Try to find the hidden gems among wines
Have we winos collectively lost our minds? Recently the CIVC (Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne) case against Champín was thrown out by the Spanish Supreme Court. CIVC wanted the Champin brand to be banned because the name too closely resembled Champagne. Champin, in case you are unaware, is a fizzy, fruity drink made for Spanish kids, a healthy Mountain Dew. Obviously you can see the similarity in their ad campaigns. On the right is Dom Pierre Perignon, OSB, the monk who is said to have figured out the Methode Champenoise. The guy on the left is named Ivan Prado or Wavy Gravy.
That fact about DP is indeed a fallacy. The fact is, the padre made many improvements in the production of still wines later used in making Champagne. However, he spent much of his time trying to eliminate secondary fermentation because it often occurred naturally, exploding the bottles and casks. Most agree a British scientist and physician named Christopher Merret was first to intentionally prompt secondary fermentation, in 1662. He wrote a paper on it. Merret was a Renaissance man. In addition to being a scientist/physician he was a noted naturalist and winemaker. He had a thorough understanding of metallurgy and glasswork and was a fairly prolific writer. Read “Some observations concerning the ordering of wine” presented to the Royal Society in 1662, where he described the introduction of a liquer de triage to prompt secondary fermentation. Frere Pierre also did not use the first corks, nor did be blend as we do today, vinifying separately then blending. Rather, the good friar was known to blend the grapes prior to crushing them, then crushing, macerating and fermenting the amalgam. He was a forerunner for biodynamic farming, allowing the abbey animals to run loose in the vineyards. Of course in those days all farming was biodynamic. No pesticides, only natural fertilizer, you carried the water in buckets. I still remember the spotted, random-shaped fruit that rotted in a few days at the grocer's. But I only remember it May through November.
Regulars will remember that 2012 was a winemaker/owner year. Without a talented winemaker and viticulturist and a deep-pocketed owner, extracting good juice was very difficult. The terroir provided little other than soil, rain, cold, clouds, damp, cool, heat and rain, an ugly growing season. Chateau Tour des Termes did a reasonably good job with the 2012, 86 points. If I had the choice here I would prefer you buy the 2010 ($320/case), 90 points ready next year, or 2011, 88 points, $30/bottle. A neighbor, Chateau Lestage Simon Haut Medoc 2011, is a better buy at $22/bottle and a better QPR wine as well. McD 89 points, 1 price point. Bright garnet, it opens to violet and fruit aromas with a hint of barrel spice. On the palate, more fruit with some licorice and a decent acid-tannin-fruit balance. Finishes cleanly with some brambleberry. This wine was consulted with Michel Rolland and won gold at Challenge International du Vin 2014.
The recent release of M. Chapoutier’s Domaine Bila Haut Occultum Lapidem (translates as hidden gem) Cotes du Roussillon Village 2014 is blended of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. M. Chapoutier emotes, "I make portraits of the terroir,” and, “When we change the terroir, we change the taste,” a very nice turn of phrase.
The guy makes fabulous, food-friendly wines. They are complex in nuance, with the scent of indigenous resinous herbs and fruit found in Roussillon and blown about by the mistral, invading every nook and cranny of the clusters and penetrating through the skins into the must. Chapoutier is expert at extracting the juice and vinifying without losing this nuance. In fact, it is likely his use of longtime, over six weeks, open vat maceration and fermentation with pumping over the cap that adds to the bouquet and flavors through exposure to the aroma-laden breeze as well as from the juice itself. Dark garnet, opens to black fruits, pepper, leather and graphite aromas. On the palate, round and full flavors repeat the nose and finish cleanly with a food-friendly balance of fruit, tannin, subdued acidity and minerality. Parker was ecstatic at 97 so it may be tough to find. Be patient or remember the 2012s are 94 points, $27 and available while you wait. Last price on 2014 was $30; it will cellar at least 15 years.
Email John McDonald at chjonmc@yahoo.com.
