Hi All
Marvellous
Minervois
Pierre Cros, an
ex rugby player, will have been disappointed by the 6 Nations
result. Leaving professional rugby in 1985, he started a second
career as a wine maker. One could draw comparisons; a wine
cannot be produced by a single individual, any more than a rugby
match can be won by the inspiration of a single player. To be
successful, wine producers, like rugby players, have to make
substantial efforts, be rigorous and apply rules, but also show
individual genius at key moments – and the result of a match,
like the quality of a wine, can go either way on a detail. And
of course both wine and rugby are subject to a set of
complicated rules and conventions! Whatever, we thought his
2008 Minervois Traditional
(£7.45) (see
Red Wine Page-Click Here)was a match winner.
Situated in Badens (about 15 minutes from Carcassonne),
Cros grows the
traditional Languedoc varieties of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre
and Carignan as well as the more exotic old varieties of Aramon,
Alicante, and Picquepoul Noir. He has been building and steadily
improving his vineyard since 1985. This wine is a mix of
Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with spicy fruit and a firm
mineral structure. On the palate it is savoury with good terroir
character. An excellent introduction to Minervois at its best.
Well, would you want to argue with the
guy?
Producer
profile
Jean Marc Lafont
is the vigneron at Domaine Bel Air, which overlooks Beaujeu from
top of the Ardières valley. Wine has been made here for nearly
170 years, and Annick and Jean
Marc took over the estate in 1985. Traditional practices (any
kind of mechanisation is difficult in the vineyards as the
land on which the vines are
grown slopes at up to 38
degrees…) produce highly expressive wines that are very typical
of the best that the Gamay grape can produce. His attention to
detail defines the quality of the wines – green harvesting, hand
picking, and a long fermentation all help to produce stunning
quality, aided by low yields and traditional vinification which
enhance the concentration and structure. We are perhaps all more
immune in recent years to “vintages of the century” but 2009 was
certainly an outstanding year for Beaujolais; and even better
than 2005 which itself produced some marvellous wines. John
spent a few days in Beaujolais in July and the Lafont wines were
definitely among the best wines from the region tasted in 2010.
The 2009 Regnie (£9.95) and the 2009 St Amour (£10.95)
(see Red Wine
Page-Click Here)we have imported are definitely nouveau Beaujolais, not
Beaujolais Nouveau!
Award
winners
We
were delighted to import a particular wine from Clos Bagatelle
(near St Chinian in the Languedoc) and then to find it the
recipient of a prestigious award from Decanter magazine. Clos
Bagatelle “Donnadieu” AOC St Chinian 2009 (£9.75)
(see Red Wine
Page-Click Here)
was the
winner of the “Best red under a tenner” category in the Decanter
awards 2010. Decanter commented, “It’s hard to overstate what an
achievement it is to emerge victorious in this category, one
saturated by countless Syrahs…hats off to Clos Bagatelle”. If
you’re looking for food matches, the back label observes that
wild boar (shades of Asterix) are frequent visitors to the
vineyard and eat far too many of the grapes. It suggests turning
the tables and drinking the wine with wild boar casserole!
Whilst now
wishing we’d bought about 4 times the quantity, we’ve nobly
resisted the urge to raise the price (it is the best red under a
tenner, after all) and have a small quantity left. As ever, when
it’s gone, it’s gone.
Partisan
about the artisan
“Why should
we buy from an independent when there’s so much choice at the
supermarket?” is a question we often get asked. I guess part of
the answer is found in some of the wines above. If you are
selling 360 million bottles of wine a year, like the UK’s
leading supermarket, the chance that you have the time or
inclination to seek out small artisanal wine producers is small.
You need producers who can make wine in bulk, to meet the
average palate. By contrast, our preference is for the small,
the oddbeat, the interesting – the wines you won’t find in your
local supermarket. It helps that we know a little about the
wines as well. As Jane MacQuitty has written in “The Times”, “My
advice for the discerning, adventurous wine drinker is to start
a relationship now with two or three independent wine
merchants…..supermarkets with their constraints of limited,
overheated and untended wine aisles, just cannot compete.”
Cool wines
at hot prices
However, for
every rule, there’s always an exception. About three months ago we were
sent some samples of Pico Mas Alto Sauvignon Blanc
(see White Wine
Page-Click Here)
and
Pico Mas Alto Merlot,
(see Red Wine
Page-Click Here)
both from Chile.
As the wine writer Jamie Goode observes,
“It's not that there's anything
wrong with samples; rather, the problem is that you end up
focusing on a skewed population of wines—those that people are
most anxious to flog." The low price also left us with
correspondingly low expectations. But what a surprise! Both
wines were brilliant; well made, full of fruit, distinctive and
worth twice the price. Which, it turns out, isn’t so surprising
at all; the wines are overstocks from one of Chile’s flagship
producers – a name which you’ll almost certainly know and which
you’ll find at a supermarket near you retailing for about £8.49.
I won’t say more except to let you
know that we are selling both bottles for £5.25.
Budget and
wine duty
Meanwhile
this week of course, George Osborne decided to increase duty
further on wine at rates significantly above inflation, by
around 15p per bottle on still and about 21p on sparkling wine.
This does mean of course that on a £3.99 bottle of wine £1.84 of
this price is duty and 80p is VAT: by the time you add the costs
of transport, the bottle, foil, label and cork, a small profit
for the wine grower and seller you’re not paying very much for
the actual liquid – and as many of these costs (including the
packaging costs and of course duty) are fixed, the argument for
trading up has never been stronger. We’ll have to start
reflecting the increased duty rate as we bring in new wine, but
the good news is that we’ll maintain our prices for the time
being on existing stock. If you want pre budget prices, now is a
good time to buy!
April/May 2011 Newsletter
