Chateau de Mayragues

Back in Easter I visited the Tarn region (Gaillac to be precise) of France with my wife and two good friends – we rented a farmhouse among vineyards and spent most of our time eating, drinking and playing this awesome card game called Pit. That and making sure we took in some Pro D2 rugby – Albi v Racing Metro. I got to see the legend that is Andrew Mehrtens play which pretty much made my holiday.

Anyway Gaillac is a pretty traditional wine region (the first of the Gauls apparently), using primarily local grapes such as Loin de l’Oeil, Mauzac, Ondenc as well as Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadet for the whites; and Duras Fer Servadou, Braucol with Syrah, Cab Franc, Gamay and others for the reds. Taking into account the relatively large size of the appellation and the wide selection of permitted grapes there were many different styles, and many different qualities. What struck me though generally was the health – or lack of it – in the vineyards. With no leaves on the vines it was easy to see the problems with soil erosion due to heavy handed use of chemicals.

By complete accident one day we happened on Chateau de Mayragues, the only certified biodynamic producer in the region. Aside from being a stunning Chateau, the owner Alan Geddes is a scottish born astro-physicist who has become a huge supporter of biodynamics. He believed that a lot of Steiner’s principles of biodynamics could be explained through astrophysics and an understanding of the relationship between the earth and space. Heavy stuff but ultimately fascinating. His wines were superb! The show stopper for me was his white 2005 Clos des Mages Blanc. It had been open, with no vacuum seal, for four days and still tasted fresh. I didn’t, and still can’t, understand how that was.

To come full circle I brought a bottle of it home and had it with some Sea Bass, crushed caeser potatoes and rocket salad. Beautiful. I was so wrapped up in discussing biodynamics at the time however that I didn’t write any notes. I think it cost around €9 at the cellar?

2005 Chateau de Mayragues, Clos des Mages Blanc

Out of the frying pan, into my glass

 

Sampling: Alpamanta Estate

Alpamanta Malbec

 

Last year I was contacted by Andrej Razumovsky of Alpamanta, a brand new estate in Mendoza, Argentina. Now I get a lot of emails and phone calls looking for business, but what interested me in his estate was that they were practising biodynamic viticulture. There are quite a few organic vineyards in Argentina due to a positive combo of altitude/rainfall/vine health that often renders chemicals un-necessary. 

The estate was only founded in 2005, and the wines are being made by the world-renowned Alvaro Espinoza. There’s lots of info anyway on their beautifully produced website. I received samples (admittedly quite a while ago) so last week I was able to taste the Alpamanta Estate 2007 Malbec and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, and I’ve got to say that the wines were excellent. The Malbec was the winner for me,  just take a look at my glowing notes:

“…soft and luscious mouthfeel; deep plummy flavours are balanced by a refreshing natural acidity, and ripe fruit tannins are supported with judicious oaking which weighs in on a long finish that’s packed full of ripe blackberry and mulberry flavours. Excellent balance throughout, and very enjoyable.”

This is really good juice, so hopefully we’ll see it available in Ireland some time soon (*wink wink)

 

Perlage

Perlage is a French term for the bubbles or bubbliness (?) of a sparkling wine. It’s also the name of an organic and biodynamic producer of Prosecco based in Valdobbiadene, the top region for production of same. I met with the charming Erika Gallon at VinItaly this year and had a chance to taste through the wines. They happen to be the first and only biodynamic producer of Prosecco, and have just gone one further with the release of their new cru Prosecco, Animae. This remarkable feat of winemaking is biodynamic but also produced without adding sulfites. I’m pretty much sure this is the only sparkling wine in production that has been succesfully vinified without the addition of sulfites. You can get more info here.

Perlage were certified organic in 1981, and biodynamic in 2005. All the wines are good, but most impressive is their ‘Tiziano’ white – which is made from an obscure grape called Incrocio Manzoni – and their Proseccos Col di Manza Extra Dry (pictured right) and Canah Brut.

Watch this space…

 

Ummm, this is new.

So why do a blog – who cares what I think?

The quick answer is that more than likely nobody cares, and that this blog might be visited solely by people wanting to sell me cheap medicine/incredible stocks/enlargement supplements and a supportive wife. See I used to do a printed newsletter, but effectively couldn’t find the time each month to collate our news, design, execute, print and post. This is slightly easier, and it’s certainly slightly cooler.

So first off here’s what I was drinking this weekend, one of my own and two from a producer not currently available in Ireland:

• 2006 The Four Graces, Pinot Blanc (Oregon, USA)
• 2006 Summerland, Paradise Road Vineyard Viognier (California, USA)
• 2005 Summerland, Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot Noir (California, USA)

The Four Graces Pinot Blanc (pictured right) is absolutely one of my favourite white wines – from beautiful packaging to biodynamic viticulture this wine insists that I put my wine anorak on when I drink it. Unashamedly off-dry, this one’s flavour profile just keeps on shifting as you drink. The one caveat to its enjoyment is if I am in the vicinity, as I can’t help myself rabbiting on about it. It is awesome stuff.

Summerland are an interesting winery based in the Central Coast of California, and make a huge array of different wines. They have an entry level range and a single vineyard range, and it was from this upper tier that the two wines above came from. I’ve been convinced for years that Santa Rita Hills is a region that can produce serious Pinot Noir, and everything I’ve tasted from there – Demetria, Sanford, Fiddlehead – is very, very good. This Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot was no different: complex, stylish and quite subtle. Santa Rita Hills is a great little bookmark for top quality Pinot Noir, but expect to pay for it. Most of the wineries above retail their Pinots in the states for $40-60 a bottle.