The New Elvis

Mankind like to compare – even find suitable Benchmarks. It’s everywhere, from the financial markets, electronic-and music industry. Even wine. It’s the result of data analysis and an easy way to judge performance, strength and potential.  

In the financial markets, portfolio managers are being judged against leading benchmark indexes, maybe even competitors – specific designed to match their risk mandates and focus areas. Did you over or underperform?

The iPhone set new standards when it was launched. It’s nearest rivals have ever since been labelled as the new iPhone killer.

The music industry builds up their heroes and stars. Put them on pedestals and maybe burn their fame down again. Some survive, despite rough times and end up as legends. Some don’t even need much time to establish their status because their talent had enough uniqueness. Just think of Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and lately Amy Winehouse all died at an age of 27 years. These legends become benchmark icons – often ruling as kings & queens of a certain genre or time period. We like to compare new comers against these peers, despite it’s clings like a cliché to hear the new Beatles every second year.

For the critiques, whom are often behind such statements, it’s a logical equation as the simple comparison makes it easy for the public to understand the scope of the “new” and it’s potential.

Yet the benchmarking are often in risk of fading out, becoming that false and naïve cliché, because it’s somehow never the new Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis or Madonna. If new artists are constantly able to become equal clones to their Iconic Idols it underlines that our presumed King or Queens weren’t a reference point after all.  Those who survive and make it into the hall of fame possessed enough uniqueness, defining their own sound and storytelling. They eventually became a new reference point.

In wine we also know about Benchmarking. Some wineries or producers are legends. The thumb rule for possessing the legendary labelling seems to emerge from impressive historical track records. If you want to make it historical in wine you have to make sure your wines will age gracefully. That’s the ticket to legendary status. Worlds most sought after wines are often those who comes with a considerable costs – those who make it into Christie’s most extravagant wine auctions. Once you are there you are a potentially what we in the “Old world” would call a Benchmark wine.

The battlefield in wine are however not as even as even as one should think; because these legends comes with considerably costs and are not like music for everyone. Even some are not interested at all in these wines and don’t pay much attention to them or the fact that they are a reference point.

Right now we are seeing some of the most innovative restaurants around the globe slowly phasing out old conventional legends. In my own backyard, restaurant Noma (and several others following) are now only serving natural wines.  

Most wine lovers would acknowledge historical references, but somehow you are never better than your latest release and there is no guarantee that you even liked the style, “sound” or “genre” of a wine.

Personally benchmark legends don’t interest me much. Seeing wine from a zero angle scope is much easier. Not taking a quality measurement against myth and historical tales makes it much easier to level with wine. It doesn’t matter to me whether a wine can last 200 years or 4 hours. I care about the experience here and now - life in the wine and drinking pleasure….and so many other things.

Benchmarking in wine is however an interesting descriptor, as you can quickly draw attention to a known/style, which your audience can relate to. However if you really fall in love with a wine/producer I would bet it always had enough personality and didn’t needed to be compared against a reference point.

I am about to introduce a new producer to you and 4 debut wines. I found myself benchmarking and comparing him, to get a feel of both overall quality and potential.  My inspiration to this introduction came from hearing myself saying; is this the New Elvis, Sting or maybe Stevie Wonder? It’s obviously not and that’s good news because this is something I haven’t seen before. Potentially a new style and reference point – who knows? I can tell you this much, that I found myself almost lost for laudatory words. 

Yann Durieux is his name and he makes wine under the Domaine name of Recrue des Sens. I have limited information – only from various Internet sites, blogs and the Danish importer did I learn that he worked seven years for Julien Guillot - a name that rings very good bells in my ears. There is also a connection to Prieuré Roch as I understand it, where he still helps out and get some of the used barrels from. Some also comes from Alain Burguet. He works purely organic and natural wine ideology. He is located in the village of villers-la-faye in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits region, which isn’t exactly known to foster the most pompous Cru-appellations. Yet it doesn’t really scare me off, because I have learned to pay more attention to the singularity skills of a grower and not appellation hysteria.

2010 is the debut release from Yann Durieux and he currently have 3ha of land, but will slowly obtain more land. Current production is about 6.000 bottles, where 50% goes into his Aligoté “Love and Pif”.

These are the wines I have tasted from Recrue des Sens and I haven’t written any notes, so this is from memory.

Red and “Manon” was tasted from Zalto Burgundy – “Love and Pif” were tasted from Zalto Unisersal

Reds:

2010 Black Pinot

A very light and fragile red Burgundy wine, only possessing 11% of alcohol. There is initially a beautiful fragile raspberry scent coming forward, but eventually also notes of forest floor and herbs blends in. It creates a little bit more rustic feel, but also creates good baseline and character. Overall it’s still so fragile and drinks really well.

2010 Les Grands Ponts

 “Serve it on a good day” – that was the sort of only instruction I got, from the importer – other that he thought it would be something for my palate. Well – I first of all served it on a fruit day, but had no idea what waited. I have to say, pinned to the chair with a lie detector wrapped around my arm that this is one of the most emotional and intoxicating wines I have tasted in a while.  Despite I can dissect it for you – as I have written no notes – I still dream about it though it has been 14 days since I last tasted it. I remember is as extremely floral with roses and raspberry wrapped in an extremely intense – yet overly weightless feel. The structure of the wine is exceptional elastic; ballerina light on it toes, yet with enormous persistence and juiciness. I was blown away by it’s beauty and harmony and I felt like pouring the whole bottle down in one go – which was easy with it’s 12% alcohol. It’s not a cheap wine - but my God it’s worth every penny. 

Whites:

2010 Manon (Chardonnay)

If a white Burgundy – especially when crafted from Chardonnay – are to win my heart it has to find a soil intensity or a really refined a elegant style. This wine does exactly that and its uncompromising mineral spine made me think of Alexandre Jouveaux and it’s raciness made me think of young Chablis. It’s also a wine, which feels really young with lots of potential. It’s still flavoured with lots of citrus fruits, yet if you raise it in temperature it   unrevealed some more creamy notes of fresh butter and yeast components. The taste is really clean and delicious. I would love to taste it again with a year or two more age.

2010 Love and Pif (Aligoté)

My experience with Aligoté is pretty limited – so when saying this has to be one of my absolute favourite versions it doesn’t really mean that much. It’s a very playful wine, which on one side has one hell of a tickly freshness with newly pressed apples, lime and lemon peel. On the other hand – and it actually flips back and forth - it has some pretty sensual sweet notes, emerging from Champagne yeast, vanilla and overly juicy pears and peaches. The drinking pleasure is in the category; “Finish me and open a bottle more”….brilliant wine. (tasted it two times btw – one time in a restaurant (simple Spiegelau Authentis) and one time at home from Zalto Universal. The experience in Zalto was so much better.    

Outsider

It’s a shame I don’t drink more Riesling. 

In some aspects Riesling appeals far more to me than Chardonnay does (without bubbles). If to rudely generalize; Riesling are an ultra clear non-oaky expression, strong terroir defined wines with the high acidity (which I am a sucker for). If to stay on the generalizing string, that is far more interesting than the somewhat monotone melon, oaky and oily expression of Chardonnay. That’s why I never found true love for white Burgundy, but my compromise eventually founds its way into Champagne. That said – during my journey into natural wine country, I have found lots of wines, which deviates from this generalizing description and made me happy.

My appetite for Riesling has dropped dramatically since this Champagne and natural wine bug started. The German Riesling are not exactly known for their low sulphur levels, yet I can’t say that I have had many experience where the wines actually stinks of SO2. So what's the fuzz? In most cases with German Riesling, they are simply too square and lifeless for my palate. Their structure are too polished/ “slippery”, taking energy down and headache up, which in most cases are sings of too high sulphur. And if you are a sucker for energy (like me) it’s not a relationship that will last.

Having said that and before this develops into a “polish-my-own-halo-post” - If you haven’t been exposed to a lot of natural wine, I am not sure you see it this way. My good friend Martin from Berlin, whom I consider be a very skilled taster and an expert in Riesling for sure doesn’t see it this way. It’s important for me to stress out that my taste is not the right one – it never is – but my starting point is very different, because I drink so many low dozed SO2 wines.

Anyway a German Riesling without SO2 – sounds like paradise to me. The paradox is that the wine is categorized as a “Landwein der Mosel” because the local authorities don’t approve wines of this low SO2. Who cares about appellations snobbism, let’s jump onboard.

2011 Rita & Rudolf Trossen, Riesling “Schieferstern Zero Zero”

Blend: 100% Riesling

Terroir: Slate

Winemaking: Biodynamic

Alcohol: 12,05%

pH: 3:15

Free SO2: 0 mg / l

Total SO2: 1 mg / l

Production: 400 bottles

Glass: Zalto Universal

Trossen have been experimenting with zero SO2 since 2009 but at first had doubt’s it could be successful. Tasting the zero sulphur wines from Jura & Burgundy finally convinced Rudolf Trossen and in 2010 he released his first non-SO2 wine with the 2010 "cuvée Pyramide PUR". Only 15L was made.

As you can see from the image there is a capsule on the bottle and still some carbon dioxide left. Give it some air and it’s gone after 30 minutes or so.

I was struck by the crystalline clarity of this wine. Ultra refined fresh water appeal, like drinking directly from the mouth of a water well. Notes like tulips, citrus, greenish apples and freshly washed linens in cool spring air emerged and all together shapes an extraordinary elegant and pure wine. The taste is utterly sensational, despite being really young  - mineral extravaganza with a vibrant, frisky and agile acidity. Nothing sticks out – everything is so beautiful toned creating blissful harmony. What a wine – what a Riesling. Absolutely stunning wine.

Ps. My wife who knows absolutely nothing about wine (I have given up), but in general hates oaky white wines (she calls them unnatural) – thought this wine was one of the best white wines she had ever tasted.

Thank you Ine & Ries for this bottle – you are too kind.

Overdone?

I can never get tired of Champagne. Not only is it a divine drink, but also something, which constantly are able to challenge my own palate. Whenever asked about “what’s your favourite Champagne producer?” I can’t give a name or a clear answer. Fact is, that I have several favourites and it’s not always about “best” in terms of big and complex, but also occasion, food, weather and my own mood. If you have read some of the previous post on this blog, you should know what I am talking about.

However if I should pin point a recent preference it would be that I am more and more drawn to Champagne, which reflects ultra clear flavours, soil tension and energy. I like nature’s brutality more than a wine making style. But already here I find myself in a grey area, because I can find endless days, where a wine making styled Champagne with velvet coated oak sweetness can make me smile and fulfil my needs.

When I first tasted the 2006 Blanc de Noir from barrel with Olivier Collin I was overly ecstatic about it. Since then – this previous soil preference has set it and I have found this Champagne a bit extreme. Recently some friends have chimed in with positive reports on this Champagne so I thought it was time to revisit.

2006 Ulysse Collin “BdN”

Blend: 100% Pinot Noir

Terroir: Chalk mixed with heavy clay

Vineyard: Les Maillons in the village of Barbonne-Fayel

Vines: Planted in 1971

Dosage: 2,4 g/l

Alcohol: Picked @ 12,2% finished @ 13,6% after the second fermentation

Other: The ’06 are the debut release for this Champagne

Glass: Spiegelau Adina red wine/water goblet + Adina Burgundy

Source for details are: Champagneguide.net

I have to mention the colour, which is truly amazing (I will have an image next time I taste it). It’s nearly a rosé, but with a dimmed saturation. Olivier kept some the natural colour, which was a result after the pressing and it just tells you that the Champagne is picked from really ripe grapes.

Well it’s certainly better than it were just upon it’s release. Back then a really troublesome note of ginger and bitter alcoholic notes spread like a disease all over the Champagne. It brought flashbacks to the Viognier grape and especially some of these very alcoholic driven Condrieu cuvées.

The first pour (besides that colour) wasn’t a treat either – or was it? Well…it’s certainly a Champagne which will pull down your pants, knocks you backwards invite you to a tongue kiss, if you’re in such mood. If you fancy some foreplay you have to sit it down and serve some food. I had a good friend stopping by – so I served a simple selection of duck pâté, salted almonds, pata negra and comté cheese. It made a huge difference and turned down the volume of notes dominated by; caramelized honey, apple pie, burned butter, vanilla, quince and plums. It’s extremely concentrated, both on the nose and palate, but the food prevents it from this slight alcoholic burn on the last meters. It’s also pretty complex  - a real “sniffer and you can actually find a lot of layers. Yet very few of these are coming from a natural soil element, as I see it. This is more about wine making than a strong terroir orinated Champagne. I rested one third of the bottle, which I had two days later, where it had transformed almost into a dessert wine, with a fair amount of brown sugar and cinnamon notes

Overall it’s not something I am hugely in love with, but I can easily see myself serving this Champagne as the last Champagne of the night with a selection of cheeses. If to serve it like it did - with snacks, it will not be that successful if you intend to continue with more Champagne…if so they have to be equal in density and I can think of only Selosse or Krug to match such concentration. 

Note: The subsequent releases of the BdN (it’s now labelled as “Les Maillons”) are made in a more conservative style. 

2013 Terres et vins de Champagne

The 5^th edition of Terres et vins de Champagne will take place on April 22^nd 2013.

A must for real Champagne lovers.

Wintertime is Champagne time

I have recently discovered that my seasonal wine preferences don’t always comply with the unwritten wine rules.

I don’t know about you, but when studying to become a wine geek I adapted to some habits, which seemed pretty logic at the time. I had to do with seasonality and the wine we chose to drink as the ambient conditions changed. It bounced perfectly with the rhythms of the foods that were in season and the culinary traditions, which were associated.

As the weather turned colder here at my latitudes, the food increased its density and structure. Likewise wines were acquired to match these dishes and they were often bolder, darker, more alcoholic and with higher masculinity. We need wines that can warm our body and souls. Modern mankind are raised with seasonality behaviour - just think about how fashion collections changes from fall/winter vs spring/summer collection; fabric, weight and colours.

Christmas eve here in Denmark is often pinpointed to be the fulcrum of winter with duck, rich brown sauce and the tricky warm red cabbage, which could kill any wine match. When I think of this evening I often get an association of two fat pigs dancing tango in a sauna. Doesn’t sound right or groovy – does it? There has to be an alternative.

As the daylight increased and milder weather is on the rise it’s logical to turn the preferences towards crispy “white” offerings, which for my part have included more and more Champagne. Spring is a sensational period for Champagne with the entire flowering, crisp cool air, low humidity and the bright sunlight. I get Champagne thirsty just thinking of day in May with a glass of Champagne on the terrace.

However there is something I believe we have overlooked when it comes to winter and Champagne pairing – or maybe I should say I have made a personal discovery. The alternative I have been missing.

For my part Champagne works miraculously at wintertime. I think the primary reason for my appetite could be very well be that spring and wintertime feeds of the same concept of cool and clean air, which sets my association and needs towards cool tempered wines. Even the snowfall can contribute to my desires as the peaceful drops from the sky acts as a puritan association, where snow virtually advocates for innocence, crystallized clarity and a weightless elegance. Champagne fits the recipe.

So with this small intro I have some short and recent Champagne experiences for you:

2007 Demarne-Frison “Lalore” Brut Nature from Magnum.

Lovely crisp, pure and fresh Chardonnay with blessed yellow fruits and sizzling intense energy. Still on the young side, but I will never know how it will evolve because this was my one and only bottle.

2009 Dermane-Frison “Goustan” Brut Nature

I loved the ’07 of Goustan for it’s sensorial sweetness and lovely clay soil attack. The ’09 are shaped from the same frame, but it’s a fraction more intense, robust – but also tighter. The ’07 did however evolve quite quickly in the bottle, but I suspect the ’09 might take a year or two longer to reach the same state.  Lovely stuff.

NV Laherte BdB Brut Nature

I have had it so many times and I can never get tired of this minimalistic and honest expression.

NV Laherte “Les 7 (former Les Clos)”

Every time I open a new “Les 7” I tend to mark it as the best example I have ever tried. This is once again such an experience. I love how this Champagne are able to range from sophisticated spices, black tea notes, brutal soil attack and high pitched lime zest. Think this bottle was disgorged in early 2010.

2006 David Léclapart “L’Artiste”

Do you know the feeling of have a clear idea how a certain wine will taste like before you sniff the glass? I was 99% sure how the ’06 L’Artiste would be like before I put my nose into the glass as I have actually tasted it once before. I was wrong and I actually thought something was wrong with the bottle. Maybe I just have a bad memory, because there was indeed nothing wrong with either bottle or the Champagne itself. Rather accessible at the moment - insanely intense with supernatural energy and notes of pastry and apple zest. WOW!!!

“2009 Marie-Courtin “Concordance” Extra Brut

Third time I have this sans soufre Champagne and I am ecstatic about it. There is a tasting note here – which fits two of the experiences. But it’s the third @ restaurant Formel B, which are described here: It’s perhaps one of the freest Champagnes I have ever tasted and it’s so interesting. The notes are quit exotic, ranging from overripe peach, mango with deeper layers of walnuts and musk perfume. The taste has this elastic clay feeling and it’s so interesting. I can’t wait to taste it again – but I will wait 1 year.

2008 Marie-Courtin “Eloquence” Extra Brut

First time I taste this 100% Bdb from Marie-Courtin. First I should tell you that I have a thing with high acidity, which I tend to like and I am rarely scared by really high-pitched breeds. I find it exceptional interesting when the acidity cuts like a spine through the wine and associate either lemon or lime zest attack on the taste buds. For me it’s a tribute to the diversity and how such a Champagne can act as the perfect starter to a menu where the taste buds are kept fresh and alive – ready for more.  Les 7 from Laherte has it and this is also the case for Eloquence, which I absolutely adored. It started off with a combination of creamy sweet biodynamic notes - such as baby banana mixed with the vanilla notes from the oak and then leaning into pear, apple, lemon and lime. With air these oak perfumes retracts and is replaced with a grassier, mineral and stringent baseline, where this spinal acidity raises both intellect and energy. Fantastic Champagne. 

2006 Emmanuel Brochet “Vintage” Extra Brut

Lovely Champagne – with really robust core, delivering an intense and rich style. It's still on the young side, with greenish apple scents blending in, bringing clarity, backbone and a balanced counterweight to the bold expression. Give it 2-3 years and it will be perfect (I guess). 

1988 Krug

Where do Krug get this concentration from – do they have a secret formula? When having this served blind by my good friend Andreas in Stockholm, I wasn’t a second in doubt that I had Krug in the glass. I guessed ’88 or ’85. When you stick your nose into this thing it might come off as being a typical Champagne with some age to it. But after a few seconds the inner core hits you like a volcano and takes on a rollercoaster ride into power and elegance. What makes Krug stand out IMHO is it’s vinous side and the fact that you can raise it in temperature, serve it a bigger glass, make the bubbles die out and actually provoke even more complexity. That’s a sign of class and a kind of litmus test. Almost all of the pioneers Champagne names I love to drink can break this test – so can Krug, but many big house cuvée fails. 

NV Selosse “Substance”

(Disgorged April-2007)

For me Substance are like a Chameleon and a Champagne I always have hesitated to buy. Most of my experiences have left me with a “too much” and a somewhat confused impression. A common denominator has however always been an extremely expressive Champagne and this was also the case with this bottle, which I had in Stockholm. This experience is however – by far – the best Substance I have ever tasted. It was served right after 1988 Krug and sort of blended it and we didn’t “loose height”, just changed the scenery. This bottle has an outrageous scent of seductive evening perfume with deep vanilla, sweet woody amber-citrus notes with Selosse’s typical oxidized notes of overripe quince. There is an unheard balance to this Champagne, despite its density. Incredible vinous experience that you almost forgot you were drinking a Champagne. Can’t help to wonder if the trick with Substance is actually to give cellar it +5 years from disgorgement date?  

2004 Bérèche “Instant”

Was expecting a more evolved Champagne by now. But it’s actually pretty tight with bright acidity sparkle and lots of citrus fruits. Lovely clarity and more expressive above 14 degrees, but still it seems to be in a closed phase like many other ‘04s.

2006 Bérèche “Instant rosé No.1” Brut nature

Unbelievable Champagne and one of my all time favourite rosé Champagnes. Elegant, sleek, salty and so bloody tasty. I still have a few left and can’t wait to taste it again.

1999 Vilmart “Grand Cellier Rubis rosé”

Round, lush, pleasing and a Chamapagne I would describe as charming.  I however didn’t feel any intimacy “between us” and I found myself a somewhat distanced from it. The acidity is quit low and it lowers the friskiness. When combined with oak and too high dosage it becomes a blurry expression. I could easily drink it – and did with pleasure, together with some friends, but I had forgot about it soon after.  

2006 Georges Laval “Les Chênes”

Had high expectations, as it’s the third time I taste this magnificent Champagne. I think Laval have broken the sound barrier in ’06 and I hear rumours that his ‘08s are even better. I promised you short notes, so I will only say it’s unbelievable good Champagne. Still not as exotic as previous vintages, but I love this holding back, because underneath are all those layers constantly bringing complex layers to the package…..I’ll better stop here, because I will end up opening one of my very few bottles.

2006 Georges Laval “Les Hautes-Chévres”

Served in the same flight as “Les Chênes” together with my wine club. They actually preferred this one. I can’t choose, but can confirm that it was once again overly majestic and I can’t think of a BdN, which can deliver such a complex frame in ’06 vintage. Vincent – you rock, BRAVO!!!!

2008 Ulysse Collin “Les Roises”

A good Champagne and especially in the acclaimed ’08 vintage. I think Olivier Collin have taken a step in the right direction with splitting his BdB release into two separate cuvees. I would however – and I might have kinky preferences – would like to have even more brutality and soil attack here. It’s a bit “pretty” with smooth oak appeal and vanilla sweet fruit. However the product is sound and of great quality and even drinking well.

Wine Geometry

Are wine language an insider phenomenon - a commutation form only for the initiated?

Sometimes it is – sometimes not, or is it only because we assume the obvious is logical.

What is interesting about wine language is that it’s is a dynamic substance, which evolves with trends and corrections. Yet again, it could be that you discovered expressions along the way; you once had no idea what were, but now use as they were second nature.

Let’s take wine language down to a more specific level.  

“The wine is round”

You know what I am talking about, right? Round would be pleasing, soft and friendly. A wine with no hard edges, which could have a lush profile, filled with deep and intense fruit.  Velvet tannins, could also lead to round – even if the notes of chocolate and vanilla would appear, we could think of round. Yes we know round, don’t we?

“The wine is square”

Tricky! I assume a lot of people would have no idea what a square wine was or if so - our assumptions could most likely be miles apart and the term could have multiple meanings.

If we have to understand “square” properly we will have to have broader context and more information. I will give it to you now.

I heard this  “square” expression in arecent radio interview (it's in Danish) with chief sommerlier Pontus Elofsson from restaurant Noma .The host of the radio show asked Pontus why Noma and other top restaurants here in Denmark are turning more and more into natural wines – to a degree that the conventional wines are slowly being phased out.  Pontus said something like this:

“The trend at these restaurants is a more terroir defined kitchen. The distance between nature and plate is very short. The expression of the food is very brutal and honest – so is the wine. The starting point for both food and wine are the same. The conventional wines are very specific and square and might be spot on to a very specific dish. But when you pair against food, which is extremely wild, unruly and open - they fail. They simply don’t hit the right tones, like natural wine do. These natural wines work because they are flexible and open"

Does it make sense now?

(Pontus Elofsson)

Let’s try another term.

“The wine is free”

First time I got exposed to this term was the “Fri vin” event. I had a very good idea what “Free wines” were, as all of the producers attending either flirted with natural wines, organic, bio or very strong terroir orientated Champagne. Looking back – I didn’t get the term exactly right then, but I think it get it now.

A free wine…if we stay in the geometry lessons, we could say it’s a wine with no shapes – a wine that can’t be fitted into a form. A wine that is unruly, wild and open as Pontus pointed out. For me it’s also a wine that lives – filled with energy and life. Not belonging to a shape also means not forced to be a part of shape. Free wines tend to shoot in all kinds of directions because they are not forced only to go in one direction.

The most important thing for a wine to be free is that it lives.

It often takes me less than 10 seconds to know if it’s a free wine I have in the glass, but the obvious brain signal is almost impossible for me to explain. My best try would be it’s a wine I can feel – a wine that speaks to me and I can speak to the wine.

I know I’ve probably lost a few here and you been wondering what I have been smoking – but that’s the point. Free wines are an inexplicable connection between life in the wine and life in you. Those of you already exposed to free wines, know what I am mumbling about (please say yes).

I also know, when I present the geometry like this, I make the shapeless sound as the free paradise and the conventional, correct and square sound as hell on earth. Then we are back to the trench warfare of conventional vs natural wines. That’s not the case – at least not 100% ;-). You see correct and square can be great, when the variables are there. Such as my mood, food, occasion and friendship. But for my emotional barometer to get going it’s the shapeless, crazy, spontaneous, which reminds me I am alive and wine is more than just a liquid.

As all good students – I have an example for you. A square wine and a free wine – here goes.

The square wine:

2001 Felsina, Chianti Classico Riserva “Rancia”

Blend: 100% Sangiovese

Terroir: Limestone and Galestro marl

Vineyard: 6,25ha – southwest exposure – 410m above sea level.

Fermentation:  Temperature 28-30°c

Maceration: 16-20 days.

Ages of vines: Roughly 50 years

Aging: A mix of barriques and old oak casks – total of 16-18 months, plus 6-8 months in bottle

Glass: Zalto Bordeaux

Maybe it’s not fair to call Rancia a square wine. Or should I say it’s a dilemma to mark it as square. To some degree it’s exceptional square and yet again it seems like a wine have simply not woken up and I doubt it ever will.

I have tasted Rancia many times before in several vintages and know it takes time to come around. I even remember the 2001 here, which I tasted just after its release and decided to keep my six-pack well hidden in the back of my cellar. Here – many years later it’s still rock hard and not exactly a pleasure to drink

Sangiovese comes in many shapes and Rancia belongs where the red perfumes is transformed into darker cherry formations, Tuscan dust and dried herbs. We are not dealing with high alcohol or an extracted wine here – but my God I miss some life. The wine is tuned into a frequency, which I can’t listen to and no matter how gently I tried to whisper in it’s ear it seems almost offended and no contact was ever established.  

It’s the kind of wine where you take a sip of the glass and are disappointed every time, but still hope something better will appear. It didn’t happen and even though I have 5 bottles left I fear they are technical already dead.

The Free wine:

2010 Jean François Ganevat “Plein Sud”

Blend: 100% Trousseau

Terroir: Gray Marle and pebbles

Vines: Planted in 1949 and 2000

Production: approx. 15.000 bottles

Other: Almost all of Ganevat’s wines are without sulphur and can age really well.

Glass: Zalto Burgundy

To quote a friend on FB – “Ganevat is a genius”.

I couldn’t agree more and I could have picked all of his wines to represent my little experiment, but "Plein Sud" just happened to be the latest I’ve drunk and I had a couple of days after “Rancia”, which put focus on the contrast and why I thought about writing this thread.

Like all of Ganevat’s wines they are incredible delicious - drinking exceptional well with low alcohol and unbelievable juiciness. But there is also intellect – mind-blowing combination of depth, clarity and energy. You are instantly in close contact with the wine. It embraces you with open arms and the only problem is that the bottle is rapidly empty.

Ganavet can like no other from Jura lead your mind into Burgundy comparisons. He brings out an overly delicate sweetness, which in the case of this Plein Sud shapes like candy raspberry perfumes, cherries, Christmas spices and these ethereal notes. The taste is vivid – floating like a feather, yet with enormous bite and persistence.  Absolutely gorgeous and free wine. 

Varible No. 32B

What if women ruled the world?

The questions have of course been asked over and over again, and it clings like a naive cliché to ask it. Hypothetical, speculation and somewhat irrelevant one might say. Nevertheless mind joggling with theories can occasionally be interesting. 

If women ruled the world, how many World Wars would we have had; 1,2,3,4 or maybe not a single one? Would we even have nuclear weapons or at all know what they were? A Middle East conflict, dictatorship, world hunger, Global warming, financial crises or how much would Cristiano Ronaldo earn a month???

What about wine?

What if there was no male wine journalist or at least the leading wine critics were mainly female. We would be loaded with Jancis Robinsons clones. We could also assume there wasn’t a system with hats, stars or points, which ranked wine.

Wine still got reviewed in this female paradise, but the framework was far less rigid.

Systematic tasting of wine didn’t exist. Suppressing variables, which could influence our judgements was an illusion. In fact we did the opposite and highlighted everything that influenced us.  Wine tasting didn’t really exist; it was derived secondary result of drinking wine.

The tight and organized overview of the wine we have today was very different. The hierarchical subdivision of wine was far more complex, as a certain breed of wines suited our needs one day, but maybe not the next. Some would say the controlled and easy consumer overviews of wine we have today, was a big mess in the hands of the women.  A jungle no one ever thought about cleaning up or organize.   

The storytelling of wine was on a holistic level. How the taster related to the wine on all thinkable levels. We focused on symbioses between nature, culture, people, moods, occasions, food, diversity, temperature, humidity, glasses, lunar calendar…. etc. The best wines, could like today be those who were utterly complex and to a degree of supernatural. But the mojo was always drinking pleasure and how the wine was in synch with variables, our minds and emotions.

Norms didn’t exist, as there were no rules.  Sure Wine A could be miles better than wine B. But wine A, could also be horrible the following Tuesday, horrible the next week also, but utterly sensational, when you had it a week later, with some friends in Tuscany. We weren’t embarrassed to tell how a wine could appeal so differently over so short a time span, as it was a consequence of having full presence with wine and we always spoke highly focused on the variables, which changed the outcome.

We didn't think we were smarter than wine and we always needed to “nail it”. We loved being in doubt, because it reminded us that wine was a function of our complex life.

Science fiction?

Maybe, but are we/you satisfied with what we have today? When you found a love for wine, how long did it take for you to realize that wine was also about “code of conduct?” Have we in fact just jumped onboard and pressed, “I agree” without reading between the lines?

Many question – very little answers.

I don’t have them all – as I am not here to judge. I am however here to ask questions and be curious, because clinic tasting of wine it not something I believe in. I believe in variables and I embrace them.

1995 Château Montus “XL”

Grape: 100% Tannat

Terroir: Strong slopes interspersed pebbles, 3 meters of red clay

Vines: 25 years old

Vinification: Fermentation at 28 ° C in wooden vats

Maceration for 3 to 6 weeks (depending on the vintage)

Bredding: On lees, 40 months in new barrels of 400 liters

Production: 4000 bottles

Existing vintages of “XL”: 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000
Glass: Riedel Sommerliers Bordeaux Grand Cru

The other week I decided it was time to serve a wine I have basically been waiting 15 years to taste. There was only one person I could drink this wine with - my good friend, Claus whom I have been drinking wine with for almost 20 years now.

Had I chosen to share this wine with my wife, it would have failure written all over it.  I speculate she would have categorized it as what she often calls a “typical maleness wine”. Taste it myself then? No! – I can already see how I have been far more analytic (maybe…I don’t know 100%).

Together with Claus, there was a connection, which started by itself, as Montus was one of the very first wines he and I shared together. Why not use this? Why not bring myself to a state of mind, where I was already smiling, when he was blind guessing on this wine. You see, we collected Montus and held tastings, where it often acted as joker in Bordeaux flights. 

However during the years and with plenty of water flowing in the river, Montus have sunk into oblivion. Yet tasting it again made me realize, the journey we take in wine is not always about defining your taste here and now. We still have memorable moments, when our taste was different. Today Claus and I doesn’t necessarily share taste in wine, but Montus made that link back in time and that was exactly what I hoped for.

The wine was thrilling because of this special occasion. It reminded us how elegant Montus can turn out when you give it +10 years in the cellar. It also reminded me how many different wines I have actually tasted during the years.

Claus started his first blind guess with Bordeaux, which wasn’t a surprise to me. I would have guessed the same, if I were in the hot seat. Notes like; vanilla, melted milk chocolate, sweet cedar wood, cigar box and healthy ripe blackcurrant were the perfect recipe for Bordeaux. It even delivered a very classy taste, with solid good bite and structure. However after this guess he paused for some 20 minutes – had a refill and then said out loud: “Montus!!!!” We laughed and at this moment a window was opened to memory lane and the stories just floated, as we were back in our twenties.

Had I had this wine alone or at a systematic controlled tasting event, the outcome would have been very different.

So my advice to you is to embrace everything in wine that can influence you, because in the long run you can’t suppress them anyway.

Variable no. 32B is: Occasion & Friendship

(Claus)