A Trio Of Interesting Whites To Enjoy. Sancerre. Sauve. Pay D'Oc.

A Trio Of Interesting Whites To Enjoy

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Jacques-Frelin Sancerre (AOP) 2018, 12.5%, €26.60 Mary Pawle Wines

Sancerre is a small wine district in the Loire Valley, famous for its crisp, aromatic white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. This one has a light gold colour with a tint of green. The pleasant aromas of this organic wine are both floral and mineral with gooseberry. A bracing acidity makes the taste buds sit up and take notice and what they notice is the apple and pear and citrus flavours, nothing over the top, all’s in balance. 

As it happens, there is a famous goats cheese (Chavignol) in the Loire Valley, a perfect match for the wine, which will also go well with fish and seafood. I’m certain the likes of Ardsallagh and St Tola would also pair well with it. Very Highly Recommended. Serving temperature is 10-12 degrees.

For over thirty years now, Jacques Frelin has been at the forefront of the organic wine movement in France. While organic is often associated with small, this is not the case with Frelin who has vineyards all over the country, in the Languedoc (where he is headquartered), in Gascony, in the Rhone and the Loire.

Fasoli Gino “Borgoletto” Soave (DOC) 2018, 12.5%, €15.55 Mary Pawle Wines

Mary Pawle imports quite a few well-priced wines and this 100% organic Garganega is one of them. It has a light straw colour, a pleasant bouquet both floral and fruity. Fresh and fruity on the palate, quite full-bodied, no shortage of acidity, with a long and dry finish. Highly Recommended.

The producers are also obviously very happy as they say, on the label, that it is “an ode to the terroir”. It is indeed a lovely easy-drinking wine and Fasoli Gino produce more Borgoletto than any other wine in their range. 

Their back label has most of the info you need, nicely and economically laid out: Vino Biologico. Hand picked 100% Garganega. Drink up to three years. And their social media addresses are also listed.

A dry, crisp, fruity white wine, Soave's naturally refreshing appeal led it to phenomenal popularity in the second half of the 20th century (pretty sure it was our wedding wine back in the day!). Wine-Searcher.com say it “is arguably the most famous white wine DOC in Italy”. But I think, most current Irish wine-drinkers would nominate Pinot Grigio as the most famous Italian white.

#fasoligino #borgoletto #soave #primavera #inbottiglia #vinobiologico #vinobiodinamico #natura #degustazionevini #vinobianco #eleganza #freschezza #vinoitaliano #madeinitaly #winetasting #springiscoming #spring #blossoms #organicwine #biodynamicwine #springinabottle #naturelovers #winelovers #elegant #freshness #whitewine #italianwine #pairing #italianclassics

Domaine de Brau Chardonnay Pays d’Oc (IGT) 2018, 14%, €16.50 Mary Pawle

Colour is a lovely mid-gold. Fairly intense aromas of white fruit and a hint of honey. A pleasant burst of tropical fruit finds it way across the palate, rich and round, with an almost creamy mouthfeel it finishes well with increasing citrus notes. Lightly oaked and organic, this fresh and surprising Chardonnay is Very Highly Recommended. Well priced too and that’s a bonus!

This is made from 100% Chardonnay and fermented and matured in oak. A great food wine! Serve fresh at 10 - 12°C, with white meat, poultry and fish, grilled or in sauce.

Gabriel and Wenny Taris, of Chateau de Brau, are too close to the hard Languedoc ground to get carried way with romantic cliches - it is not sunshine all the way: "Not all vintages are exceptional. There are the weather conditions. And the weeds that we will never overcome. And the little beasts and larger animals who demand their share."

That they share with the little and large of the local animal world gives you the clue that the work here is more in cooperation with nature than against it. 

Kinsale Meadery Tours Reopening Monday June 29th at 1pm

Kinsale Meadery Tours Reopening

 Monday June 29th at 1pm

Curious about Mead? Planning a Day Trip or Staycation to Kinsale?

Kinsale Mead Co. has been a hive of activity recently getting ready to re-open for their popular meadery tours and tastings on Monday 29th June. They are following the latest guidelines so their visitors can experience the tour safely.

“We are really delighted to be welcoming visitors back to the meadery. It’s been way too quiet here for the last few months and we really miss meeting everyone,” said Denis Dempsey, co-founder.

Explore the making and tasting of Mead, the drink of Celtic Ireland’s Kings and Chieftains at Kinsale Mead’s family run meadery. Mead, also known as "honey wine," is believed to be the world's oldest alcoholic drink, dating back to 6500 BC.

During the fun-filled hour you will meet the Mead Makers of Kinsale Mead and hear stories of ancient legends and the colourful history of mead in Ireland. Indulge in a tasting of three different raw honey types while learning about the life of the honeybee. Explore the production area and follow the process of modern mead-making, from fermentation through to maturation and onto bottling. Revel in the opportunity to sample three different award-winning varieties of this ancient drink, with great tips for food pairing and mead cocktails.

The Meadery has been running tours since 2018 and has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence last year. Previous visitors have said the “Informative and fun” tour lead by “Very friendly and knowledgeable” staff is “A must for your trip to Kinsale”.

Tours run at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. Tickets cost €14 per adult. Please pre-book to guarantee your place at www.kinsalemeadco.ie/kinsale-meadery-tours/ or call 021 477 3538.

Me(a)d-ia Release

The Sweetest Wine. Rain, Fog, River combine in Sauternes. The winemaker tells the story.

Rain, Fog, River combine in Sauternes. 
The winemaker tells the story.

Jean-Christophe Barbe is a professor of oenology at the University of Bordeaux, and his specialist area is noble rot, and that was the focus of Tuesday’s Liberty Wines Masterclass via Zoom. He has plenty of first hand experience with this, as he and his family own the 14 hectare estate, Château Laville, in Sauternes. The Château Laville Sauternes is a frequent recipient of awards including a Gold at the latest Decanter World Wine Awards – showing Jean Christophe not only has a huge knowledge on the subject of botrytis, he knows how to work with it to create outstanding wines.

When I last visited Sauternes, I actually bought the 2001 vintage of Chateau Laville in the village. That was back in 2014. Things have moved on since then of course. Jean-Christophe reckoned that the best recent vintages were those of 2009 and 2011 with 2010 well up there as well and said his personal favourites are the ’09 and the ’16. “We’ve been lucky, we’ve had lots of good ones over the past 30 years.”

He has been managing the estate for the past 20 years, following five years of working there with his family. Sauternes, as I found out on my visit, is quite a small area, “just five villages” according to Jean-Christophe. The River Ciron is an important factor in the development of botrytis or Noble Rot in Laville (while for other growers, the Garonne is closer). Sauternes is in a slight depression and the river and the regular fog bring “a lot of wetness” and that “fog is powerful for botrytis”. 

The Ciron

But nature needs a helping hand. All that dampness could lead to mould that would just rot the grapes. Jean-Christophe explained: “The wine grower must be clear on the evolution of botrytis as grey mould is not botrytis.” To get the desired Noble Rot, good aeration is required and that can be obtained through judicious pruning and the vines must be properly managed to “have well positioned bunches”.

And then, in the later stages, lots of patience is required. At a certain point, the fruit is ripe enough to make a normal still wine but it will take up to 30 days beyond that and sometimes more before the harvest is completed. And there’s the danger that botrytis could go too far in the riper bunches. Once enough grapes are ready the picking can begin, all by hand, grape by grape, not bunch by bunch (though that may happen in the later stages). A few passes (painstaking picking, berry by berry) are required as grapes will have different maturities. Up to five different pickings are possible.

The 0 is the point (day) at which you'd harvest to make normal white wine. The grapes in the hand show the evolution of
botrytis. The bunch on the right is well advanced.

Where did the love for sweet wine come from? Jean Christophe first told us a “story” that it was born centuries ago when the owner of Chateau d'Yquem went off on a long trip to Russia and gave orders that no wine should be made until he returned. That return was delayed and when he got back to the chateau, the rot was everywhere. But being winemakers, they decided to harvest and were so surprised with the beautiful wine that they decided to wait for the rot every year after that.

“That story is too nice,” laughed Jean-Christophe and then he related the “historical fact”. In the late 17th century, the vineyards were run by tenants and the landlords took their rent in wine and, what’s more, the owner choose the barrels himself. "There is a lot of information on this in writing.”

The bunches here show different stages of botrytis and therefore the need for multiple pickings

After the revolution, there was concerted action by the tenants and that year the harvest was late. The landlords were impressed with the quality of the wine and the price they got for it and they now wished to have wine with a lot of sugar as there was a market for it. That market was between Bordeaux and the Dutch who were indeed looking for sweet wines. So while local conditions made the wine, the market (the Dutch may already have had a taste for sweet wine) allowed it flourish.

Later in the Q&A, Jean-Christophe was asked what did he think of countries who were inoculating the mould to make sweet wines.

“They are perfectly managing their situation, in those areas, they are also able (allowed) to irrigate. But we rely on nature, the river, the fog, the rain."

Another answer revealed that that the industry has problems closer to home. Jean-Christophe: "In France, there has been a drop of 15% in dessert wine consumption as compared to a drop of 30% in overall wine consumption. Often, it is the older drinkers who drink it though the younger people are coming back to it. Some estates are turning to making white wine but at the moment not a very high volume, more a diversification.”

Shot of my 2001 taken in Sauternes in 2014

* My 2001 Laville was one of the very good ones. Here’s what Jancis Robinson had to say about it. “The rain that spoilt the reds encouraged botrytis to such an extent that this is a truly magnificent long-term vintage…..”. So I got lucky when I called to the Maison Du Sauternes in the village and bought four bottles, though just one of the 2001. The helpful man there helped me wade through the catalogue that had many Sauternes on offer, from twelve euro to twelve hundred!

* For a really detailed account of Sauternes, please click here. 

Links to Previous masterclasses in this current series, all recent:

Biodynamic winemaking with Austria's Fred Loimer

With Giovanni Manetti in Fontodi Chianti Classico

In the Swartland with Charles and Charl. The Spice Route and Fairview.

Chilean Wine Maestro Aurelio Montes

The Day The Vines Died in Alto Piemonte with Luca de Marchi

Matt Thompson's Blank Canvas in Marlborough

Portuguese Grape Varieties with Antonio Braga

Australian Chardonnay with Shaw+Smith

A masterclass from Tuscany by wine-maker Paolo De Marchi

Rebooting Armenia's Ancient Winemaking with Zoric Gharabian

Barolo 2016 with Franco Massolino and Giuseppe Vajra

Biodynamic Californian Winemaker Ted Lemon of Littorai

Charles Heidsieck is "freshened up" by Cyril Brun

Cellar Master Émilien Boutillat Details Climate Change Challenges.

Jane Eyre. Winemaker in Burgundy and Australia.

Nino Pieropan fondly remembered in son Andrea’s Masterclass

Behind the scenes at El Bulli with the men behind the versatile wins of Gallina de Piel

Les Frères Bréchet busy making wine in Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas

All The Sun In The World But Pedro Parra Wants Cloud

Blacks Of Kinsale Laying Down Whiskey, and more on wine, beer and spirits in Cheers #8

Single Malt or Single Pot Still?

Whats the difference

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