• The footprints of the earth - about #wine and #terroir

  Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

  “Wine can and should stand on its own!” This is what John Gillespie, a recognized economists and observer of the American wine market, said during an interview 2013. Although Gillespie spoke more on the subject of “Wine and Food”, his words perfectly fit to our thoughts on wine aging.

  

  The wine barrel was probably invented in the 6^th century BC and brought to perfection by the Gauls for wine and beer storage many centuries later. The use of wood casks was widespread from the 3^rd century, but its apogee certainly came in the 1980’s, when the barrel was idolized for his influence on wine.

  If we are well aware of what oak has brought to our wines and still can bring, the balance of power between both has fairly changed in our cellar in recent years. Large wooden vats have replaced small oak barrels and large clay jars were added recently. Today, we principally rely on the terroir and the grapes to create the identity of our wines.

  After a year of maturation in 800 L clay jars, the wines of the 2014 vintage are self-confident and balanced. The pure Grenache of La Crau Ouest flatters the palate with fine, soft tannins, joined by mineral acidity and pleasant aromas of fresh plums, cherry blossoms and a hint of white pepper. The Gigondas Hautes Garrigues, mainly consisting of Mourvèdre, presents itself with strenght and mellowness and extremely complex aromas.

  Our wines have convinced us! We agree to them to continue the experiment of wine ageing in clay jars on the 2015 vintage.

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• Tannins in red wine ... What are they good for?

  Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

  Tannins – that’s a complicated story. In wine tasting, as well as in their chemical way. Just look at that...

  

  They are found primarily in red wine, rarely present in rosé wine, and are practically absent in white wine. They mainly derive from the grape, where they are stored in skins, pips and stems, but can also originate from the oak wood barrels wherein some wines mature. They belong to the family of polyphenols (natural antioxidants that are good to our heart and circulatory system) and they often have extremely diverse and complex structures. The name “tannin” is more of a folkish nickname. Their real names are Catechin, Ellagitanin or Proanthocyanidol. And it may even be worse ... The nickname comes from the process of “tanning” which transforms cow skins into leather jackets. Tannins cherish a particularly close relationship with proteins, forming new chemical compounds and denaturalizing them. This prevents the cow skins to foul.

  In wine this affinity is used in the traditional “fining” of red wines with egg white, while the same reaction may cause a slightly rough and dry feel on tongue, lips and palate during tasting of red wine, because the tannins get hold of the proteins in our saliva. This can even checked when looking into the sink after having spit red wine. The small, dark red streaks you’ll recognize are genuine tannin-protein complexes.

  So what are they good for?
  Tannins in wine are good for taste! The amount of tannins you may find in a grape primarily depends on the grape variety. While grapes of Cabrenet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah are rich in tannin, Grenache and Merlot are rather moderate and Cinsault and Pinot Noir even show small amounts of natural tannin. The taste of tannins is closely related to ripening. The riper the grapes, the finer and better they taste, giving structure and body to the wine. Lack of maturity leads to hard, bitter and aggressive tannins.

  “I asked Pascal (Verhaeghe) for the key to the phenolic ripeness and silky tannins. He says it’s down to the pips, or seeds; they must be 100% dark brown and if you bite into one it must even be a bit sweet, that’s the key.”(Excerpt from an article on Wine & Design).

  In return, the actual tannin amount that’s finally found in the bottle and the glass, is related to the work done by the winemakers in the cellar. They decide in the end how much tannins they want to extract from the grapes to make their wines to taste pleasant and balanced. However, the more tannins you have in a wine, the longer it should age - in barrels, in tanks or in bottles, to literally “polish” the tannins and make them taste smooth. Tannins also appear to contribute to aging capacity of wines, though the calculation “more tannin = more aging potential” doesn’t always add up. In addition, there are many fine, lighter reds and even whites without tannin, which can be stored for years.

  Well, wine is just not mathematics ... And even if we track down its molecules, wine still keeps a lot of secrets from us.

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• Santa Duc - Looking back on the 2014 vintage in the #Rhône

  Permalink, by Domaine Santa Duc

  Last year we had a late maturing vintage. In the area around Gigondas, Plan de Dieu, Rasteau ... there was little rainfall in September, so we could serenely wait for the full maturity of the grapes. The last fruit finally reached our cellar on October 10^th.

  

  Being convinced that terroir and fruits produce the taste of wine, we intervene in the production processes as sparingly as possible. Its our main concern to preserve the overall quality of the grapes. For this purpose, we carefully sort out ripe and aromatic fruits, let fermentations be done by natural yeasts; and adapt maceration and extraction to overall tannin quality of the grapes.

  At the beginning of the cellar work, when we put the crop into the tanks, we will add moderate amounts of sulphites, to prevent the development of undesirable yeasts. This agreement fits well with our philosophy, because we are neither friend nor foe of sulphites and adjust the application to the needs of each vintage and each tank. The oxygen sensitivity of different grape varieties, the frequency of racking to separate the wines from their lees, the topping of the barrels and the constant temperature of our cellar are, among other things, important factors for a harmonious and secure development of each wine. Only the sum of all factors allows the wine to evolve towards harmony of taste and will freely express the character of its origin.

  In recent years, we focussed on the pursuit for a pure and noble expression of fruit and terroir. Oak, therefore, still plays an important role in the maturation of the wines. The regular topping of the barrels and the migration of tannins from oak to the wine allow a moderate but controlled oxygen supply, which is essential for a “fragile” varieties as the Grenache. The majority of our small barrels have recently been replaced by large oak vats. This changed the balance of power between wood and wine consideralbly. It seems essential to us, that the latter always has the upper hand.

  

  In the continuity of this work, our cellar welcomed this year three 800-liter clay jars from Impruneta. In this stronghold of pottery near Florence in Italy a special type of clay, particularly suitable for the manufacturing of earthenware jars for wine and olive oil has been mined for many centuries. The hand-made jars have a completely smooth surface on the inside, and the clay allows the maturation of wines without any supply of tannins and flavours, while their special shape favours the expression of fruit and minerality. For this first year, a pure Grenache from La Crau in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and a Mourvedre from the terroir of the Hautes Garrigues in Gigondas will be ageing in these jars.

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