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

 

All good in suburbia

At VinItaly last year  I was introduced to a jovial German fella by Peter Zemmer, our producer from the Alto Adige. This guy is a pretty serious German wine broker and it turned out that he had often holidayed in Schull and was a big fan of hurling. Honestly I’m constantly amazed at how in the oddest of places I am reminded of my nationality. I was in a remote forest park in Honduras in January and went white water rafting – the instructor was from Derry.

Anyway I explained to him that German wines – despite their consistently remarkable quality – were too much of a niche for me when you considered all my other currently stocked niches: USA, cru Prosecco, biodynamic wines etc. I love a niche as much as the next guy, but sometimes I do have to put on my business hat…

So about a month later I received samples from Weingut Hofmann in the Rheinhessen! I really don’t like producers incurring the cost of shipping samples without my request as it’s a hugely expensive process, and always advise potential suppliers against it until I have checked out the other elements and made sure that their product could potentially fit into our portfolio. Naturally I informed my contact that I was not actively looking for German wines, and that the samples would be joining the far end of the que.

Well I got around to one or two over the last while, and on Wednesday night I decided to crack open this bottle as it was a rare sunny evening on the suburban decking and we were cooking Sea Bream with a sweet pepper salsa:

2007 Hofmann Riesling Hundertgulden Trocken

Hofmann relaxed on the deck, soaking up the summer vibes

Simply put it was awesome. A hugely complex wine with wonderfully layered crab apple, honey, quince, slate and satsuma flavours. Phenomenal length, concentration, balance and restraint. One of the best whites I’ve had all year.

By the end of my glass my eyebrows were cramping from spending so much time raised.

Summer has been relatively kind to us so far, and here’s to hoping we get a few more days where we can toast the sun, dine al fresco and be fortunate enough to have some great juice on hand. It’s just a pity that there isn’t more of a market for German wines here.

 

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.