Lost? Pretty much.
We are in the area of Bugey and the village is Villebois. To be a little more specific we are here 150km south of Arbois, Jura and 60km northeast of Lyon. I know – you still haven’t got a clue were we are. We are in France – okay, and I have tasted 3 wines so far from La Vigne du Perron.
2010 Les Etapes
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
First impression was a recognizable scent of what I would describe as typical for Pinot Noir, when crafted in the name of natural wine. But quickly the wine turns and you realize we are not in our local “backyard” anymore and the terroir is quite different. To give you an idea what we are dealing with - is a much more cooler tempered wine, which has very fragile breezes of raspberry skin, wet animal fur and a refined spice window. These spices are transported to the palate and overall brakes as white pepper scents, which initially made me fear the fruit would suffer in purity. This is however not the case as the wine is simply so breathtaking fresh, frisky and blessed with poised bite. In such a wrapping, the spices merely act as a complexity supplement. Beautiful wine.
2010 Les Ermitures
Actually the same thing happened here. First scents.....ahaaaa!!!. Gamay, got it!!!...some of the usual suspects on the aromatic wheel, but just 5-10 minutes later, it turns. The transformation is quite amazing and I was about to witness one of the most refined Gamay wines I have ever tasted. It’s one of those annoying wines, which smells of something you think you know and you might even have that note right on the tip of your tongue. But then you begin to doubt, because it’s so unusual to see such an aromatic profile for Gamay. Anyway – this is my best attempt to describe the wine.
A really fresh wine filled with delicate, pure sweet new fruit and aromas which shapes like; pumpkin, green olives, figs, rubber, cumin (very subdued) and lacquer. The fruit is like a really closely tied knot and it provides so much tallness to the wine. The taste is so fine, with a cool, frisky and vibrant curl, which gives you a life confirmative journey. There are also darker phrasings underneath the palate, which feels like brushing of minerality and refined spices. Spectacular Gamay wine.
2010 Ars Antiqua (Pétillant Natural – let’s call them pet.nat. in future)
Blend: 60% Roussette (altesse), 40% Chardonnay
This is different – very different in the sense of I imagined a pet.nat. with immediate appeal from fresh new fruit. To some extend it delivers just that – but it bends the wheel different to what I am used to and over the 3 days I tasted this wine, I found myself more in doubt than really convinced. It has very high pitches of flower water and lemon peel, which goes of towards zest from grape fruit. It’s however more complex than just a simple pet.nat., with a baseline of grassy tones, spices and soil bite. The acidity is high and I like high, but it becomes shrill, like the note of grape fruit from the nose. On day two I found some signs of subtleness, but it’s only when served really chilled. Upon reflection, which I found interesting was it’s ability to stay focused and clear on day 3 and with such a profile I couldn’t help to think whether it’s actually a pet.nat, which can age 1-2 years more?
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4 comments:
where did you get this bottle from?
Hello Daniele,
La Vigne du Perron is imported by http://www.petillant.dk/ in Denmark.
Happy hunting.
;-)
Best from,
/Thomas
Brilliant notes. Having recently discovered vin nature, and in relation to that (re)discovered Gamay and to some extent my old favorite Pinot Noir in new clothes, these seems very tempting.
Hi Gorm,
Thank you.
These are very exiting wines – very much unique and the terroir is quite different to anything I have tried before.
Happy hunting…I don’t think there is many in stock of these – the production numbers are very limited as you can see.
Best from,
Thomas
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