Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – or on the palate as the case might be. Jamie Goode’s fascinating tasting on 20th November was a case in point. “An utterly enthralling tasting – even though I didn’t much care for the wines”. That was the comment from one captivated participant.
Certainly not everyone liked every wine. Yet everyone without exception experienced something new, different and – without the aid of hallucinogenic drugs - subtly altered their perception of what is, or is not beautiful in a wine. Every wine challenged our perceptions of current norms in the market but there were takers for every wine and many got the thumbs up from a curious, critical but absorbed group.
Jamie held the OWC rapt with his tales of fights between rival factions in the ‘naturalista’ movement; of heresies and beauty spots and suggested that focusing on natural or authentic wine was ‘base jumping for winemakers’. Until it’s in the bottle you don’t know what you’ve got – and sometimes not even then!
For these wines changed fast in the glass. In each the first sniff gave way to other flavours; some softened in the mouth; others lengthened and sharpened.
Jamie started life as a plant scientist and science book editor – combining this with a developing passion for wine and the development of his award-winning blog – www.wineanorak.com. Four years ago he gave up the ‘day job’ and now has the pleasure of ‘travelling, eating out and drinking lots of wine at other people’s expense’.
Natural wine, he told us, has no definition but the key commonality is the makers’ belief in letting the wine ‘make itself’ so far as possible and so reflecting as clearly as possible their terroir. Sometimes this results in wines that just don’t work and Jamie suggested that the ‘sweet spot’ comes when a ‘very little SO2’ is added to deal with oxidation and prevent bacterial problems. A certain level of oxidation is generally accepted – and even welcomed (not just in ‘natural’ wines) to add edge and complexity.
The natural wine movement had its origins in France and has spread out from there to affect both wine-makers and consumers. Paris has a stack of natural wine bars; London several, for example Terroirs of Trafalgar Square and Brawn in Hoxton. The Japanese are great lovers of natural wines. Natural wine has caused other wine-makers to ask themselves ‘do we have to do it like this? It’s closely linked with the movement towards organic viticulture. Not all organic winemakers aim for natural wine in the vinification process; most natural wine-makers are organic at heart, though many are not certified as such. Jamie also made the fascinating point that ”we only perceive beauty in the presence of a flaw”. Hence the value of the beauty spot.
We tasted each wine separately and (highly personal) notes are below. All wines are from the Caves de Pyrène (www.lescaves.co.uk/).
2011 Testalonga El Bandito Chenin Cortez, Swartland, South Africa. £26.49
Made by Craig Hawkins, one of South Africa’s best young wine-makers, this Chenin is far from the ‘official’ South African Chenin, Blanc, so far in fact that the authorities have several times refused export permission and it’s taken impassioned letters from Jamie and others to get it released – which is a bit bonkers since it sells out very fast.
Slightly cloudy pale gold in colour, this wine’s initial aroma is of fermenting apples and candied hazelnuts. There was a slight spritz and some tannin but the most notable feature was its powerful acidity. Craig uses acidity as a preservative for the wine rather than SO₂ and we wondered about some reductive character and a tang of ‘brett’. Made from old vine grapes, the wine is unfined and unfiltered. Over time the wine evolved in the glass with the fruit flavours opening up more and more. Not cheap at around £25 but oddly addictive.
2010 Vin de France Romorantin, Thierry Puzelat, Touraine. £19.99
By contrast the Romorantin from the Loire was a light bright gold with no cloudiness or spritz. The nose was complex: floral, with a touch of tropical fruit (pineapple said some) and toasted nuts. In the mouth it was, as Jamie said, a bit like sucking on a lemon. Demonic acidity! Certainly not ‘balanced’ but, as Jamie said, sometimes balance can be over-rated. Ok, too much oak is always wrong, even ‘evil’ but the acidity here would be tempered by the right food – perhaps a strong hard cheese. This is a wine for drinking young (and keeping cool to avoid any re-fermentation).
2010 Alaverdi Monastery Rkatsiteli, Kakheit, Georgia. £20.99
The monks have been making wine here for over a millennium and a half using vast beeswax-lined amphorae called qvevri. Huge amounts of skin contact since everything goes into the amphorae. The result is a white wine that has the colour of a serious pink gin. A fascinating nose of apricot jam with a touch of orange and peaches and flowers. It seems sweet and slightly spirituous. But in the mouth there’s a very different story. Dry, with grippy tannins and a flavour reminiscent of good sherry mixed with orange squash. Comments from the floor ranged from ‘awful’ to ‘delicious’! But drink soon, said Jamie.
2010 Matassa Blanc, Cuvée Marguerite, Côtes Catalanes, Roussillon. £22.99
With the Matassa we were back in cloudy territory. This wine comes from very old dry-grown vines in the Roussillon. It’s a mix of the typical Roussillon grapes – Marsanne, Bourboulenc, and so on -but doesn’t taste like the standard southern French blend. ‘Pretty funky’ was Jamie’s introduction…
Yellow with a slight pink tinge and rather cloudy /spritzy, there was the characteristic matchstick note of reductive aromas. In the mouth it was less distinctive than on the nose; dry, a slight spritz and a cidery / biscuit aftertaste. This was probably the least favourite of the whites that Jamie showed – but had votes nonetheless.
So, that was the whites, now for the reds.
First up was the …
2011 Cuatro Manos Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina. £13.49
After the whites, this organic red was something of a counter-cultural shock. A vivid purple with a narrow pink rim and a wonderfully fresh aroma of raspberries and parma violets, this wine was dry with bright acidity, smooth tannins and 13% alcohol, the feeling was a smooth, fresh and very pure wine. This was definitely one of the favourites of the night..
2010 Faugères Tradition, Clos Fantine, Languedoc. £14.99
A polarising wine for the Club - deep purple with a fairly narrow rim it was forward and rather ‘brettish’ with that note of mouse droppings that some love and some hate. The fruit was sweet and brambly with herby savoury notes, a dry finish and relatively low acidity. This is made from Carignan, Mourvèdre and Cinsaut and rather comforting – if you had lived on a farmyard in early life! Jamie highlighted the lime blossom and tea notes in the aroma and the rather drying, even metallic note on the finish – a characteristic of wines with a touch of ‘brett’. Many top notch Bordeaux wines use unacknowledged ‘brett’ to add this emphasis to the finish, as of course does Chateau Musar.
2010 Poulsard Point Barré, The Foxcub, Philippe Bornard, Arbois. £23.99
The Foxcub comes from the Jura, a region famed for independent thought and odd wines (think the oxidised whites of Château Chalon). The Arbois wines are pale cherry red with a broad brick-tinted rim – akin to some of the earthier and less manufactured Pinots. The nose had parma violets, peppermint tea and roses; whilst in the mouth it was dry with sharp tannins, balanced acidity and a strong note of white pepper dusted over pretty red fruits. This was another favourite of the tasting.
2010 Romaneaux-Destezet, Syrah, Ardèche, Northern Rhone. £21.99
Another dramatic colour change here – as we moved to a deep purple Syrah grown on granite soil, which contributes to that fresh and aromatic character. Schist-grown wines are less sensually intoxicating. This had strong black fruit aromas (cherry?) with a touch of iodine and menthol and a slight spritz (probably a fault reckoned Jamie). Surprisingly, only 11% alcohol but fresh and dry with neat tannins and a good clean finish. There’s no SO₂ on this wine – hence the spritz we suspected – but clean and fresh. The wine maker applies the same techniques to his other vineyards, including in St Joseph.
2005 Chinon, Domaine les Roches, Alain & Jerome Lenoir. £17.99
Lastly, we tasted a 2005 Chinon from the Loire, which Jamie described as ‘the heart of natural wine making’. This example has had no SO₂ but nonetheless has shown a considerable capacity to age elegantly. This wine has seven years of age but Jamie has tasted examples going back a lot longer which preserve fruit and structure.
Still deep purple in colour, though with a broadish rim, this wine had an evolved bouquet with notes of tobacco and hint of green vegetation (like so much cool climate Cabernet Franc). Dry with drying tannins, there was ample black cherry fruit and a controlled powerful finish.
Throughout the tasting, Jamie was an engaging, modest presenter who drew out our thoughts about the wines and answered all our questions with a calm authority. Then, at the end (before one of the most sustained OWC ovations for some time), he apologised for such a ‘punishing’ tasting and thanked us for not walking out on him.
Not a chance.
GH: 22/11/12