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Tasting
some natural wines
The natural wine movement is a loose coalition of growers who all work
with certain shared principles, although there's no official body and
no certification.
Basically,
they try to add as little as possible to their wines, and as closely
as possible adhere to the principle of making wine just with grapes -
fermentations are carried out by the yeasts naturally present (on the
skins of the grapes or resident in the winery), and sulphur dioxide,
the almost universally used wine additive that protects against
oxidation and unwanted microbial growth, is done away with. In most
cases a little sulfur dioxide will be added at bottling, but sometimes
this step is omitted.
The
goal is to produce wines representative of their origin and true to
themselves, fiddled about with as little as possible. Sometimes the
results are thrilling. Here are my notes on some 19 wines made
naturally. Further coverage of natural wine can be found on my blog
posts on this topic.
Champagne Jacques Lassaigne Les Vignes de Montgeux
Blanc de Blancs NV
No dosage. Lovely
aromatic nose is gently lemony with real refinement. The palate is
lively and crisp with savoury citrus character, and really good length
and balance. Doesn’t seem harsh despite the lack of dosage. 93/100
Domaine
de la Cadette is an organic estate of 13.5 hectares in Vézelay,
Burgundy. See: http://www.domainedelacadette.com/accueilanglais.html
for more information.
Domaine
de la Cadette Melon 2007 Bourgogne Vézelay, Burgundy
A bit of a rarity, this is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape
variety. Tight, herby nose. The palate is crisp, pure and mineralic
with nice density of flavour, but all the flavour is green apples and
minerals – it’s very pure. Not really fruity, but full of
interest. 90/100
Domaine
de la Cadette Claudius 2007 Bourgogne Vézelay, Burgundy
Bright nose is quite friuty and slightly minerally. The palate has
lemony fruit and minerals, with good acidity. Crisp and fresh. 87/100
Domaine
Valette Mâcon Villages 2005 Burgundy, France
There’s a bit of matchstick reduction on the nose. Powerful,
intense palate is quite herby and minerally, with dense citrus fruit
and some reductive notes. Striking stuff. 90/100
Domaine Valette ‘Le Clos de Monsieur Noly’
Pouilly-Fuissé 1999 Burgundy, France
Deep yellow/gold colour. Intense,
nutty, toasty, slightly bready nose with hints of oxidation. The
palate is concentrated, intense, broad and nutty with lemony freshness
and some bready notes. Amazing acidity. A concentrated, striking wine.
93/100
Christophe Pacalet Chiroubles 2007 Beaujolais, France
Pale-ish colour. Bright
cherryish nose is quite fresh and expressive. The palate is light and
fruity. Simple but with nice freshness and purity. 88/100
Christophe Pacalet Moulin à Vent 2006 Beaujolais,
France
Light colour. Elegant,
fresh cherry fruit nose with spicy, earthy notes in the background.
The palate is beautifully expressive and elegant with subtle spice
under the smooth, pure fruit. 91/100
Catherine
and Pierre Breton Bourgeuil ‘Trinch!’ 2007 Loire, France
Beautifully perfumed bright fruit on the nose, with cherries and
berries. Very fresh and pure. The palate is elegantly fruity with a
nice grippy edge. A beautiful bright wine. 90/100
Catherine
and Pierre Breton Bourgeuil ‘Clos Sénéchal’ 2006 Loire, France
Vibrant red with a purple fringe. Bright cherryish fruit here on
the nose with some spicy notes. The palate is bright and vibrant with
beautiful berry fruit and some grippy tannic structure. Pure,
structured and intense. 91/100
Catherine
and Pierre Breton Bourgeuil ‘Les Perrières’ 2005 Loire, France
Earthy, spicy cherry and berry fruit nose. Perfumed, fresh and
quite complex. The palate has a nice earthy depth to it. Quite savoury
and structured with a firm finish. Serious effort. 91/100
Dard
& Ribo: a natural wine producer with a cult following. See http://www.wineterroirs.com/2004/06/dard_ribo.html
for more background.
Dard
& Ribo C’est le Printemps Crozes Hermitage 2007 Northern Rhône,
France
Very pure, elegant, light nose with fresh perfumed cherry fruit.
The palate has a hint of fizziness but it’s really well focused and
quite long with amazing purity of fruit. Approachable and more-ish.
Remarkable stuff. 91/100
Dard
& Ribo St Joseph 2006 Northern Rhône, France
Wonderful pure, meaty, olive-like nose with sweet, pure raspberry
fruit playing second fiddle to the savoury meaty notes. The palate has
a lovely purity to the fruit with a subtly green meaty character and
some spicy tannin on the finish. It’s intensely fruity. A really
interesting expression of northern Rhône Syrah. 91/100
JM
Stephan: a small producer located in Tupin, close to Condrieu. He
makes just 10 000 bottles, and that’s in a good year. He uses no
sulfur dioxide at all.
JM
Stephan Côte-Rôtie
Vieilles Vignes 2004 Northern Rhône, France
Spicy, earthy, complex nose, showing warm spicy notes together
with earthiness. The palate is complex and earthy with nice elegance.
Lovely wine. 93/100
JM
Stephan Côte-Rôtie
Vieilles Vignes 2005 Northern Rhône, France
Assertive, bright, focused red and dark fruits here with a bright
spiciness to the nose. The palate has real structure and depth with
firm tannins than clamp down on the fruitiness. Earthy, too. One for
the future. 93/100
Clos
Fantine Faugères 2004 Languedoc, France
From schistose vineyards, in which no chemicals were used except
for a bit of sulfur for the Carignan. SO2
just used a little at bottling. Elegant, fine red fruits nose with
some spice and earth notes. The palate is smooth with lovely texture
and earthy, spicy notes under the bright fruits. Lovely.
90/100
Domaine des Marquises Lou Carignan 2007 Vin de Pays de
l’Herault, France
Pure red fruits nose with forward cherry fruit. The palate is pure with lovely vibrant fruit and
nice freshness. A joyful wine. 89/100
Cuvée Cariña Coste Longue Vin de Table NV France
Made by Pierrette and Claude Navare from St Chinian terroir, by
maceration carbonique. Very
aromatic open, perfumed nose with floral red fruits and a bit of
meatiness. The palate is quite dense with an open, fruity, meaty
character and an earthy, spicy finish. Quite elegant in an oxidative
style. 90/100
Château
Sainte Anne 2005 Côtes de Provence, France
Open, sweetly fruited nose is fresh and spicy with elegant red
fruits. The palate is soft with spicy earthy depth and a hint of
meatiness. Sweet, but with a nice savoury spiciness. 89/100
Château Sainte Anne 2005 Bandol, France
90% Mourvèdre. Forward,
bright red berry fruit nose is quite tight with some sweetness and
spiciness. The palate is dense, focused, savoury and spicy, showing
firm tannic structure. Really intense, this is one for keeping. 91/100
See
also: my blog posts on natural
wine and notes on another
natural wine tasting
Wines tasted 05/08
Find
these wines with wine-searcher.com
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