Laherte Frères et Les Vignes d'Autrefois

Of the dozen or so trade events I managed to attend during the heart of the fall portfolio tasting season in New York, and of the scores of excellent wines I tasted (and the hundreds of not-so-excellent ones), there was one producer whose lineup truly stood out for me, precise and delicious from end to end. That producer is the Champagne house of Laherte Frères, whose wines were featured at the Selection Pas Mal portfolio tasting back in September.

From Laherte's Brut "Tradition," which showed broad, creamy texture and some sponti aromatic characteristics, to their Brut Rosé, a true rosé de répas made from a blend of 60% Pinot Meunier and 30% Pinot Noir with the 10% addition of red wine made from Meunier, and on to the Brut Blanc de Blancs, which displayed serious acidity and structure allied with a deep sense of aromatic grace and elegance, the wines were truly lovely. There were two other wines shown that day that also stood out. As luck would have it, I happened to have a bottle of each at home. And when the occasion called for it earlier this week, I decided it was time for a revisit.

Champagne Extra-Brut "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" (Pinot Meunier), Laherte Frères 2005
$50. 12% alcohol. DIAM. Importer: Triage Wines, Seattle, WA.
The Pas Mal crew poured both the 2004 — the first vintage ever for this wine — and the 2005 at their tasting and my notes remind me that I preferred the '04 on that day. Under more favorable circumstances, though, meaning at the table, with food, with friends, and in a relaxed setting, the 2005 was a thing of beauty. Lush, deep, vibrating with energy and purity of fruit, the wine paired fantastically with our first couple of courses, leading the bottle's contents to disappear all too soon. Made purely with Pinot Meunier from vines planted in 1947 and 1964 in clay and limestone rich soils in the villages of Chavot and Mancy in the Vallée de la Marne, the base wines for "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" are fermented entirely in barrel and do not undergo malolactic fermentation. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the results.

A reasonable memory of high school French should be enough to remind you that "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" means "vines of the past" or "vines from another time." While first and formeost I expect that is the Laherte family's more poetic way of saying "vieilles vignes," I can't help but wonder if it's not also a nod to the fact that Pinot Meunier has become an all but forgotten stepchild, at least in commercial terms, when it comes to the three primary varieties grown in the Champagne region. In any event, I borrowed upon the name for the title of today's post as I think it holds equal relevance to the second wine we drank.

Champagne Extra-Brut "Les Clos," Laherte Frères NV
$60. 12.5% alcohol. DIAM. Importer: Triage Wines, Seattle, WA.
My immediate experience with "Les Clos" on this night was converse to that which I'd had with the "Autrefois." At the Pas Mal tasting, it was the standout of a shining lineup; suffice it to say that, in addition to some more technical details, my notes read something along the lines of, "Fantastic wine... I'm drinking this one." Sandwiched between the forward beauty of the '05 "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" and much anticipated bottles of 1964 Barbaresco and Barolo from Oddero, it was, I fear, not given its proper chance to shine. Such is the danger when opening multiple great wines in one sitting. Nonetheless, I'm confident in saying that the wine was showing great promise and interest — not as immediate in its appeal as "Autrefois" but more mineral, arguably more detailed, and definitely less open-knit. I look forward to trying it again, in a light that will let it fully shine.

"Les Clos," by the way, is another newish wine from Laherte. It's not a vintage-dated wine but to my knowledge there have been only two or, at most, three bottlings of the wine since its first inception. "Les Clos" takes its name from a single, one-hectare vineyard in the town of Chavot, where Laherte Frères is based. The vineyard was planted in only 2003 to all seven of the Champagne varieties: the big three — Chardonnay (18%), Pinot Noir (14%) and Pinot Meunier (18%) — along with the four "heritage" varieties of Champagne, "les vignes d'autrefois," if you will — Fromenteau (10%), Arbanne (8%), Petit Meslier (15%), and Pinot Blanc (17%). All seven varieties are co-harvested and co-fermented.

It gets more complicated than that, though. First, as Peter Liem points out at his worth-every-penny, subscription-only site, ChampagneGuide.net, "Note... that this is the composition of the vineyard—the wine itself doesn’t necessarily correspond to these percentages, since the yields of the varieties are not consistently the same." Second, and bearing the same idea in mind when it comes to ratios, "Les Clos" is a solera method Champagne, a "perpetual blend" to borrow again from Peter's words. The wine will be an example of constant evolution over the years, one meant first and foremost to express terroir, as each new vintage is added to the first (2005) and all subsequent years, in the old Burgundy barrels in which "Les Clos" is aged. (For a little more information on Champagne made in the solera method, you may wish to (re)visit my post on Anselme Selosse's "Substance".) In addition to multiple bottlings, Laherte has actually released two different stylistic versions of "Les Clos," one as a zero-dosage Brut Nature and this, the Extra-Brut, which sees a modest four gram/liter dosage.

Finally, here's a little Laherte family history before I bring things to a Clos[e]. (Sorry, just had to do it.) Founded in 1889, Laherte Frères was ushered into the modern era as well as into the business of estate bottling by Michel Laherte, followed by his sons, Thierry and Christian Laherte (thus, Laherte "Frères"). While Thierry and Christian continue as heads of the estate, it is Thierry's son, Aurélien Laherte, who is now responsible for both viticulture and vinification. Representing the seventh-generation of vine growers at Laherte, Aurélien, now only 27, has brought the estate another step forward. All of the family's vineyards — 75 distinct parcels, totaling ten hectares and spread across ten different villages — are now cultivated organically, with about half of those farmed using biodynamic practices. Along with his friend and peer Raphaël Bérèche, Aurélien is also one of the founding members and organizers of Terres et Vins de Champagne.

There's little question in my mind, even less after drinking these beauties, that Aurélien is in the top rank of young Champenois vignerons producing wines worthy of both contemplation and pure, unadulterated enjoyment. You can follow Aurélien and the rest of the Laherte family in action through the seasons at their blog, Nouvelles de Chavot.

And truly finally, just in case the doubling-up of importer information (Pas Mal at the tasting, Triage at dinner) seemed confusing or contradictory, allow me to clarify. The Champagnes of Laherte Frères are imported and distributed by Selection Pas Mal in the NY/NJ market (shipped for them by USA Wine Imports) and by Triage Wines in the Pacific Northwest.

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A Facelift for Fabrice Gasnier

When last I wrote about the Chinons of Fabrice Gasnier at any length, it was at such length (three long posts — not quite King Lear but close enough) that I've not returned, at least not in writing, at any significant length since. Fabrice's wines, nonetheless, have remained stalwart on my home table, finding a spot in regular, relaxed rotation, much akin to wines like those I wrote up last week: familiar, enjoyable and solid, even if not the most remarkable of their kind. Given that some subtle but meaningful changes have been afoot at the estate over the last year or two, I figured it's about time for an update, something I've been meaning to do for some time now.

In the years since Fabrice's father, Jacky, gradually but surely began to step back from his roles in the farming and wine making practices, the estate has seen two corresponding facelifts. First was the Vignoble Gasnier label (at left, above), from the years when I originally got to know the Gasniers' wines in the 90s, followed by the switch to the Fabrice Gasnier label of the early Naughties. Both earlier versions, if you take note of the fine print, gave credit to Jacky and Fabrice.

More recently, as of last year (vintages '06 - '08 depending on the bottling), it seems that Fabrice decided to take primacy, reincorporating as Domaine Fabrice Gasnier and replacing his père's name with that of his wife, Sandrine. The label above is from the 2008 vintage of Fabrice and Sandrine's Chinon "Vieilles Vignes" bottling, number two in their four-level hierarchy of red bottlings. Supple, ripe and forward, well-balanced and expressive, the wine's drinking easily right now, delivering warm red fruit, delicate tannins and gentle acidity across the palate, but should continue to age gracefully for some years to come.

Along with the new front label came an updated rear etiquette, displaying the realization of ambitions that Fabrice had hinted at when I last saw him back in 2004. He and his father had already farmed organically for many years, and Fabrice had begun conversion to biodynamic farming practices just a year or two prior to our visit. As you'll see, he's now gone whole hog, taking on the onus of bureaucratic responsibilities necessary to obtain and maintain both organic and biodynamic (Demeter) certification. It matters not to me — what's important is what's in the bottle, not what's on it — but I hope the step proves beneficial to the reception of his wines on his home and away markets.

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Les Chevaux de Christian Ducroux

More on the lovely 2008 Régnié from Christian Ducroux and the horses that help(ed) make it happen. French fluency couldn't hurt but the video speaks for itself.



(Subscribers may need to click through to the blog to view.)

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A New Year, A Full Moon and Movia "Lunar"

There's much in common between the symbolism of the full moon and the New Year. Both have been known to inspire wild and unpredictable behavior. Both drive transformation. And both are turning points. On the philosophical and spiritual levels, the New Year marks the end and spurs remembrance of one year while at the same time signifying the beginnings of and inspiring hopes for the next. On a more scientific level, the full moon marks the apex between the waxing and waning paths of the lunar cycle.

CURRENT MOON

about the moon

The full moon holds special significance on the Biodynamic calendar, as it does to those who farm and make wine with a belief that the soil is the meeting place between the earth and the cosmos, that that same soil is a living, breathing entity. According to the principles of biodynamic agriculture, the full moon marks a major turning point in the lunar influence on farming practices and plant growth. As the moon waxes, the gravitational pull of the moon increases and the flow of energy moves upwards, from the soil toward the sky, from the roots toward the leaves. As the moon wanes its gravitational influence lessens, the soil focuses its forces inwards and plant energies move down toward their roots.

Biodynamic winemaking principles, too, look at the influence of moon and star cycles to guide the timing of certain activities in the vineyard and in the cellar. Movia winemaker Aleš Kristančič, for one, considers the full moon to be the ideal time to bottle his aptly named Ribolla Gialla, "Lunar." It's the time during the synodic month when the wine's mineral content and energy — what Aleš calls "floating islands" as you'll see/hear in the video below — are active and upwardly mobile while the lees and grape solids in the same wine are moving downward toward a restful state.

Given that the full moon occurred on New Year's Eve just past, I couldn't imagine a more appropriate wine to enjoy with our last meal of one year and our first taste of the next.

Goriška Brda Ribolla Gialla "Lunar," Movia (Aleš Kristančič) 2005
$45. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY.

As Aleš recommends, I decanted "Lunar" in order to leave behind most of the considerable sediment that makes its way into the bottle. A cloudy, coppery orange, it's a near match for the hue of peach nectar, just not quite so rich and dense to the eye. Likewise, the wine is loaded with peach and apple skin aromas and cidery nuances, which lead to a long, mineral stained finish. With air, more tertiary aromas of sandalwood, saffron and floral tea emerge, along with an intense leesiness that reminds me of the sweetness of fresh-baked whole wheat bread. Though not as tannic as some other extended skin contact wines, Paolo Bea's "Rusticum" for instance, the wine still has a definite textural component that gently grips and undulates across the palate.

Said my wife, "Why is it orange? And cloudy? I think there might be something wrong with it... it tastes kind of oxidized." For a moment, her words had me contemplating whether she might be a more honest taster than I. Certainly, "Lunar" and other "orange" or extended skin contact white wines like it are more than tough to understand without some context. And certainly, I did carry some context and correlated expectations to the table.

Why is the wine orange? Well, as Eric Asimov described it a couple of years back, "Movia’s 2005 Lunar is an experimental ribolla gialla wine, in which Ales Kristancic, an owner and the winemaker, tried to produce a wine basically without the touch of humans except at harvest. He put the grapes in specially designed barrels and then allowed them to ferment and age on their own for seven months, without pressing the grapes or adding any chemicals." Seven months of skin contact give ample time for the wine to absorb all of the pigmentation from the Ribolla Gialla skins — a distinct orange, even though "gialla" means "yellow."

Why is it cloudy? After those seven months on the skins and another extended period on the lees in small casks of Slavonian oak, "Lunar" is bottled without any fining or filtration. Only the energy of the full moon, in Aleš' view, keeps it from being even cloudier... that and perhaps more careful decanting than I exercised.


In the video above, Aleš explains his thoughts behind producing and bottling "Lunar" according to the cycles of the moon.
Why is it oxidized? Well, actually it's not, though it does have a definite oxidative character. You'll want to see Jeremy Parzen's excellent post about "Lunar" for a full explanation of the wine's production methods. In short, "Lunar" is whole-cluster fermented in special casks designed by Kristančič to mimic the shape of a grape, complete with a valve modeled after the stem of the grape that is meant to allow the carbon dioxide created during fermentation out of the cask without letting oxygen enter. After all that time on the skins plus added time on the lees, the oxygen native to the juice itself along with the oxygen that slowly permeates the casks, has an inescapable influence on the wine. But that influence is not detrimental or a flaw. Rather, you can taste how oxygen has sculpted the wine without blurring its edges or eroding its freshness.

Perhaps it's not surprising in that context that "Lunar" reminded me a bit of some of the Arbois whites from Puffeney and Overnoy/Houillon in the way it balanced oxidative character with brilliant, buoyant freshness.

"Lunar" is not inexpensive but, at half the price of similar wines from the likes of Radikon and Gravner, it constitutes a good value and makes for a quite accessible introduction to this genre of Slovenian/Friulano winemaking.

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Biodynamics in Action at Barmès-Buecher

My thanks go out to Guilhaume, The Wine Digger, for turning me on to these very cool, informative video clips from François Barmès of Domaine Barmès-Buecher in Alsace. Don’t let the fact that François is speaking French in the first clip scare you away; you’ll get the full gist of what he and his crew are doing just from the visuals. I’ve added these clips to my trip report and profile of Barmès-Buecher too, just in case it wasn’t long enough already.

Domaine Barmès-Buecher - Préparation 500
Uploaded by barmesbuecher

Mixing and dynamizing biodynamic preparation 500 (horn manure), to be sprayed in the vineyards.

Domaine Barmès-Buecher - Compost 2009
Uploaded by barmesbuecher

Adding compost preparations such as yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion and valerian to the estate’s biodynamic compost heap on the slopes of Le Grand Ballon.

Domaine Barmès-Buecher – Travaux de Printemps
Uploaded by barmesbuecher

Spring work in the vineyard – turning the soil, cutting the superficial vine roots to encourage deep, vertical root growth, and pruning foliage to encourage airflow and balance.

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Stage 13 to Colmar and Some Unresolved Questions About Alsace

[Editor’s note: I’d hoped to finish and post this piece this morning but speed blogging, it seems, is simply not my forte. I can’t bring myself to adjust the verb tense below so, as I’ve yet to watch today’s stage or check out the results, I’m just going to pretend that the race into Colmar didn’t actually finish several hours ago….]


The thirteenth stage of this year's Tour de France finishes today in Colmar, where the natural barrier of hills that is likely to make it a tough day in the saddle for most of the peloton is the same barrier that greatly influences the terroir of Alsace. The Vosges.

The mountains here are not as high and mighty as the Alps or Pyrenees but they're more than steep enough to put a hurting on the legs of the climbers and a serious crimp in the style of the flatlanders. From a terroirist perspective, the north-south running ridgeline of the Vosges serves as a natural storm break, stopping much of the rain that comes across France from the west. The mountains also act as reflectors, radiating sunlight and heat onto the vineyards immediately to their east. These factors combine to make Alsace a surprisingly warm, dry region, a somewhat counterintuitive condition given the region’s position near the northern periphery of wine growing possibility.


Today’s post, though, is not so much about the intricacies of Alsace terroir as it is about addressing a couple of questions I (and others, I’m guessing) have about the region and its wines. Today’s wine – the 2002 Alsace Rosenberg de Wettolsheim Pinot Blanc from Domaine Barmès-Buecher ($16/20, 13.5% alcohol, cork, Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ) – seems as good a vehicle as any for addressing those questions.

First, can Pinot Blanc-based wines be age worthy?

I frankly don’t have a shoe box kind of answer for this one. I think that common wisdom dictates no. But like any rule, if indeed that is one, there are always exceptions. At about 6 ½ years of age, Barmès’ Pinot Blanc is hardly old by wine world standards; I think it’s fair to say it is old, though, by Pinot Blanc standards.

When first opened, I wondered whether it had weathered its slumber in my Vinotheque. The color was fine – medium-golden and bright – but the aromas were suggestive of decay and the beginning, at least, of decline. Its flavors weren’t entirely off-putting – corn, wet hay, dried honey and composting leaves came to mind – but weren’t exactly enthralling, either. Air came to the rescue though, and the wine actually picked up freshness and complexity with some time in the glass. Less decay, more dried honeycomb and minerals. My “delayed” posting schedule has allowed me to revisit the wine on its second day (I’m sipping it as I write), and I must say it’s more than held its own, maybe even improved. That minerality is still there, along with an aroma that I can only describe as corn meal pound cake, slathered with butter and maple syrup. So yes, I guess, Pinot Blanc can age relatively well, at least when grown and produced by François Barmès in a good year. In spite of all the sweet descriptors above, what really strikes me is that this seems much drier than I remember it feeling in its youth. And that brings things around to…

The second question: Is Alsace’s naturally warm, dry climate combining with global warming to push many Alsace wines over the top in terms of balance and concentration?

When asking this question a while back, I fear it may seem as if I too easily jumped on the bandwagon of answering “yes.” The real question I was asking in that posting, about a Riesling from biodynamic producer Marc Tempé, was about the role of biodynamics as a potentially contributing factor in delivering a more and more common over-the-top style in Alsace. Allow me to quote myself….

“The nurturing of the soil and harnessing of energy achieved through biodynamie can actually accelerate vines' growth and production cycles and result, especially in already warm climates like Alsace, in ultra-ripe, concentrated grapes.”

Thor Iverson called me out on that assertion, leaving a comment to which, I’m embarrassed to say, I never managed to respond or rebut. I still don’t have an answer for you, Thor. But I can say that I meant my original thought to be as much a question as an assertion. I agree that the evidence doesn’t prove that biodynamic farming contributes to the fattening of Alsace wines. But there’s no real evidence to disprove the possibility either. Oddly enough, I’ve increasingly found the wines of Barmès-Buecher, a biodynamic producer that Thor cited among the non-obese camp (and who I’ve visited), to display just such tendencies toward richer texture and more honeyed fruit. Today’s wine started there six years ago but has since morphed into something more graceful.

I guess what I’m really trying to say, in my typically long winded way, is that all of these questions remain, as far as I’m concerned, unanswered. But I’d sure love to hear your thoughts, honorable readers, if you’d care to share.

Now to go answer the real first question: who won today’s stage of the Tour? Just don’t tell me, at least not until tomorrow. I want it to be a surprise.

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Jamie Goode and Monty Waldin

I'm rapidly running out of writing time on this lovely Monday morning. So, rather than rush something to the presses I thought I'd instead send you all to the fine interview Jamie Goode recently conducted with Monty Waldin, who is one of the wine world's leading authorities on biodynamics. Among other things, Jamie and Monty discuss geopolitics, Nicolas Joly and, of course, cows and the moon. Be sure to read through to the end of Jamie's piece, where you'll find links to the previous nine segments of his ongoing series on biodynamics and wine.

By the way, Monty's benchmark book, Biodynamic Wines, seems to have gone the way of all too many of the titles in the Mitchell Beazley Classic Wine Library -- through a smallish single printing then directly out of print. As a result, the few remaining copies for sale seem to have landed in the hands of rare book sellers. Nonetheless, it's well worth the investment if you're up for a splurge.

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Two from Tissot

Ever find yourself thinking eerily alike another? I stopped by a friend’s house not long ago to do a little tasting and cooking. For good measure I’d carried along a bottle of Domaine Tissot’s Arbois “Sélection,” one of a handful of interesting wines I’d picked up a few days earlier. As it turned out, he’d already lined up a bottle of Tissot’s Arbois Chardonnay. No advance discussion or planning, just a freak coincidence – a welcome one.

At work in the vineyards at Domaine André et Mireille Tissot
(photo courtesy of stephane-tissot.com).
When Stéphane Tissot began taking on more and more responsibility for the farming and winemaking at his parents André and Mireille Tissot’s estate in the mid-1990s, he immediately began a slow but sure conversion of the property to organic farming methods. That cycle moved to the next logical step with the first application of biodynamic principles in 2004, becoming “official” via full biodynamic certification by Demeter in 2005. Farming at the 32-hectare estate is natural and so too is the winemaking. All of the Tissots’ wines – as many as 28 different cuvées in any given vintage – are fermented spontaneously on their native yeasts, with sulfur used minimally if at all.

Arbois “Sélection,” Domaine André et Mireille Tissot (Stéphane et Bénédicte Tissot) 2004
$23. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection, Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
Tissot’s Arbois “Sélection” Blanc is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Savagnin made in an intentionally oxidative style. The two varieties are barrel fermented and aged separately for nine months, with occasional topping up of the barrels. After blending, the wine undergoes a further fifteen months of aging in barrel, this time sans ouillage (without topping up). In this environment, a partial veil of flor forms, much as with Vin Jaune though to a lesser extent, and the wine is eventually finished with a very light filtration prior to bottling, with no further sulfur treatment.

The end result is delicious. The first pour opened with a typically apple-y, oxidative nose and Sherry-like brininess and savor on the palate. As it unfolded in the glass, its flavors developed greater complexity and depth. Persimmon and kumquats, dried apricots minus their sweet-fruited aspect, sour limestone and marshmallows (yes, marshmallows). The whole package is carried along on a razor’s edge of acidity. It was mouth coating in its intensity yet not at all heavy, the flavors and texture clinging to my teeth like a free-climber might cling to a sheer rock face, with sinew, grip and desperate balance. This is certainly not for everyone but it’s one of the most exciting wines I’ve had this year. And at $23, it’s a tremendous value.

Arbois Chardonnay, Domaine André et Mireille Tissot (Stéphane et Bénédicte Tissot) 2007
$24. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection, Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
Quite backward – our order, that is, not the wine. In our enthusiasm to taste the “Sélection” we didn’t bother thinking about which wine to open first. It would certainly have made sense to start here but, hey, sometimes it’s more fun just to forge ahead.

This is made in a far less oxidative fashion, with spontaneous fermentation in barriques (10% new) followed by twelve months of barrel aging. Lighter and more youthful in color, as expected, it was loaded with flavors of d’Anjou pear and aromas of fresh honey and Braeburn apples, all on a taut, medium-bodied frame. Like “Sélection,” it displayed tremendous grip and energizing acidity, calling to mind Burgundian cousins such as commune level or premier cru Chablis (but with more flesh) and Viré-Clessé (but with a more intense acid and mineral profile). This could do interesting things in the cellar but it’s already drinking great. I’d love to try it with a plate of grilled scallops, completely unadorned. Definitely.

Domaine Tissot’s website, by the way, is very much worth exploring. Lots of good information about the estate as well as biodynamic farming principles, all set to a soundtrack of fermenting Savagnin.

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Tempering Alsace

Alsace Riesling “Saint-Hippolyte,” Domaine Marc Tempé 2005
$28. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Vintage ’59 Imports, Washington, DC.

For a few reasons, simple and not so simple, I don’t drink wines from Alsace all that often. Simply, there are only so many wines one person can drink and I don’t like to write about wines I’ve only sipped and spit, though I’ll occasionally make an exception in the context of a formal trade tasting. Also, my love for German (and Austrian) Riesling tends to push Alsace wines – Rieslings and all the other specialties of the region – into the back seat. Less simply, more and more of the wines from the region, including those from top producers, have been getting bigger and bigger, richer and richer, over the last several years. Eric Asimov focused on this very trend a few months back at The Pour. While I have no problem with sweetness if it’s balanced by the wine’s other traits, I do have a problem with wines that are over-the-top, and that’s where an awful lot of Alsace juice seems to have headed.

Along with global warming and the global trend toward pushing the boundaries of physiological ripeness, one of the culprits Asimov and others have mentioned is a farming practice that many lovers of natural wine have enthusiastically embraced: biodynamics. The nurturing of the soil and harnessing of energy achieved through biodynamie can actually accelerate vines' growth and production cycles and result, especially in already warm climates like Alsace, in ultra-ripe, concentrated grapes.

Marc Tempé’s Riesling “Saint-Hippolyte” 2005, which is the end product of biodynamic farming, doesn’t buck the trend toward richness but it does take its scale in stride. And it does so with aplomb. On the nose, it’s ripe with scents of spiced pear and melons, with an underlying layer of the kind of dark mineral scents that develop only with the onset of bottle development. It’s on the palate that the wine finds its lift, bursting with lemon and lime fruit driven by a combination of physical extract and acidity that form an extremely invigorating mouthfeel, like a swirl of fine-grained prickles across the palate. That may not sound pleasant, I know, but it was. Though the wine possessed an undeniably honeyed aspect – one that came more strongly to the fore on days two and three – it was kept in check by superb balance and structure. A happy meeting of traditional style and new-found scale.

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Natural Wine Seminar at Tria

Seats are still available for my class on Natural Wines, to be held at Philadelphia’s own Tria Fermentation School on Tuesday, March 25.


Hélène Thibon and her horse, Nestor, tend the organically farmed fields
at Mas de Libian in the Ardèche.
For those that may have missed the announcement the first time around or perhaps been stymied by the vaguely ethereal name of the course, we’ll be tasting naturally farmed and produced wines from France, Italy, Germany and the US, and discussing the ins and outs of the blossoming natural wine movement. Topics will include building a greater understanding of the differences between organic and biodynamic farming and of how they both relate to more typical commercial farming practices. We’ll also tackle the demonized role of sulfites in the wine making regime and discuss the myriad list of other seemingly wacky and often quite unnatural ingredients that are “allowed” in wine. I hope to see you there.

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François Chidaine: Vigneron à Montlouis et Vouvray, Part Two

Capping off a day that started with a visit with Philippe Poniatowski at the Clos Baudoin, proceeded to the Montlouis estate of François Chidaine and continued with a stop at the Chidaine family’s wine shop, my group of weary travelers and I came full circle. With François and his cousin Nicolas Martin, we headed back across the river, back to Poniatowski’s property, to taste Chidaine's 2003 Vouvrays from barrel.

The Clos Baudoin vineyard.

François had been hired by Poniatowski, as of the 2002 vintage, under a five year contract to handle both the farming and wine making practices at the estate. It had turned out to be a great decision as, after only two vintages, Chidaine, with the help of Nicolas, was already clearly bringing the wines to a new level of style, cleanliness, vibrancy and expression.

During those five years, François and Poniatowski would take a 50/50 share of the wines, each with the right to market them under their own respective marques but according to Chidaine’s newly implemented array of cuvée names. Chidaine’s contract included an option to buy the estate at the end of his five-year term. However, there was nothing to preclude Poniatowski, who was clearly in some measure of economic distress after weathering a difficult stretch of poor management in his vineyards and cellar, from entertaining other buyers in the interim. Chidaine’s no-nonsense stoicism and ambition combined with the Prince’s pride and urgency had made for an awkward marriage of businesses and personalities.

During our morning visit, Poniatowski had taken us for a walk through the Clos Baudoin vineyard and a tour of his bottle caves before settling down to the tasting table in the parlor of his old estate home. We’d passed the “winery” part of the cave with barely a glance. Little discussion of winemaking practices occurred. And our tentative questions about his partnership with Chidaine were essentially shrugged off or circumvented.

Later that day, Chidaine too was reticent to discuss any aspect of his relationship with Poniatowski (who did not join us for the tasting). Otherwise though, it would turn out to be a very different experience from our morning visit in the same space. François made it clear that his reasons for interloping in Vouvray – he is the first native Montlouis producer to also make estate bottled wines on the other side of the river – were motivated not solely by commercial desires but also by his farming and wine making passions. He does believe that the Clos Baudoin is indeed a very special terroir. He also confirmed our impressions that the Clos had been allowed to fall into a rather sad state after several years of less than fastidious farming. Already in the process of converting the vineyards to biodynamic principles, he felt strongly that the soil and vines would slowly but surely begin to return to their full potential.

A detail of a 1946 map of the Vouvray vineyards, courtesy of Don Rice, from: LARMAT, Louis, "Atlas de la France vinicole. Les vins des coteaux de la Loire. Touraine et centre [Tome 5]." Paris: Louis Larmat, 1946, 450x325, 38pp.

With François, we skipped the estate’s bottle caves and headed straight into the barrel room where we proceeded, much as we had at his estate in Montlouis, with a discussion of the notoriously hot and dry growing conditions during 2003. Chidaine’s second vintage in Vouvray had been challenging. Yields at the estate were approximately 30% lower than normal, averaging 23 hectoliters per hectare as compared to 30 in 2002. On the upside though, yields were not nearly as drastically reduced as in Montlouis, where early-season frost had been a problem. As at his own Domaine in Montlouis, François elected to vinify every plot separately, so as to assess each lot’s special characteristics before blending into the final cuvée, a particularly prudent practice in a difficult year.

Barrel tasting:

As we’d experienced earlier, tasting from barrel with François is a practice in precision, bordering on the clinical. My notes are regrettably sparse as a result.

• 2003 Haut Lieu
  Harvested at 13.8% potential alcohol and still fermenting, this barrel was destined to become part of “Les Argiles.”
  
  
• 2003 Chatrie and Cabane
  Chatrie and Cabane are both lieu-dits located on the plateau above the Clos Baudoin. Also destined for “Les Argiles,” these plots would often have been added to the “Clos de l’Avenir” cuvée in the Poniatowski years. Lively, redolent of peach nectar.
  
  
• 2003 Chatrie (Lot 2)
  Drier, more mineral and higher acid than the Chatrie/Cabane blended barrel. Also destined for “Les Argiles” and likely to be finished with four to five grams of residual sugar.
  
  
• 2003 Plante Clos Baudoin
  From two-thirds old vines (45 years) and one-third young vines (20 years), François’ estimation is that this is destined to be a good but not great wine, most likely to be almost completely dry when finished.
  
  
• 2003 Clos Baudoin Vieilles Vignes
  From old vines only, this was still fermenting but already finer and more concentrated than the mixed-age barrel.
  
  
• 2003 Pichot
  This was targeted for “Le Bouchet.” This normally demi-sec cuvée would most likely be fully moelleux in 2003 as evidenced by this plot, harvested at 16.5% potential and finished to 40-45 grams RS.
  
  
• 2003 Le Bouchet
  From 70-80 year old vines in the lieu-dit of Le Bouchet itself, located across the road and down the hill from the estate. Richer and more complex than the Pichot, this showed fresh herbs, flowers and intense physiological concentration.
  
  
• 2003 L’Homme and Chatrie Vieilles Vignes
  Also for “Le Bouchet.” Muscular and surprisingly well balanced.
  
  
• 2003 Tri du 13 Octobre
  A late harvest for the hot season of 2003, this barrel would become part of the year’s Vouvray Moelleux. Low acid and intensely concentrated.

Postscript:

In 2007, his five-year contract finished and several business hurdles overcome, François finalized the purchase of Poniatowski’s property. Chidaine’s 2005 Vouvrays, now on the market, show intense concentration and potential longevity. As in Montlouis, his wines must already be considered among the top tier.

Related posts:

• The Last Vouvrays of Philippe Poniatowski
  
• François Chidaine: Vigneron à Montlouis et Vouvray, Part One
  
• La Cave Insolite

Intro only...

François Chidaine: Vigneron à Montlouis et Vouvray, Part One

Monday, February 23, 2004. After an unusual morning spent in the caves and tasting rooms of Philippe Poniatowski in Vouvray, followed by a modest lunch at a bistro on the edge of town, it was off to the other side of the river. Our afternoon appointment was at the Montlouis domaine of François Chidaine, a serious, stoic and talented wine grower – and the ascending star of both Montlouis-sur-Loire and Vouvray.

From the driveway where we initially met Chidaine, on a tiny road leading up and away from the river, his winery looked like little more than a garage excavated into the hillside. Before venturing in, we took to the cars for a drive up the hill to the plateau above.

François Chidaine’s property consists of approximately 20 hectares of vines, spread along a two kilometer periphery around the village of Montlouis, all set on the hillside and plateau which dominate the valley. He farms his land with a close eye to nature. At the time of our visit, all but two hectares of his vines were being farmed biodynamically. Chidaine, however, insists on making no mention of organics or biodynamics on his bottles. In fact, he’s loath to talk much about biodynamie at all. He farms naturally because he feels it results in a purer expression of the vine and of his terroir. Attracting the organically inclined shopper is not a concern. Customers and importers line up, via a waiting list, to buy his wines, about 50% of which are broadly exported with the other 50% going to the French market.

Given that it was snowing intermittently during our visit and that there was a surprising amount of standing water in the vineyards, François opted not to take us through each and every one of his eight distinct plots. Instead, most of our outdoor time was spent in Le Clos Volgets, an essentially flat climat of argilo-silex soil situated atop the plateau. His vines are trained in the double Guyot method and kept low to the ground to capture reflective heat from the soil below. During the winter months, he keeps a soil cover of vegetation between the rows to protect against run-off, a natural tendency of the erosive soils in Montlouis and one of the primary farming differences relative to neighboring Vouvray. Two weeks after our visit, the soils would be turned to allow the earth to breathe in anticipation of the onset of spring. The fruit from the 45 year-old vines in Volgets goes mostly to his demi-sec, multi-vineyard cuvée Les Tuffeaux.

On the way back to our vehicles, François pointed out both Clos Habert and Clos de Breuil, from which he produces vineyard-designated bottlings, respectively demi-sec and sec in style. Taking a circuitous route across the plateau en route to the winery, he also indicated a new vineyard of four hectares that he had recently purchased and replanted. Atypically rich in clay and dense of soil, this hard-to-farm site was Les Bournais, the source of the eponymous wine first produced by Chidaine from the fruit grown in 2004.

Back at the winery, where we were joined by François’ cousin Nicolas, we found the scene behind the aforementioned garage doors perfectly befitting of Chidaine’s personality – plain stone walls, no nonsense, nothing extra, just barrels and the most basic tools of the trade. All wines are vinified in cask, primarily of 600 liters, with 10% of production fermented and aged in 300 liter barrels. Reflective of his approach to his terroir, fruit from every distinct parcel is vinified separately; blends are assembled in preparation for bottling. Fermentations are very slow, running completely under the steam of natural yeasts. Filtration is used minimally yet rigorously, only between barrel and bottle and only when necessary.

As the barrel segment of our tasting would consist solely of wines from 2003, François prepped us with a bit of info on the local effects of the notoriously hot, dry vintage. Due to the difficult growing conditions, production for the year was only about 40% of the estate’s normal average yields of 35 hl/ha. Harvest, which normally begins in mid-October and continues into November, began in late September and was completed on October 14. The combination of low acidity and high ripeness led to wines that are very concentrated but lacking in maturity of structure. At this point, his plan was to finish all of the wines in the 12 to 12.5% alcohol range, so even the usually dry wines would have some pretty measurable residual sugar. The ripeness levels of the vintage allowed for the production of Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN) for the first time since 1997 and 1999. His advice for the vintage: drink the 2003s while the 2002s rest in your cellar.

Tasting wines from barrel like this – still fermenting and unassembled – is always an exercise more technical than satisfying. Nonetheless, it can be enlightening as to a producer’s thought processes, vinification techniques and overall approach. It’s also a wonder, down the road, to see how the parts become a more complete whole. The precision of Chidaine’s technique and presentation was matched, more entertainingly, by Nicolas’ spitting abilities. I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone produce a thinner, more precise stream, always on target even when he was standing five feet away from the small spittoon we all shared.

Tasting from barrel:

• 2003 Clos du Breuil
  The Clos du Breuil – the name refers to the underground water supply beneath the vineyard – is one of the plots from which Chidaine makes a vineyard specific cru each year. From fruit with 14.2% potential alcohol, this would not finish fermentation for another month. Typical of a wine at this stage, aromas were of yeast, bananas and tropical fruit. Low acid, particularly for this normally pretty brisk cuvée. 4 grams residual sugar.
  
  
• 2003 Clos Habert
  Another of the single vineyard designates, Clos Habert is a plot of 60 year-old vines which gave fruit with 15.5% potential alcohol in 2003. Yields from the three hectare vineyard were only 24 hectoliters (8 hl/ha). The vineyard saw an early bud set, followed by frost then long, dry heat. Rich, sweet, opulent fruit. 30 grams residual sugar, 3 grams acidity.
  
  
• 2003 Clos Volgets
  From the 45 year-old vines in the vineyard we’d visited a short while earlier. It’s fair to say that this hovered stylistically between the Breuil and Habert, with brighter acidity but less RS than in the Habert.
  
  
• 2003 Les Epirées
  Unlinke in Habert, there was no early season frost damage in Epirées, with yields therefore coming in somewhat closer to normal at 24 hl/ha. The fruit from this site normally goes into the cuvées Les Choisilles and Les Tuffeaux. However, as this year’s wine – currently stopped yet not complete in its fermentation – would finish at around 100 grams residual sugar, it was destined for Chidaine’s Montlouis Moelleux.
  
  
• 2003 Le Lys
  This is Chidaine’s special SGN cuvée, produced only in exceptional (or unusual) years. He usually seeks potential alcohol in the 18-20% range for this wine; the 2003 reached 22% and will finish at around 150 grams of residual sugar, the product of 100% botrytis affected fruit. Rich, tropical fruit with intense concentration and length.

The view from outside Chidaine's barrel storage garage, looking down the road toward the Loire (February 2004).
Tasting from bottle:

• 2001 Montlouis “Les Choisilles”
  2001 was an average vintage with normal yields, giving a wine of slightly lower acidity than in 2002. Nonetheless, there was no shortage of acidity or of balance. Very dry and mineral, with good clarity of fruit and a long finish.
  
  
• 2002 Vouvray “Les Argiles”
  As I’d mentioned in my earlier post about our morning visit with Prince Poniatowski, Chidaine had been farming the land and making the wines at Poniatowski’s estate in Vouvray since 2002. This was his first vintage, therefore, of “Les Argiles,” a cuvée produced primarily from vineyards across the road from Poniatowski’s winery that formerly had gone to Poniatowski’s Vouvray “Clos de l’Avenir.” This showed riper fruit yet was more closed than the 2001 “Les Choisilles,” prompting François to mention that he feels Vouvray gives more masculine wines relative to the more feminine traits of Montlouis.
  
  
• 2002 Montlouis “Les Choisilles”
  Floral, very mineral and extremely tight, with mouth-watering acidity.
  
  
• 2002 Vouvray “Clos Baudoin”
  This needed some oxygen to open up and show its stuff. Chidaine, in fact, recommended decanting the wine and felt that it would develop very nicely in bottle. In spite of finding Poniatowski’s vineyards in a near state of disaster when he arrived in 2002, the breed of the wine showed, with sweet earth and firm, tight structure.
  
  
• 2002 Montlouis “Clos Habert”
  To give a comparative sense of the differences between 2002 and 2003, François told us that the 2002 Habert, usually Chidaine’s richest normal cuvée, was 4 grams drier than the 2003 “Les Tuffeaux,” which is normally the less rich wine. Solid structure and fine acid balance.
  
  
• 2003 Montlouis “Les Tuffeaux”
  Though this actually had higher acidity than the Clos Habert, it felt fatter on the palate due to less integrated sugars. Though less complex than the Habert, it was very ripe and pleasing with pronounced flavors of Asian pear.
  
  
• 1998 Montlouis “Les Tuffeaux”
  François’ first vintage at the head of his estate was 1989. He pronounced the wine of ten years later, the 1998 Tuffeaux, to be classic in his style and to be just opening up. Regrettably, both bottles he opened were corked, the first profoundly.
  
  
• 1997 Montlouis “Les Tuffeaux”
  Rich color. Heady aromas of marmalade and honeycomb, along with some botrytis notes. Spicy on the palate, with fairly low acidity.
  
  
• 2000 Montlouis “Clos Habert”
  Unusual shellfish-like aromas. 2000 was a hard vintage, with lots of rain just before harvest. A faint hint of rot on the palate.
  
  
• 2002 Vouvray “Le Bouchet”
  From a plot with NW exposure, located across the hilltop from the Clos Baudoin. Forward, floral and ever so slightly honeyed, with a hint of wood making itself known.
  
  
• 2002 Vouvray “Moelleux”
  This is the only cuvée produced in 100% new barrel. 50 grams residual sugar. Both the wood and the sugar were showing through; closed and slightly disjointed. Much richer than I remembered from previous bottles tasted in the US.
  
  
• 2002 Montlouis “Moelleux”
  This showed much more exotic fruit than did the Vouvray, with Asian pear, mango, bananas and citrus confit all leaping from the glass. 60 grams residual sugar.
  
  
• 1996 Montlouis “Moelleux”
  Like in 2002, this had great richness along with fine acid balance. This is wine to hold. Tea leaves, savory herbs and lanolin. This is a great expression of Montlouis terroir, with intense silex minerality, even a hint of petrol. Chidaine feels 1996 may have been an even better vintage than 1989.
  
  
• 1990 Montlouis “Sélection de Grains Nobles”
  A low acid year, with good yields and high physiological maturity. Again, seashells on the nose. Still very young, somewhat closed and surprisingly delicate given its richness (100 grams residual sugar).

Tasting complete, it was time to move on. The cousins Chidaine had further plans for us though. Part two of this posting will take us into Montlouis proper for a visit at the Chidaine’s wine shop then back across the river to Vouvray to taste the ‘03s from barrel at the Clos Baudoin. Stay tuned.

Related posts:

• The Last Vouvrays of Philippe Poniatowski
  
• La Cave Insolite

Intro only...

Domaine Barmès-Buecher, February 2004

Crossing the border into Alsace after a brief two days on the German side of the Rheinland, our first stop in France during a February 2004 wine trek was at Domaine Barmès-Buecher. Situated on the Route des Vins in Wettolsheim, just SW of Colmar in the Haut-Rhin, the estate was founded in 1985, joining the work of the Barmès and Buecher families which had each been involved in some aspect of viticulture since the 17th Century. François Barmès and his wife Genevieve (née Buecher) along with eight full-time employees, farm a total of 16 hectares of vineyard, spanning six different communes in the environ of Wettolsheim, from the Grand Cru sites of Pfersigberg in the south to Hengst in the north. The estate is made up of 96 separate vineyard plots, ranging in size from as large as two contiguous hectares to as small as five or six rows in a particular climat. Our visit there would prove to be one of the most intense of the entire trip.

In the Field:

François Barmès completed conversion of his entire property to Biodynamics in 1998, reflecting a change in philosophy that had begun for him in the early 1990s. I’ve met few vignerons with energy levels as intense as that of François and I’ve yet to meet anyone with as passionate an attachment to his land. That passion was reflected in our time spent at the estate. Arriving shortly after a quick lunch at a little café in Wettolsheim, we met François at his winery and headed straight out to his vineyards. The sun was setting by the time we returned to the winery, at least four hours having elapsed. During those hours, M. Barmès led us from vineyard to vineyard, expounding on his farming practices, the special characteristics and energy of each plot, the negative effects of conventional farming on the land around his, and on the viticultural trends and climatic tendencies of Alsace in general.


The Vosges, at 1300-1400 meters elevation, lie just to the west of Alsace, creating a natural rain block for the viticultural landscape. Combined with the reflective power of the sun beaming off those hills onto the vineyards below, the climate in Alsace is naturally much warmer and drier than in the German portions of the Rheinland. In spite of that warmth, Alsace, as one of the northernmost wine regions of France (only Champagne is more northerly), sees a low number of sunlight hours throughout the growing season.

To work that limited sunlight to its fullest advantage, Barmès utilizes Double Guyot vine training, with wires placed at 1.8 meters to maximize the sunlight captured by his vines. He seeks naturally low yields in the vineyard, training his vine shoots in a downward arc meant to slow the flow of chlorophyll to the grapes and to promote full foliage development. He does not practice green harvesting, fruit reduction or leaf removal, operating in a belief that vines possess long-term memory and that removing pieces of their whole only redirects energy in confused directions. And it seems to work. His yields average 35-50 hl/ha, low by any reasonable standards and quite low given the Alsace AOC standard of 80 hl/ha.

François Barmès expounding among his vines in the Herrenweg cru

To cope with the dry conditions – he has holdings in the Herrenweg cru, one of the driest vineyard sites in all of France – the estate is farmed completely by hand and, according to Biodynamic principles, with no chemical or synthetic fertilizers. Hand culture, François told us, keeps the soil soft and friable, promoting deep, vertical root growth that allows the vines to reach low water tables, creating natural drought resistance. Standing between his rows in Herrenweg, we could see the beneficial results of his work. Where his neighbors’ soil was gray and compacted, his was brown and soft under foot. It looked alive. Yellow ribbons, used to mark a dead plant, were tied around every third or fourth vine in a neighboring plot. We saw only one or two in Barmès’ entire parcel.

Given the timing of our visit, François spoke in particular of the rigors of the 2003 vintage. Only 200 millimeters of rain fell in Wettolsheim during the entire year, with nary a drop from the end of February through mid-October. Those deep root systems were put to the test and passed, with no damage occurring directly from the drought. That said, his plants did suffer from the intense heat, which averaged 28°C with little night cooling. Sugar levels accelerated so quickly at the end of summer that many producers picked their fruit only 80 days after flowering; 100 days is generally considered the minimum duration for achievement of physiological maturity. Those like Barmès who waited lost some of their fruit to the heat but achieved greater complexity, according to François, in their finished wines.

Looking down from Clos Sand.

We finished the tour of Barmès’ vineyards with a hike up the slope of his most recent acquisition, a parcel called “Clos Sand” located on a steep hillside in a forested corner of Wettolsheim, followed by a drive through the rolling, wall-enclosed cru of Rosenberg. On the way through, François pointed out a parcel where, in 2001, wild boars destroyed 60% of his crop while he was away on a week long vacation. Apparently the pigs favor naturally farmed fruit, as they ignored the neighboring vines owned by conventional growers.

At the Winery:

Back at the winery, François drove home the points he’d been making all afternoon. 95% of the work at the Domaine, he said, is done in the vineyard, only 5% in the cellar. The vineyard is everything to him; the cellar is only for tasting and making sure all goes well. In keeping with that philosophy, Barmès puts only juice into his tanks and barrels. All wines are wild yeast fermented; nothing is ever added other than sulfur, and that only for anti-oxidative purposes after completion of fermentation.


Believing that their fruit and wines should be handled just as gently as the soil in their vineyards, François and Genevieve have constructed a three-level winery. All fruit, after harvest, is brought quickly into the top level, where a vibrating sorting table is used to remove any imperfect clusters before the fruit goes to the pressoir. After pressing is complete, the juice is moved by gravity to the cuves in the level below. Only following a long, slow fermentation and the appropriate aging regimen are the wines moved, again by gravity, to the lowest level where they go through a gentle filtration prior to bottling.

In the Cellar:

By the time François led us to his underground cellars for a tasting, we were all feeling the effects of a long, cold day in the vineyards on top of the day-three creep of jet lag from our recent journey across the Atlantic. We knew that the estate produces a huge array of wines – approximately 30 different cuvées are vinified each year – but we were nonetheless astounded when we saw the array of bottles he’d lined up for us to sample. The dégustation proceeded at a blur, resulting in some rather brief tasting notes.

Our group in Barmès' cellar.

1. Pinot Noir “Réserve” 2002
   Pinot Noir was planted on the property in the 1950s, at the suggestion of the Marquis d’Angerville following his visit to the vineyards of Wettolsheim. 2002 was a difficult vintage, with a bout of frost in September and rain at harvest. Aged in barrels previously used for the “Vieilles Vignes,” this exhibited pale color, lean texture and smoky, wild red-berry fruit.
   
   
2. Pinot Noir “Vieilles Vignes” 2000
   All fruit for the “VV” comes from the Hengst vineyard, from which Pinot Noir is now entitled to Grand Cru status (as of 2006). In any given vintage, it spends between 18-22 months in new barrel. Darker, richer color, with smoky fruit and delicate oak carrying ripe, red and black cherry fruit. Only four barrels made.
   
   
3. Pinot Noir “Réserve” 2003 (from barrel)
   Reductive. Apparently, François stated, this is normal at this point in the wine’s evolution. If the reductivity shows only on the nose, it will dissipate with more time in the barrel. Darker, richer and softer fruit relative to the 2002, with lower acidity but good tannin development.
   
   
4. Pinot Noir “Vieilles Vignes” 2003 (from barrel)
   Just finished malolactic fermentation (all of the estate’s wines, red and white, go through malo). Big fruit, grapey nose, with high alcohol showing on a sweet finish.
   

Before moving on to the white line-up, our host described what he sees as three distinct families of white fruit types in the Alsace vignoble: mineral (Riesling, Silvaner), oxidative (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris), and aromatic (Gewurztraminer, Pinot Auxerrois, Muscat).

5. Pinot Blanc Rosenberg 2001
   Limestone, sandstone and flint dominate the soil in Rosenberg. Rich yellow color. Ripe, melon and orchard fruit on palate, balanced by better acidity than I remembered from the 2000 bottling.
   
   Wettolsheim as seen from the Rosenberg vineyard.
   
   
6. Pinot Blanc Rosenberg 2002
   Drier, leaner and more mineral than the 2001.
   
   
7. Riesling Rosenberg 2002
   Lean, dry, mineral and apple driven fruit. Bold, spicy aromatics. Very bright acidity.
   
   
8. Riesling Herrenweg 2002
   Herrenweg is a very flat, extremely dry and warm site on the southern end of Turckheim. Richer, more woodsy and piney aromatics (typical of Herrenweg, according to FB) relative to the Rosenberg, along with a broader, rounder mouthfeel.
   
   
9. Riesling Pfleck 2002
   Situated in Wettolsheim. Oilier, richer fruit with a dense structure.
   
   
10. Riesling Leimenthal 2001
    Huge lemon-lime aromatics followed by citrus, fennel and licorice on the palate. Leimenthal, in Wettolsheim, is an extremely terroir driven site with multiple strata of calcareous soils.
    
    
11. Riesling Grand Cru Steingrubler 2002
    Also in Wettolsheim. Round, spicy apricot fruit. Very rich. Ripe for the vintage.
    
    
12. Riesling Grand Cru Hengst 2002
    Hengst, located in Wintzenheim at the northern reaches of Barmès’ holdings, is arguably one of the best known of Alsace Grand Cru sites. Of its 60 hectares, Domaine Barmès-Buecher owns one. François had bottled this only one week prior to our visit, based on a specific point of the lunar cycle: “As the moon influences the tides, so the wines….” Very closed and a bit awkward but rich and promising.
    
    
    
13. Edelzwicker “Sept Grains” 2002
    Backing up from tasting notes for a moment, this wine bears some explanation. In a simple sense, it falls under the catch-all term of Edelzwicker, used in Alsace to identify blends that are often made of a little bit of everything a producer grows, nearly always with the unspoken suggestion of leftovers. “Sept Grains,” though, is a wine made not from leftover juice but rather from the free-run fluids which are released by his grapes as they pass along the sorting table on their way into the winery. It’s not uncommon for the skins of fully ripe fruit to be near bursting point at harvest time, so Barmès devised a method, using his sorting table, to capture the fluids that are inevitably released and funnel them to a cuve where fermentation begins naturally. As each picking, of various varieties and from various plots, comes into the winery, this free-run juice is added to the vat. By the end of the process, there is a blend which naturally reflects the conditions of the vintage. Based on the vintage-specific physiological qualities of each variety, one year the wine may be dominated by aromatic varieties, in another the oxidative or mineral grapes may dominate. In any case, FB views this as a non-terroir wine, as there is essentially no pressing or skin contact involved in the winemaking practice.
    
    The 2002 suggested peaches, red berries, white pepper and sappy green wood, along with passion fruit and a hint of sweatiness. In most vintages, the wine is a touch off-dry and makes an easy pairing with aromatic Asian dishes. It’s also not a bad choice for the Thanksgiving table.
    
    
14. Pinot Gris Herrenweg 2002
    Spicy and lush, with delicious cinnamon-apple fruit.
    
    
15. Pinot Gris Pfleck 2002
    This was Barmès’ first vintage of Pinot Gris from the Pfleck cru. Deep golden in hue with more wood showing on the nose than with the Herrenweg. Honey and sweet orange marmalade in the mouth.
    
    
16. Pinot Gris Rosenberg “Silicis” 2002
    So named for the soil base in a particular plot of Rosenberg. Cola nut on the nose, followed by spices and sea air. Rich and slightly off-dry, with a long, long finish.
    
    
17. Pinot Gris Rosenberg “Calcarius” 2001
    This cuvee comes from a parcel of calcareous soil within Rosenberg. Botrytis on the nose. Honey, white peaches, flowers and green figs. Fat in texture yet bright in flavor. Seriously tasty.
    
    
18. Pinot Gris Rosenberg “Calcarius” 2002
    Less honeyed, spicier than the 2001. Less botrytis showing on the otherwise lovely nose. Hints of vanilla on the palate.
    
    
19. Muscat Ottonel 2002
    All lilacs and citrus oil. FB considers Ottonel a much more distinctive vine and wine than Muscat d’Alsace. He also finds it very risky to farm; if the temperature drops below 12°C at flowering, the entire crop is lost.
    
    
20. Gewurztraminer Herrenweg 2002
    Heavily herbal and musky. Fuzzy green herbs, thyme and cannabis on the nose. Slightly bitter finish. Not an easy wine yet very interesting in the context of possible food pairings.
    
    
21. Gewurztraminer Rosenberg 2002
    Herbal again – oregano and dried herbs. This was the first vintage produced from a plot of young, nine-year-old vines.
    
    
22. Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim 2002
    Herbs no more. Quince and white flowers on the nose. A small percentage of botrytis. Fat, ripe orchard fruit flavors led to a long, rich finish.
    
    
23. Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Steingrübler 2002
    Lean aromatic and flavor profiles, with a distillate-like nose that reminds me of Pineau des Charentes. Orange confit and caramelized sugar hints. This was previously FB’s least favorite cru though he was, as of 2002, starting to come into a better understanding of this Grand Cru slope in Wettolsheim.
    
    
24. Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2002
    Pfersigberg is a grand cru of limestone, clay and marl soil situated in the commune of Eguisheim. Powerful and incredibly aromatic, with bright and lively acidity heralding a long finish.
    
    
25. Pinot Gris Rosenberg “Vendange Tardive” 1999
    Rich amber color. Intense aromas of butterscotch, crème brulée and a raisined grapiness. On the palate, ripe melon fruit, exotic tea, caraway and rye. 180 grams of residual sugar. M. Barmès felt the bottle was a bit advanced, perhaps due to a slightly faulty cork.
    
    
26. Muscat Ottonel “Sélection Grains Nobles” 2000
    99% botrytis. Pure decadence on the nose. Super viscous, drink it with a spoon texture. Dark wildflower honey and citrus confit.
    
    
27. Pinot Gris Rosenberg “Calcarius” Sélection Grains Nobles 2000
    Bottled, after a full three years of fermentation, at 6.7% alcohol and a whopping 550 grams of residual sugar. Pure fig conserves. Rich, brooding and earthy with low acid and immense texture.
    
    
28. Riesling “Tradition” 2002 (from vat)
    Back upstairs on the winery level, we tasted one last wine, something light and crisp to revive our palates. The Riesling “Tradition” is produced from fruit grown outside any of the crus and is meant to show the general typicity of the region. The 2002 had not yet finished its fermentation. Shutdown by the winter cold, fermentation would start anew with the coming of spring.

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Addendum, August 2009: Video clips of biodynamic preparation and field work at Domaine Barmès-Buecher.

Domaine Barmès-Buecher - Préparation 500
Uploaded by barmesbuecher

Mixing and dynamizing biodynamic preparation 500 (horn manure), to be sprayed in the vineyards.

Domaine Barmès-Buecher - Compost 2009
Uploaded by barmesbuecher

Adding compost preparations such as yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak bark, dandelion and valerian to the estate’s biodynamic compost heap on the slopes of the Grand Ballon.

Domaine Barmès-Buecher – Travaux de Printemps
Uploaded by barmesbuecher

Spring work in the vineyard – turning the soil, cutting the superficial vine roots to encourage deep, vertical root growth, and pruning foliage to encourage airflow and balance.

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Recommended reading:

Intro only...