jamie goode's wine blog: A biodynamic Sicilian amphora wine

Saturday, November 03, 2007

A biodynamic Sicilian amphora wine


Here's a wine that you might not 'get' of you just gave it a quick sniff and slurp in the middle of a large tasting. But once you give it a bit of time, and learn the story behind it, suddenly it all clicks, and it turns out to be almost profound. The importance of context...

Azienda Agricola Cos 'Pithos' 2006 Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Sicily
The story: two grape varieties - Nero d'Avola and Frappato - grown biodynamically and fermented in terracotta amphorae. No sulfur dioxide is used until bottling, so this wine is pretty 'natural'. Bottled in a beautiful squat, wide bottle. The nose has a haunting perfume, combining red fruits of great purity with fine minerally, spicy, earthy notes that frame the fruit quite precisely. Think of the aromatic profile of a great red Burgundy, warmed up a notch or two by the sun. It's the sort of nose you can keep returning to, and each time you attend you get something different. The palate is medium bodied and savoury, with an elegant earthiness. It has a spicy, subtly meaty complexion that makes me think of brettanomyces, but I feel stupid suggesting this, because it is hinting at a wine fault, when this wine is most certainly not faulty - it all pulls together to produce a profound result. But, at the same time, this is a relatively understated sort of wine that whispers, rather than shouts. The finish is long and dry. I think it's fantastic stuff, and I reckon this will develop nicely over the next 15 years or so, although it is drinking now. Strange to think, but that with its traditional elevage, this is a wine that could have been made 1000 or even 2000 years ago. 93/100 (Les Caves de Pyrene)

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13 Comments:

At 1:13 PM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

Sounds interesting. How much?

Surprised nobody's commented on your favourable comments on all that eminates from Caves de Pyrene. I guess that, in a funny/sad way, your continued support of their portfolio is a strong disincentive for them to sponsor your site. ;-)

 
At 2:53 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Yes, Alex - you are right. I just like a lot of what they are doing (no commercial links), and as you know my guiding principle here on wineanorak is to praise what's praiseworthy - I call it like I see it, which sometimes makes me popular, and sometimes unpopular.

 
At 3:07 PM, Blogger The Food Traveller said...

Welcome to the world of amphora wines. Gravner is doing the same as well as somebody producing great stuff in Languedoc (even if there they use cement instead).
I has this wine ones (earlier vintage) and was impressed. Not easy to find on the continent though.

 
At 12:14 AM, Anonymous malcolmwilliamson said...

The Caves de Pyrene list is the most informative I've come across. As well as (at 278 pages) the longest.

 
At 9:22 AM, Anonymous John M said...

The amphora aspect is interesting. Does it have similar effects to the use of concrete as in another of your favourites the Musar from the Bekaa? Are they similar wines?

 
At 4:36 PM, Blogger Gretchen said...

Wicked cool... I love food history and this is a perfect example of reaching back across the millenia... I hope that I can find that, or a similar wine in Chicago!

 
At 10:48 PM, Anonymous Doug said...

A few noteworthy points about this wine.

No added sulphur is used in the making of any of the COS wines.

The amphora seems to allow the wine to respire (unlike stainless steel); the winemakers, in fact, are looking to eliminate wood and stainless steel from all of their wines in the next two years, eventually working purely with amphorae and concrete.

Musar is aged for a considerable period in Nevers oak before release. The Pithos sees no oak and is bottled fresh. They are similar in that neither wine is filtered or fined, though in style whereas Musar is sweeter, warmer and more volatile aromatically, the COS wines have a cherry fresh quality (appropriate given the derivation of the word Cerasuolo)

The vineyards enjoy a remarkable microclimate for Sicily. Vittoria is on the same latitude as north Africa and yet they have only just completed their harvest!

Gravner, indeed, is another eloquent proponent of the amphora and there are still some wines being made in the traditional way in Georgia. Some biodynamic growers (Nicolas Joly, Dominique Hauvette and Dominique Belluard (in Savoie)) are currently using or experimenting with egg-shaped concrete fermentation vessels with fascinating results. The aim is to handle the wine as gently as possible; the results are very interesting.

 
At 6:11 AM, Blogger The Food Traveller said...

Mac Conscience in Languedoc is experimenting with Carignan in egg-shaped concrete vats ... but there (even if the result is fantastic) I smell sulfur even if I was told they did not use it. I wonder ...

I believe Gravner uses oak after anphoras but the results have been judged rather mixly (and expensive for the final consumer). I wish I could try it myself.

 
At 9:05 AM, Anonymous Doug said...

Food Traveller - I prefer the Ribolla from Gravner (which I was fortunate enough to taste out of magnums in a wonderful restaurant called La Pinetta in Tuscany) to the Breg Anfora. Gravner uses Georgian amphorae to ferment and macerate the wines before transferring them to Slavonian botti. In my experience no two bottles are the same; that is both a charm and a frustration.

Regarding the Mas Conscience Le Cas I don't think there is any sulphur added but the wine you tasted might have been quite reductive. Normally, this dissipates with exposure to air. One of the problems of not filtering and using virtually no sulphur is potential bacterial spoilage, but, for our sakes, I'm glad that winemakers take the risk in order to make natural wines.

 
At 11:52 AM, Blogger The Food Traveller said...

I am so looking forward to find a wine from Gravner if I can in Italy this week-end!
Like you Dough, I am in favor of supporting producers that uses natural approaches to wine ... a discussion I recently had also in Champagne with Boulard, region where natural is being lost somehow ...

You are right regarding to Mas Conscience the sulfur feeling goes away after aeration and I adore the wine. I wish there would be more wine-makers taking the bet instead of going mainstream with their wines.

 
At 1:36 PM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

Doug - Are you Douglas Wregg?

 
At 4:12 PM, Anonymous Doug said...

Hi Alex,

The very same!

D

 
At 11:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

more information about that topic you can find here: www.kvevri.org

 

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