Claude Bosi launches natural wine list

It's amazing how hot under the collar people get about the subject of natural wine. My post in the Guardian today has attracted a huge number of comments as has my tweet flagging it up on Twitter.

What prompted it was the fact that two Michelin-starred chef Claude Bosi of Hibiscus had launched a wine list this week about 90% of which is composed of wines that could be referred to as natural. A significant step for a chef of that standing.

The list was put together by Isabelle Legeron a French Master of Wine, a firm believer in natural wines for personal reasons. Her father, a vigneron in the Cognac region died 10 years ago from lung cancer. He didn't smoke and Legeron attributes his death to the extensive spraying of vineyards in the area. A number of his fellow vignerons have died prematurely as did Yannick Chenet in the report I highlighted here.

This is an emotive subject. Winegrowers who take care with their crops but who are not organic or biodynamic feel understandably aggrieved that their wines could be regarded as 'unnatural'. Biodynamics to be honest does sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo. If you come across a wine described as natural that tastes more like cider you may feel inclined to dismiss them in general. There are good and bad winemakers in the natural wine world just as there are in conventional winemaking.

But surely it can only be a good thing to raise the bar? For all producers to use fewer chemicals and less sulphur? If the natural wine movement means that more people respond to this demand all to the good. Readmore »»

A Delicious Surprise from a Small Corner of the Southern Rhone: Chateau Roustan from Costières de Nimes

The Rhône Valley is a big place. It's got a northern region where Syrah reigns supreme in reds and native (and lesser known) white grapes Viognier, Roussane, and Marsanne play lead roles and supporting roles to Syrah (yes, they blend white and red there). It has an even bigger southern region, which is super diverse and contains the famous Côtes-du-Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape designations.

I'm going to do a primer on the Northern Rhône soon, and then I'll get to the Southern Rhône shortly after, but for this post, I'll concentrate on a lesser known area of the Southern Rhône from where I have previously never tried a wine. It's called Costières de Nimes (Coat-Tee-AIRE d'Neem) and its the most southern of the Rhône's vineyards. It's so far south and west that it used to be considered part of the Languedoc region, which is bigger and less prestigious than the Rhône.

This is an area with a long history of winemaking and a whole hell of a lot of pride. Greeks were the first to cultivate vines in the Costières de Nimes. They alighted from the Mediterranean, found some native grapes, and in 500 BC started making the good stuff. Centuries later, Romans moved in, developed the area and it's rumored that Julius Ceasar's soldiers hung out here and imbibed in the fruit of the vine! In the 8th century, the real wine-lovers and perfectionists -- the monks from various sects (Benedictines, Cistercians, oh my!) started making fabulous wine.

Things clicked along for a while and then the world got a better taste of wines from this area when, in the 17th century, the Canal du Midi, a waterway connecting the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, opened international markets for this region's wine. The region was awarded its own designated, controlled origin (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) in 1986.

A funny thing about this region -- bullfighting seems to be a huge deal here. Although I didn't see anything in my research on Spanish influence, the web site for the wines of the region mentions two festival days involving bullfighting and a Pamplona-like bull chase...kind of not what I'd expect in Southern France, but what do I know?

I guess I better stick to the wine...

Like a lot of the Southern Rhône there are 5 main grapes that drive the boat in these wines: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Cinsault. Growing in a hot climate, which experiences some crazy storms, and the Mistral wind that comes from the North and can rip all the grapes off a vine in seconds, these grapes are each hearty and resilient and each add a special something to the blend. The soils tend to be stony and alluvial (deposits from rivers that look like stones and dirt) and can add a dusty mineral note to the wine.

Although similar in climate and in grapes used, wines from the Costières de Nimes are nothing like their richer neighbors in the east and northeast Rhône Valley (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacqueras, Gigondas). These wines tend to be lighter in style with less complexity -- more everyday wines than ageble ones! It's also worth noting that because of all the sucky weather in this area, vintage matters a lot. The wine below was a 2008, which was a harder vintage in the Rhône with wind, rain, and a wicked Mistral wind that lead to a smaller crop of just ok fruit -- very different from 2005 or 2007, for instance.

And now to the wine, which I was surprised to find and bought out of curiosity -- having never before seen a Costières de Nimes on a shelf!

The Wine: Chateau Roustan
Where It's From: Costières de Nimes, Rhône Valley, France
The Grapes: 50% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache
Vintage: 2008
Price: $12.99

Color: Syrah and Mourvedre are both pretty dark varieties so, not surprisingly, this wine was a rich ruby. It had a pretty watery rim, which I find typical of Rhône Syrah (the Australian Shirazes are so much darker and hold color to the edge practically) and medium legs, meaning moderate alcohol (it was 13%, which is pretty standard).

Smell: I really love when a wine tastes like it's from somewhere. There are so many wines out there that are generic-tasting -- not so with this puppy. Flowers, blueberry, cherry, and spice all wrapped together in a wine that was like a bottle of expensive perfume. I smelled something like a pecan sandy cookie too. The best parts of this wine for me though -- the stinky, mineral, dust smells and then the new leather that anchored this wine to the land it grew in. Very interesting, in a good way.

Taste: Syrah is known for dark fruit flavors, high tannin, and leathery flavors. Mourvedre is used for its musky, earthy notes. Grenache adds alcohol, acid, cherry, and other red fruit notes. In this wine, together these made something really delicious. Blueberry syrup, orange rind, sour cherry, and warm cinnamon spice were all over this wine. Dark flowers and roasted walnuts hung around in the background. The wine had noticeable tannin and a little alcohol burn, but it was all in balance. Even with all that flavor, the wine was medium bodied -- it wasn't huge.

Food Pairings: Like I said, this isn't a big daddy wine. Hard cheeses and salty meats like prosciutto are great for this wine. Perhaps it's because of the bullfighting stuff, but I also envision this with Spanish tapas -- mushrooms in olive oil and garlic or patatas bravas (spicy fried potatoes in a special spicy aioli).

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. A solid wine for a great value. If you like full-flavored, blockbuster wines, this will be too subtle for you, but I liked it's lightness and complex smells and tastes. It's a good find from a small, historical, and pretty awesome region.

Note: If you can't find a Costières de Nimes, look for a Côtes-du-Rhône with Syrah as the main grape, or a Côtes-du-Ventoux or Côtes-du-Luberon, which should have some similarly delicious characteristics! Readmore »»

Domaine de Vougeraie Fête de Famille 2002

In return for our Genesis syrah our friends cracked open a bottle of Domaine de Vougeraie's Fête de Famille 2002 an exceptional crémant de Bourgogne (at an eyewatering price - £51.05 a bottle)

It was really interesting - much richer, fuller and more savoury than champagne. More of a food wine - I could have imagined it with veal or even a roast chicken.

The estate is registered organic and in conversion to biodynamic viticulture.

There was a sneaky little Dom Perignon-style shield on the label which I suppose should encourage you to feel it's a bit of a bargain but I don't think it's really worth that kind of money. Cheaper than their basic Burgundy though if that's any consolation . . . Readmore »»

Castagna Genesis Syrah 2004 - a thrilling Australian red

I've been waiting for the right occasion to try this wine, which is part of the prestigious Langton's classification and last night we found it: we took it with us to dinner with a couple of friends who are really into natural wine*.

We weren't disappointed. It was simply sensational taking me back to the early days when I first tasted Aussie Shiraz and was just blown away by the intensity of flavour.

It's not called shiraz, mind you, but syrah by winemaker Julian Castagna of Beechworth in Victoria who farms his estate biodynamically. It apparently contains a proportion of viognier which suggests a desire to pay homage to Côte Rôtie.

It certainly has some of Côte Rôtie's exotic character - wild red fruits and violets - but then there were some unmistakably Australian notes in the liquorice, pepper and even a touch of tar. The freshness and acidity were surprising though and it wore its 14% alcohol very lightly. I would describe it as juicy if that hadn't become so debased as a tasting term. The fruit just went on and on.

It went very well with a braised leg of mutton but would have been great with pretty well any red meat.

The downside? It isn't cheap: £40 a bottle from The Wine Society. But if you think you could pay that on a wine of half the quality in a restaurant it doesn't seem quite so stiff.

Castagna btw is one of four Australian producers who are taking part in the Return to Terroir tasting at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival next month.

* Out of interest the wine was drunk on a Flower Day. Readmore »»

Wine For Normal People Radio: Episode 005 Aging Wines

Episode 005 Aging Wines -You Gotta Know When to Hold 'em

Ok, I didn't sing "The Gambler" on air, but I did talk about when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em...in terms of wine, of course! In this episode Rick and I help explain what characteristics allow for a wine to be aged, the ideal storage conditions, and we name some wines that will age well.

In the news, we discuss Flash Sale sites and the Grape of the Week is Zinfandel (yeah we touch on White Zin too...even though I'm a bit of a hater).

Here are the links we mention in the show:
Flash Sites Article
My Video on French Oak TV on Closures

And the podcast...

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Readmore »»

Big increase in French organic viticulture

I'm still flat out on the current book project but thought I'd post this link to a report in The Drinks Business on the latest figures on the extent of organic viticulture in France which now accounts for nearly 6% of total wine production.

More interesting is the rate at which the rate of conversion is speeding up. According to Elizabeth Mercier of France Agence Bio at Millésime Bio in Montpellier last week Languedoc-Roussillon’s organic vineyard coverage increased by 51.9% from 2008 to 2009 (the last date for which statistics are available), Rhône-Alpes by 50.8%, Aquitaine by 45.2%, Burgundy by 43.2% and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur by 34.6%.

The report points out that growth was slower in the Loire and Alsace (7.1% and 13.5% respectively over the same period) but doesn't take account of the fact that those regions already have a significant number of organic and biodynamic producers.

There are also current figures for Italy and Spain.

Whilst on the subject of France I've found a new site, Club du Vin Authentique which has a very interesting - and alarming - feature on the level of pesticides in conventionally produced wine. (In French, I'm afraid) Readmore »»

Xarel-lo from Penedes: A Hard Read in Many Ways...

I guess I'm obsessed with "x" themes these past two weeks. Last week it was Bordeaux and this week, it's a crazy-ass grape that is rarely made as a standalone wine -- Xarel-lo.

First things first -- how the hell do you SAY that? There are two ways to go on this. You can say it in the native Catalan language and call it "shah-REHL-lo" or you could do it the Spanish way and call it "hah-REHL-lo." If you do it the second way, try to channel my (long deceased) Yiddish speaking relatives and get a little phlegm roused when you say the "ha" part so it's kind of like clearing your throat and saying the syllables at the same time. Practice a little to get it right. If that doesn't work, channel Scooby Doo and try to say "hello" -- it's kind of like "Heerrro," except with an 'el' sound before the o.

Now that you can expertly pronounce it I guess I should tell you what it is. I'll start with a hint. Have you heard of Cava? Maybe you've seen the black bottle of Freixenet that's $12.99 (a pretty good deal if you ask me) that looks like a Champagne bottle? It's Spanish sparkling wine.

Cava, named for the caves that the wine aged in, is fabulous. It's like really inexpensive, high quality Champagne, because it uses the same production techniques but has a twist because rather than the French Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier (the Champagne blend) it uses native grapes.

What does this have to do with Xarel-lo? It's one of the three grapes used in Cava, along with Parallada and Macabeu. Less sexy than its blending partners, the grape produces wine that is aromatic but wickedly acidic and is not known to be as delicate and palatable as its blending partners in Cava. It's used for a punch and a backbone.

Xarel-lo is the 6th most important grape in Spain and is native to the Catalonia region in the northeast. Most of the crop goes directly into Cava. It's the flagship grape of Penedes, a smaller area inside of the Catalonia area and a predominantly white wine region (although it makes great oaked reds, sparklers, and pink wine). The area is nestled between the coast and the interior plains on Spain's east coast. It's mild and warm -- benefiting from the Mediterranean sun and the coastal breezes. The area has an ideal climate for grape-growing.

So it's clear that Xarel-lo is essential in northeastern Spain, but to me it's always seemed like its most important role is a supporting one in Cava. Given that, I was surprised when a friend who represents the Albet i Noya brand gave me a bottle to try (there's my disclosure, but you know I'll be honest!). I'm always open to trying new stuff and have tried Macabeu bottled by itself with good results, but this was very outside the box.

Just as an aside though, before I get into the wine, a note on Albet i Noya, because they are not run of the mill. They farm on land that's had some form of viticulture since the middle ages, so this is not a new fangled venture. The family has tended the vineyards since 1903, and through hard work and saving, bought the land in 1986. It's a family operation all the way, making Cava and all sorts of still wines from native varieties to French ones to blends of the two. They seem very experimental and cutting edge when you look at their diverse selection (which left me thinking, it could be great or really out there, FYI). Regardless, they get huge props from me for organic farming and for making wine in a true organic way, without the addition of sulfur dioxide. Great effort and homage to Mother Nature!

Ok, so on to answering the burning question: "I know how to pronounce it, I know where it's from and I know about the producer, now what the hell (or should I spell it Xell?) does Xarel-lo taste like?..."

The Wine: Albet i Noya Xarel-lo (BTW - no "r" in Albet)
Where It's From: Penedes, Spain
The Grape: Xarel-lo
Vintage: 2009
Price: $14.99

Color: The wine looked light to me -- almost Pinot Grigio-esque in color. It's kind of like a bale of hay. Nothing stood out -- no big legs, no green flecks, no dark yellow to indicate oak or sugar or age...I wasn't expecting big flavor.

Smell: This is not an easy wine, meaning it's hard to get your finger on it even just when you you smell it. At first I pigeon-holed it -- the wine smelled like green plants or a green house, maybe even like a cucumber in salt water (oh, I guess that's technically a pickle, but it didn't smell pickle-y for the record). I thought -- "Ok, kind of like a bitter Gruner Veltliner" (which is a grape from Austria that is also kind of hard to get your head around). But I was wrong with my initial assessment. With more swirling around the glass and more time, there was this delicious white flower smell and then something like a buttery croissant. I kind of marveled at the inconsistency.

Taste: More surprise here that completely mirrored my experience with the smell. The first impression of this wine was more texture than flavor -- it was tart, bitter, and acidic...but simultaneously creamy and buttery. Total extremes all in one glass. The flavors were lemony and a bit like apricot. On the third or fourth sip I realized that it reminded me of lemon curd, this expensive, creamy stuff that my mom used to buy to put on hot biscuits. The end note was very soft and creamy. I felt a little tired by the time I got to the bottom of the glass, just thinking about the wine.

Food Pairings: This was not a "drink the bottle in a night" wine. Thankfully, it's got a screw cap, so it stayed fresh for 2. The first night I sipped it with nothing -- bad move. The second night I had it with brie and crackers -- much better move. Like many European wines, this is not a casual sipper. You need some light fare -- cheese, light pastas, salads, flaky white fish, or vegetarian appetizers to make this wine shine.

Drink or Down the Sink?: It's a mixed bag. If you don't like bitter in your white, I'd stay away. If you are a brooding, analytical type -- break this down and sit with it. If you're having a lighter meal, I'd say this would be good company. As for me, I'd only buy a bottle if I were serving a nice summer meal, and I'd order it by the glass in a restaurant bu, sadly, it's not going on the list of favorite little-known wines. Readmore »»