Offal truth

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Sip sup sup sup sup sup sup! 

 

I, on occasion, have been likened to the eagle at Prometheus' chest.  I'm not even as picky as sad Prometheus' protagonist; I gleefully devour liver, heart, any and all offal.  I may be a heathen but let me arrest any suspicion that I am cannibalistic.   Like most men, I long for the hearts and minds of my fellowman but not for diner.  It is the innards of those creatures below us on the food chain. 

It gives me some pleasure and a sense of penance when I consider that in the food chain scheme my body will be feasted upon by the worms.  I even think of my culinary life as preparation for those hungry hermaphrodites.  “A might tough but well spiced and marinated with fearful deliberation.”  A eulogy of which I will be proud. 

You are undoubtedly wondering, does this have anything to do with wine?  But, of course.  Offal gets scant mention by food and wine pairing pontiffs.  

This last weekend I was in New York City to visit my eldest son and future daughter-in-law.   Eating in New York is an adventure; unending given the pace of restaurant openings.  In the course of three evening meals I had dishes to which I would like to address my impressions about wine pairings.  Admittedly it is unlikely that you'll ever be in the position where one of these dishes will dictate the wine choice but still is useful to have given it some thought. 

Hannibal Lector was not wrong to recommend a nice little Chianti with liver and some fava beans.  With calf’s liver, however, my choice is a young Rioja.  A joven would be my first choice; a wine that sees no wood aging and is bottled early with lots of freshness.  A crianza if joven is not available but pick a recent vintage that will drink well young; fortunately there are good vintages on the shelves now; 2007, 2006 and ’05. 

Tripe, especially Roman style with lots of tomatoes, is where Hannibal’s little Chianti will shine.  Little Chianti here means from regions that are lighter and fruitier.  Try Colli Senesi or Colli Fiorentini. 

I don’t know if bone marrow is offal or not but I’ll save that for another time.  I’ve made myself famished.  Enjoy!

 

A calendar to tell when wine tastes best?

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A view of the trees on the specially good fruit daySunday marked a telling day.  According to German folk knowledge, Siebenschläfertag (June 27th) portends the weather -if it rains you can expect more of the same over the seven weeks that follow.  We suffered neither rain nor hail.  Instead of the ominous clouds and flash floods of the Friday before, the skies brought sunshine and a cooling breeze to temper the heat.  Wouldn't seven weeks of this be nice?  Might there be something to this German folk saying?  Despite the healthy skepticism of our empirical age, people around the world still trust Farmer's Almanacs to provide accurate advice -often times advice that flies in the face of logic or science as we know it.  Surely there is more to this world than that we can measure -no matter how thorough our methods or sophisticated our tools.  Will the next seven weeks carry on the balmy weather of yesterday?  The forecast so far suggests we have great weather to look forward to.  Even as a man of science, I have to wonder if there's something to the agrarian folk knowledge of this bygone time when farmers knew the skies as well as they knew the lay of their plots.
 
Siebenschläfertag aside, last Sunday was important for wine drinkers whether or not you knew it.  When you cracked into that bottle and were awestruck by how delicious each and every sip of wine tasted, did you ask yourself what might be at work -why some wines you are completely familiar with were showing their best?  Maria Thun would not be surprised in the least.  As the doyenne of Biodynamic agriculture, she has known this day was coming for many a moon.  Biodynamic agriculture is a systematic and holistic approach to farming that has earned many devotees for the healthy intensity of the resulting crops and wines in particular.  Tending to the fields according to cycles of the cosmos might seem far fetched at first blush but no one doubts the moon's tug at the tides or its impulsive persuasion over people -just ask the staff at any hospital after a full moon.  Could the orbiting planets in addition weigh their own influence on the way matter responds here on earth?  A growing number of vintners following Biodynamic agriculture suggest so.  Each year countless farmers, gardeners and grape growers alike anticipate the arrival of their Biodynamic Calendar.
 
Biodynamic Calendar
 
With decades of empirical trials to support her findings, Maria Thun publishes this annual calendar to guide when to plant, prune, treat and harvest various crops according to four calendar days: fruit, flower, leaf and root.  For example, we are to work potatoes on root days, reap chicory on leaf days, sow herbs and blossoms on flower days, and see to our orchards and vineyards on fruit days.  What's more is that wine, being a fruit product, tastes its very best on fruit days.
 
Healthy vine leafSkeptical of this concept, we ran our own trials over the course of last year to put theses theories to test.  In one instance our group of wine professionals met on two occasions to try an identical lineup of wines tasted blind.  One day was a fruit day and the other a root day.  Each taster quietly took note of each wine commenting on the respective wine's merits and shortcomings.  The very same group met on successive Wednesdays at the same time of day in an effort to control as many variables as possible.  After day two we collected the notes to once and for all expose Biodynamic calendar days at a bunch of cat waving nonsense.  Instead we were dumbstruck as we marveled at the unanimous results that showed how even skeptic unbelievers found the wines "disjointed," "out of sorts," "sharp," "alcoholic," and even "muted" on the root day.  Some in the group were even confusing the component grape variety between days.  Seasoned professionals with over thirty years of experience seldom mistake the varieties they're drinking.  By contrast the fruit days inspired notes of "harmonious structure," "complex fragrance," Healthy vine rows"layered flavors," "serious texture," and "great length and complexity."  What were we to make of all this?  Keeping our findings to ourselves, we asked people over the next year to let us know when they really enjoyed the wines they were tasting and to also share with us when wines seemed at odds with themselves.  Our findings reveled that wines tasted their best on fruit days or flower days and less favorable on leaf and root days.  Over time we came to accept that there must be more to these calendar days than meets the eye.  How could we deny its influence when wines have greater focus and display the clarity of their very essence more so on fruit days as if the volume knobs are turned higher and every detail seems delineated it a wine maker intends?
 
 
A fine day among friendsWe now host all tasting events on fruit days to be sure each wine shines to the best of its ability.  Since we chose to schedule events on fruit days we have noticed a heightened enthusiasm and that people stock more wine.  So what do you imagine was done when we read Sunday June 27th was a particularly good fruit day?  We gathered around to pop the corks of many a fine wine ranging from vintage Grand Cru Chablis, Meursault, and the Savennierres of Nicolas Joly to well ripened Volnay and Pommard, Northern Rhones from the 80s and 90s, household names of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons from the 70s and 80s, a 1979 Chateau Latour, a 1990 Baumard Coteaux du Layon and a 1981 Barbeito Verdehlo Madeira.  A surfeit of riches never seemed so appropriate or lovingly received.  Wines that Sunday were beguiling every one of us as we gushed about each in turn and although the Kobe beef at dinner was the most delightful I've ever set to my lips, its voice was lost in a chorus of wines that affirmed the 27th was a day among days for enjoying wines that patiently ripened in our cellars in search of the right occasion.  Pin down a promising fruit day and circle your friends, your family and neighbors to simply enjoy wine at its best -there is no better occasion than a fruit day to enjoy that special bottle waiting for such an opportunity. 

Try a 2006.

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The Vouvray vineyards rise upstream from the city of Tours along the Eastern* bank of the Loire River.  The Gautier family has been farming and making Chenin Blanc from these clay-limestone soils for seven generations since 1669.  Now Jean-Michel and his older brother Benoit have taken over the family business and work two separate 35 acre parcels while sharing the same Trogloditic caves for winemaking and aging that their great-great-great-great-grandfather began using over three centuries ago.

While the two men have always made their wines side by side, Jean-Michel (Domaine de la Racauderie) has recently begun to step out of his brother's shadow with some truly remarkable wines of his own.  As with most Vouvray producers, Jean-Michel makes Chenin Blanc in the full range of styles from dry to sweet as well as sparkling.  His wines are uniformly distinctive and offer a fantastic expression of the joys of Chenin Blanc at ridiculously reasonable prices for the quality and style they offer.  While we adore him and his wines, we are fervently hoping that he doesn't notice what a bargain they are any time soon. 

Jean-Michel is also very patient with us.  From most proprietors you're seeing the arrival of the 2009 wines; this is as it should be for most but there are notable exceptions and Domaine de la Racauderie is one.  The demi-sec wine from this estate is so gorgous after a few years in the bottle that we've conjolled Monsieur Gautier to let us ship the wines later.  Jean-Michel flattered I think by our enthusiasm and reassured by years of us paying him on time lets us reserve his wines for later release.  The recently arrived Domaine de la Racauderie Vouvray 2006 is a terrific example.


*I know, I know!  The river is oriented east-west in the region so how can there be an "Eastern" bank?  This is true for the broad Vouray appellation but rivers do meander.  The Gautier property does lie on the more or less east shore of more or less north-south meander of the Loire.

Travel log from France, 2/22-3/4/2010

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From Paris we ventured south to Montpellier by TGV and then hired motorcar to our hotel in Aigues Mortes along the Mediterranean.  Named “Dead Waters” for the saline wetlands, this part of France is loved the world over by the chefs that rely on the fine Fleur de Sel that comes from these unique salty waters.  In order to draw the most of our fortnight in France, we first ventured south to one of the most impressive collections of wines in France: Vini Sud.  Every two years this event gathers innumerable vintners, wineries, and negociant houses to Montpellier where they sport there wares, visit with committed wine buyers, and vie to establish new connections around the world.  It is a Mecca for importers looking high and low for the wines of southern France.   In this fashion, in only two day’s time, we visited with over forty producers, tasting through their wines, discussing vintages and hearing news of fresh developments face to face –an approach both intimate and irreplaceable.

Aigues Mortes
Aigues Mortes (from Aigas Mortas, Dead Waters)
Famous for Fleur de Sel and rich bull tenderloin (Pave de Taureau)

Wine is a variable creature whose shape shifts over time spent in bottle and also year to year according to the vagaries of each vintage.  In addition, vintners and wineries improve on their traditions each year as they discover and adopt new technologies.  For all of these reasons, we taste through each and every vintage to discern their differences and how we may secure the finest wine to bring to market.  We tasted through Cotes du Rhone, Vacqueras, Gigondas, Rasteau, Tavel, Crozes HermitageSt. Joseph, Cornas, Cotes de Provence, Gascony, Cotes du Roussillon, Maury, Collieure, Faugeres, Banyuls, Condrieu, Chateauneuf du Papes and a wondrous constellation of wines from Collines Rhodaniennes.

Rarely does anyone over the course of one day enjoy so many whites from RoussanneMarsanneViognier, Grenache Gris, Vermentino, Muscat a Petit Grains, Colombard, Gros Manseng or Ugni Blanc.  Thank the stars for inox tanks!  White wine production in the hot south has improved immensely through the temperature control of stainless steel tanks.  The red grape varieties of this region have a far darker complexion and like the heliotropes sunbathing along the Mediterranean beaches, they soak up as much sunshine as possible.  Carignan, Grenache Noir, Syrah and Mourvedre in particular are incredibly saturated red varieties that seem to enjoy as much light as they can get and so have made a happy home in southern France. (Monday February 22 through Tuesday February 23)

Heavy traffic for vine tractors
Vineyard tractor zipping through the
center of town tells us we're in the right place

Had a lovely day in Vouvray enjoying Chenin Blanc in all its many guises.  Pichot makes fine Vouvray from Sec to Moelleux to Vendage Tardive!  The Pichots are wonderful people making incredible wines.  Their Demi Sec Vouvray is what we bring in at the moment and moving through the line up seemed like tasting a wishlist you dream to drink.  When they harvested their late picked Larme de Bacchus they had to shake the snow from the vines beforehand because it was so late in the season.  Just imagine how wondrously ripe it is!  Seldom do all of the wines in a winery's stable taste so thoroughly good.  Later we met with Philip Foreau and was first floored by his Champenois styled sparkling Vouvray.  Moving up through his line we were actually moved by the wines every step along the way.  These are no ordinary wines.  Foreau crafts moving Vouvray that celebrate Chenin Blanc as only this particular parcel of terroir can.  His Moelleux Reserve may have 150 grams residual sugar but you would never guess it for the equillibrium it shows of effortless acidity, textured body and pronounced fragrant flavors.  Structure is everything and the flavors carry along long after each sip.  Enjoying his accounts of each vintage, I looked up at one point to notice an article framed on his tasting room wall headlined "Les idees claires apres un petit verre!" and when I ponder how Foreau's exemplary Vouvrays are such stellar wines, I'm reminded that all the ideas are clear after a little glass. Tomorrow we aim for the best of Sancerre. (Wednesday and Thursday, February 24 and25) 

Pichot Vouvray
Inimitable Pichot Vouvray

Spent the morning in the core of Sancerre, far beneath the hilltop town in labrynthine cellars winding every which way through narrow barrel rooms, down dark stone steps, through the frigid chambers; leaving with a complete understanding, at least of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir when grown on limestone, clay or flint. Lovely town, warm people, extremely cold cellars.  Bruno and Thierré Prieur of Saint Pierre tasted us through a promising set of barrel samples both red and white and then tasted us through past vintages as far back as 1990 showing Sancerre can age despite people's thought that Sauvignon Blanc might not be a vin de garde.  Vacheron beneath the hill proved just what different plots can express when vinified seperately.  Biodynamic agriculture has teased even more quality and character from their already remarkable wines.  If you haven't had a red Sancerre in a while, hurry up because the 08s and 06s are stunning Pinot Noirs that only show this way from Sancerre on ripe vintages and they're maturing nicely.  After a delighful lunch with Bruno in Sancerre we zipped off to the cellars of Francis Blanchet in Pouilly Fume to enjoy the Blanchet's hospitality and the distinct qualities of Sauvignon Blanc grown and vinified separately from flinty clay, Kimmeridgian marl and extremely chalky limestone.  These combine the exhilerating juicy acidity of Sancerre with even more minerality.  If you like a filigreed, nuanced and architectural wine, these will exceed your expectations and bring a smile to any Sauvignon Blanc lover you know.  Their 1999 Silex (that's right, before Didier Dagueneau somehow trademarked Silex, flint) showed remarkable youth and a breadth of fruit coupled with a minerality that reaffirmed our lesson in Sancerre that Sauvignon Blanc can truly age and to great heights in this case. (Friday, February 26) 

Sancerre upon the hill
The town of Sancerre upon the hill; a Shangri La for Sauvignon Blanc

Along the way to Chablis, in a round about way, we paid visits to Macon and Pouilly Fuisse in particular.  Daniel Barraud shared the lay of the land and young barrel samples of 2009 and then hypnotized the lot of us with an impressive line up from 2008.  Macon Chaintre, Alliance, La Vachere and La Roche always very nice, were showing even more verve than usual.  2008 was a very late vintage that received late winds from the North, drying, concentrating, and lowering the ideally ripened yield by 20%.  These are sure footed and complex and certain to amuse those of us who love Pouilly Fuisse.  Haven't tried a Pouilly Fuisse?  Now's your chance to set the bar high while they are great values.  Great terroir shows best with great winemaking like Barraud's.  Afterward we made our way to  Eric Forest's cellar to taste from barrel and catch the latest word on his enthusiastic plans.  As we tasted through his 2009s Eric explained that going forward he plans to combine the elegance of Les Tillets with the gravitas of La Cote to craft a combination he's cleverly named L'Ame du Vigne.  It translates to Spirit of the Vine but AME is also an acronym for Eric's grandfather Andre, father Michel and his own name.  Hearing Eric's excited stories about each wine, I realized they reflect his enthusiasm for terroir and balance.  Over time Eric has moved from doing most of his work in the cellar stirring the lees and tweaking this and that to devoting most of his tireless attention to his precious vineyards to leave the wines as tranquil as they may be in his calm, quiet cellar.  Both Eric and his wines glow as if lit from within and both have a very bright future.  (Saturday, February 27) 

La Roche de Solutre
La Roche de Solutré as seen from Barraud's home

Our day of rest.  Walking through the Grand Cru vineyards of Chablis and the terroir is apparent; the limestone is blinding when the sun comes out from behind the swirling clouds. Seashell rich stones that compose the southerly slopes soak up the sun in this northern climate. Most of the tidy vine rows are pruned to the Guyot but each neighboring vintner has their own touch and every now and then one training method shifts to another. From dirt workroads the difference between the steep limestone Les Preuses and the flatter rich soils of Bugros is apparent and suddenly the mineral beauty of Les Preuses comes as no wonder! Walking back to the hotel on a quiet Sunday afternoon, Chablis' street signs and power lines fade from view and nothing betrays its Medeival foundations as they're thrown into relief; the wrought iron railings, scroll cut shutters, grey stone turrets, the pagentry of Chablis' green and yellow livery colors hung as penants from the builings on the high road.  Chablis is as it once was and will be: a calm, stone town known for making some of France's finest white wines.  (Sunday, February 28) 

Chablis in spring time
Grand Cru vineyards looking south back toward Chablis 

There's Grenuilles and there are grenuilles...

Roaming the boundaries of grand cru Chablis, we found ourselves along its southeasterly slope among the prized vineyards of Les Grenuilles with limestone soils that foster some of the world's most invigorating Chardonnay.  Perusing the local wine list at lunch, we were tickled to find you could have a bottle of Grenuilles beside your plate of Cuisse de Grenuilles and so our table was set with a memorable, steely Chablis and a traditional plate of frog's legs that had been fried in butter, garlic and parsley as tradition would have it.  The combination is as delicious as it is satisfying.  Some pairings are too good to pass up.  French cuisine offers even the most seasoned gastronaut as many adventures as he or she could wish for.  At dinners along our way, we have savored many dishes unique to French cuisine: rich bull tenderloin from the Camargue (Pave de Taureau), salad with foie gras & giblets (Salade Gourmande), an ensemble of shellfish including langoustines, mussels, clams, scallops, & sea snails (Coquillages), pastry encrusted pigeon (Pigeon Croustillant), eggs poached in red wine with bacon & mushrooms (Oeufs en Murette), both veal and lamb kidneys (Rognons de Veau & Rognons d'Agneau), calf's head ragout in ravigote sauce (tete de veau en cocotte et sa sauce ravigote), rich textured pork rillettes (Rillettes de Porc Maison), roasted goose breast (Magret de Oie), land snails fried in garlic and butter (Cassoulette d'escargots), chilled rabbit compote with tarragon (Campote de Lapin a l'estragon), veal chops with mushrooms (Côte de Veau Braise Champignon), Seabream Filet in olive oil (Filet Dorade Royale huile d'olive), leg of guinea hen with forest mushrooms (Cuisse de Pintade et sa Dexelle Forestiere, jus Brun), and even pig's ear salad dressed in garlic and oil (Salade d'Oreilles de Cochon confite a l'Ai)!  The peaceable kingdom that comes to the table is simply too inviting to resist and there are wines for each and every course.  Such wondrous foods set the table and the local wines round out the experience reminding all of us that wine is food and that it should be seen, enjoyed and respected as such.  A great deal of pomp and circumstance can shroud the simplicity of food pairing.  Forget all that.  It must be said that it is all very much easier than it seems; enjoy foods you would like to try with wines that interest you.  Consider their weight, flavor, structure and intensity if you're concerned about a drastic contrasts, otherwise, simply dig in.  Isn't life too short to eat the same things again and again and again and with a world of wine before us, why not look to wider horizons? 

Pig's ear salad as Beaune would have it
Salade d'Oreilles de Cochon confite a l'Ail

Recharged and ready to face the world, we spent the morning enjoying Chablis through the eyes of Denis Mery, the ever vigilant and indefatigable vineyard manager at Domaine Drouhin Vaudon.  Rather than explain the lay of the land, Denis drove us atop the grand cru and premier cru sites to show just how much healthier his vine rows were in comparison to their neighbors.  Denis and his team spare no measure in fostering the finest fruit through various means of horse plowing, mindful pruning, biodynamic maintenance and many other demanding details carried out by hand.  The wines reward such efforts with ripe concentration and superior length.  Our next stop was at Louis Michel & Fils where we met up with Guillaume Gicsqueau-Michel who with his uncle Jean-Loup tends some of the finest parcels in Chablis.  Minimal manipulation is the philosophy here and this extends to the cellars where no one has found a single oak barrel in over forty years.  Nothing stands between you and the terroir that earns Chablis its lofty reputation and since Michel plots are vinified separately it is our pleasure and privileged to see each magnified on their own, to reveal the focused, charming and compelling qualities of each lot in particular.  These are polished wines with verve that tingle, shimmer and quake with a balanced mineral structure and great length.  Later that afternoon, we rounded out our Chablis experience with a tasting with Didier Seguier, vigneron par excellence at the renown William Fevre.  With 116 acres of Chablis and more than half of those premier cru and grand cru, Didier explained that William Fevre owns the widest array of grand cru Chablis' vineyards of all the growers in the area.  He also explained that 90% of his job is spent among those vines with only 10% in the cellar.  Starting with fourteen people Didier has grown his team to twenty-two so they can work toward more precise pruning, green harvesting, bud thinning and controlled yields.  As a result, William Fevre's grand stable has never been so extraordinary.  From the Domaine Chablis through to the Les Clos Grand cru, each of the wines is impressive, clear, balanced, mineral, textured and leaves me wishing for a plate of all the shellfish of the bountiful sea.  These are Chablis to please the most fastidious, to lure the hardened skeptic and satisfy the longing search for mineral terroir as only Chablis can satiate -and sated we were.  That evening we soared along the Route Nacionale to the historic and spiritual center of Burgundy, the town of Beaune.  (March 1st) 

Chez Fevre where Chablis reaches new heights
William Fevre of Chablis

Few things stir the morning senses like the latest vintage drawn from barrel and tasted among the choir of barrels in the cool and deep-delved earth.  At Liger Belair we met an impressive array that revealed this is not a house of extraction but rather one giving their all to convey the elegance of preeminent terroir.  The holdings of Liger-Belair read like a wishlist for those who love Burgundy; Chambolle Musigny, Vosne Romanee, Gevrey Chambertin, Corton, Clos Vougeot, Le Richebourg and La Romanee.  The wines are complete with scented fruit, engrossing spice, eloquent terroir, enthralling texture and a seemingly effortless balance throughout their everlasting finish.  Liger Belair has certainly proven itself memorable. 

Oenophile Colbeck in his element
Larry enjoying barrel tasting at Liger Belair 

Next we joined the scintillating Veronique Drouhin of Domaine Joseph Drouhin and were swept off our feet with the charms of all their wines.  Over breakfast we couldn't help but notice Le Bien Public's cover article featured the "savoir-faire ancestral" of the Drouhin family praising Veronique as "The Style" of the universally admired family.  Graciously pouring us through the  bottles and barrels of 2008s and 2009s, Veronique paused as we did to enjoy a little more time with the 2008 Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc.  Even though it was only bottled a short time ago, this already brimmed with sappy verve, the power of Corton and the elegance of Puligny.  Asked when she thinks these are drinking their best, Veronique told us how they recently tasted a Clos des Mouches that was profoundly fresh and expressive and were surprised to find it was from 1964.  As a child she enjoyed nosing glasses and from this playful exercise she can usually identify vintages back to about 1959 but the vivacity of the Clos Des Mouches caught her off guard.  From Chablis and Rully to Puligny and Chassagne Montrachet, these are arresting wines that cause for a pause and appreciation but then they seem so delicious and you remember these are for drinking not preserving!  The reds seemed rounder and fresher in a perfumed way that seemed to glow.  Is it that 2008 has resolved into a phenomenal vintage?  That all the praise of 2009 is true?  That organic and biodynamic viticulture results in finer wines?  That those at Drouhin have an unwavering attention to detail and respect for their terroir?  Yes. 

Joseph Drouhin supplies the best
Joseph Drouhin
Cellers of the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France 

Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg followed lunch and its wines are as compelling as they are pure.  No fining or filtration stands between you and the terroir and as a result one can get an honest view of each vintage.  Marie-Andree led us below through the barrel storage to the tank room where bottles spoke of the 2008 and 2009 vintages in turn.  Each year the wine press is meant to asses each vintage once it is barreled during November following the harvest.  Growers agree this is myopic because more often than not malolactic fermentation has not yet finished and the shock of fermentation is still too fresh.  Late winter is really the earliest we should even consider making any judgments for then the wines are coming into their own; all abrupt changes are complete and the calm wine can now begin their slow evolution over time.  Much like those we tried earlier, Mugneret wines showed great promise in both 2008 and 2009.  2008 brought classic well balanced, expressive wines whereas those from 2009 already seem rich and ripe with an allure ahead of most vintages.  Mugneret exemplifies a phenomenon we've come to appreciate; despite all the frantic concern that much of the media devotes to vintage variation, we find that the best producers and parcels are above the vagaries of yearly swings.  They produce fine wine even during challenging vintages because their vineyards are as tidy and healthy as manicured gardens and the hilly terroir they farm is of a finer composure than the plains and vales that yield more fruit and lesser wines. Mugneret's wines remind one of Burgundy as you'd always like it: with electric personality, the fragrance of beguiling fruit and shifting seasons and a unique charm to each individual climat.  Both 2008 and 2009 is enough to devote all your allowance to fine Burgundy. 

Mugneret IS Burgundy
Mugneret: nothing plain nor simple save the tasting environment

 

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé

With storm Xynthia tearing apart the Atlantic coast, France was aloft with dark clouds and a blustery North wind.  By the time we pulled into Vogüé, the sun had swept the clouds aside as if to nudge us toward some holy grail.  The first birds of spring were trilling as winemaker François Millet led us below to introduce us to the wines of 2009.  Barrel sampling has never been such a rhapsodic and lyrical experience not only for the inspiring wines alone but for the poetic metaphors that Millet sketches so vividly.  In response to how struck we were by the Chambolle Musigny's depth of expression, Millet explained this came from 10-25 year old vines and like a young guy it is much more talkative "most of the time they speak more than the old guys.  Meeting as an adult you have no reference of who they were in their youth so this serves as an earlier introduction for when you meet the old vines as an adult."  It was young and fresh, with bright acidity, with that sappy verve that sets apart the best wines and the fragrance was profound.  Aromas suggested the afternoon rose that is a bit heavier scented -not quite as fresh as the morning flowers but stronger.  We could have spent the day with that wine.

 

 

Notes from the field

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Our journey to France marks an annual visit to see our committed suppliers and to sniff out new discoveries.  Devoted to many worlds of wine, Artisan Vineyards is especially keen on French varieties because of their breadth, the depth within each region, and how its people truly approach wine as not merely a drink or a grocery item but as an approach to life.  America is currently realizing a paradigm shift toward this intentional approach and over time, this means better wine for everyone.  Thirst turns to curiosity, the dilettante turns into the epicure, people demand better wines and the market drives vignerons and bottle shops to higher standards leaving the world a better place to eat, drink, and live.

Our two week journey will mark visits up and down Metropolitan France and even off the well worn roadways in search of deliberate vintners making compelling and memorable wines.  Along the way, we’ll be sure to try the local cuisine that sets France as the world’s epicurean epicenter and share some of our experiences.  Be sure to have a peek along our journey and chime in with any thoughts, suggestions, responses and questions.  Keen to share wines that move you, Artisan Vineyards is in situ seeking the rare, good valued and extraordinary.  Remember, we spit so you don’t have to!

-Marcus Mansavage, 2/24/2010


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