Rolle and Sauvignon Blanc, this had the white spice and liquorice flavours you expect from this part of theworld, with great freshness.
Also, his 100% Gamay from Cahors,made without any carbonic maceration for maximum earthy grip. Or as maximum as it gets with Gamay. Delicious wine though – rustic, raw red fruit.
The Mauzac from Domaine Causse Marines. We stock their delicious Greilles and Ondenc but this was new to me and one I now want to stock as well. It had the same thrillingly aromatic fruity fruitthat these whites all have; without this ever becoming simplistic and confected– the fate of so much wine which can be described thus.
Their Syrah too was sensational– intense fruit and spice with an unexpectedly sweet edge – I actually wrote down caramel which with hindsight seems unlikely but there it is. It was very good though.
The Fleur de Savagnin from Domaine de la Tournelle in the Jura. This is sensational wine – thrillingly lean with the most intruigingly complex purity. As always, the only problem is the price which is also the problem with their Vin Jaune. The latter is surely the most underrated white wine style in the world; I could drink it for hours and not get bored.
We really must open a bar where we are able to sell wines like the above by the glass. On a retail shelf they tend to be as immovable as the pyramids. Hugely expensive and utterly obscure is a tough combination, even when you hand sell. Committing to only a glass in a bar is generally easier for people and of course if that commitment results in love at first sip, the bottle is sold for evermore.
The Henri Milan Grand Blanc Sans Souffre. Yes! Our all time most favourite Provencal person is making both a red andwhite version of his wines with no added sulphur at all. For me, this wine is everything I love aboutthe Grand Blanc with at least 3 extra layers. Delicious beyond words.
All of the wines of Julien Courtois, including his Romaratin which I had not tasted before.
All of the wines of Casot de Mailloles. The 2010 La Poudre D' Escampette, El Nino and Soula are, even by their high standards, a new level of sensational. And it was really good to see Alain and Ghislaine again. They truly are two of my most favourite wine people.
I know I say that a lot but seriously, my admiration and respect for these two and what they do is boundless.
The excellent wines from Les Enfants Sauvage, especially the Cool Moon 2010, both red and white. Both very southern blends and both astonishingly good.
Everything from Alain Chabanon but especially his 2005 Les Boissieres and 2007 le Merles Aux Alouettes. Most Pomerol producers can only dream of making wine as good as the latter and the comparison is entirely apt as, in it’s chocolatey concentration, it has very obvious ties with this superstar appellation (beside the obvious Merlot link, of course.)
The wines of La Terrase d’Elise but especially our beloved 2008 Le Pradel and the 2004 Elise.
And then finally, the wines of Comtes Abbatucci. These are so good they make time stop. Nothing else matters – NOTHING – when you have these in your glass. 2009 General Blanc and 2009 Diplomate Blanc were especially packed with greatness and then Jean-Charles poured 2010 Carcajolo Nero and almost everything else faded into obscurity. 100% from this incredibly esoteric Corsican variety, it had that perfect combination of supple elegance and sinewy tannins coupled with pure, aromatic fruit that is in most of the reds I love best in the world. I can’t described any flavours since by that point I was not only completely overwhelmed by how good it was but also not so sober. I did draw a LOT of stars.
Please bear in mind that the above were only my highlights. There were many more and almost everything was good. My kind of tasting but is it any wonder I was feeling distinctly unsteady?
I decided that this was a good thing. There was ample flirting opportunity for one thing. Flirting in Europe is a whole different affair to the UK offering. More brazen. Men properly look you up and down and immediately and obviously register their approval. They also understand exactly what an even very fleeting glance means. You don’t have to practically undress to makeyour interest known.
Not that I ever employ this tactic, you understand.
Perhaps I should?
Of course, I was not so far from sober that I had lost sight of the fact that we were not in a bar but at a professional tasting so actions had to be moderated to take that into account. Having said that, I like tothink that being slightly tipsy and trying, very momentarily and subtly, to pick up men is a good thing.
Everything is suddenly completely different to how I thought it would be. I must learn to do things differently too and if refuse to let my brave new world be one of misery for an interminable amount of time (and I do) then transforming myself into an incorrigible flirt is probably a good thing.
I really should learn to do it sober though.
