Growers Champagnes- Ode to the Recoltant!

Hey Everyone,

We are currently experiencing an explosive boom in the beer industry and thousands of small scale, independent microbreweries are cropping up everywhere in the UK from St. Austell's to St. Andrews, making for a very exciting time to be a beer drinker. When was the last time we saw such a revolutionary expansion in the wine world? When Australia broke onto the scene? When the Californians won the 1976 Paris Tasting? Believe it or not, a revolution is now upon us. All we have to do is look beyond the labels of some of the most resonant names in the wine world. Thereby we may be shocked by the potential excitement being generated by what may be the world's most familiar yet beguiling wine region, if we only let it enthral us as much as it should.

Several hours northwest of Paris, situated in and around the towns of Épernay, Bouzy, Dizy and Cumières, there is the historic and magnificent region of Champagne. With grand, palatial mansions and some of the most beautiful vineyard vistas you could imagine, Champagne is quite possibly the beating heart of the wine world. A stroll down the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, is like a review of the red carpet of wine. Perrier-Jouet, Moet & Chandon, Pol Roger and so many others escort you to the centre of town and in their houses stand like behemoths facing one another, each at the centre of an intricate web of growers and wine producers.

But it is beyond these massive companies and their branding that one looks for the next great source of excitement in wine. Those lower down on the ladder. Those farmers and their personal wineries which make up most of Champagne's vineyard space are the ones pushing the limits of Champagne consumption beyond the traditional occasions. These so-called 'Grower's Champagnes' are very much akin to the Microbrewery in the beer world. They are largely independent, they pay close attention to detail and their wines are often excellent value. They worry less about their image and more about the product, which must speak for itself in lieu of mass-market advertising.

When you pay for a bottle of Joseph Perrier champagne, which may be about twenty-eight pounds, you are paying for the professionally designed boxes, the research team which maps out product placement, the payment for placement and so on. With such an army of research, management and executive individuals, very little comes down to the actual wine. Compare that to Guy de Chassey, an independent grower situated on 9 hectares near the town of Louvois. Made entirely of Premier Cru and Grand Cru grapes, the basic Champagne is comparable in quality to Pol Roger and Bollinger, and without a doubt superior to many priced well above it's modest price tag of 20 pounds! It is fresh on the nose with plenty of bright fruit, hints, but no more of creamy richness, but lots of cherry and gooseberry, showing great quality from the Pinot Noir used in the blend. That's another thing; Guy de Chassey uses 75% Pinot Noir, generally a more expensive grape, and yet here it is in a high proportion, with great execution and at a lower price. Anyone tasting Guy de Chassey will quickly realise the quality and that branding is non-essential for a great bottle of wine.

The best part of these small growers, is that they are just about endless. An enthusiastic traveller to the region would require years to visit each independent grower and try the wines they have to offer. You could quite feasibly go through a different Champagne each week for over a decade and not taste the same bottle twice. They offer value that makes their enjoyment a relatively affordable experience, so you don't need to wait for an occasion like a birthday or New Year to open a great bottle of Champagne. Now, the great bottle of Champagne can be a regular occasion in itself; one of life's small but regular pleasures. After all, that is how the Champenois live. Just as we might spend 20 pounds on a lovely bottle of wine to treat ourselves and our friends or family to a nice experience, the residents of Champagne will do so with their local wine. Now that more and more growers are finding their way onto the shelves of our wine shops and online merchants, it is becoming more and more possible to enjoy a beautiful bottle of Champagne without spending more than 20 pounds (or a bit more for a really cracking bottle!) for a priceless experience.

Of the small proportion of growers represented on the UK market, some of them can be presented as an alternative to a more famous and more expensive house. For example, Le Mesnil shares vineyards with the formidable Krug, Veuve Fourny also bears similarities to the same. Pierre Peters reminds me of Pol Roger and Chassey has something of Bollinger's power behind it. Another point is that the independent growers of Champagne still offer great value compared with comparable wines from English producers and until we see such good value low cost English bubbly on the market, they are a great value.

Sure, there is something to be said for the fact that they can be hard to find consistently. One week it may be tough to get a hold of the Chassey or the Le Mesnil, but then the drinker can go for something different. When it comes to great wine, why not seek out new experiences? Change is the spice of life and just as craft beer drinkers seek out beers they've never had, perhaps Champagne drinkers should do the same and try as many different producers as they can rather than sticking to one for life. I know many wine drinkers who have placed themselves in a camp and stayed there. Whether you're a Bollinger guy who always liked James Bond and anything James Bond likes, or Ace of Spades because you'll do whatever Jay-Z says, you may actually find yourself gaining more pleasure in the drinking experience if you ditch the big names and spring for the independents. Its like the difference between Tesco and the local butcher. Which one will care more about your enjoyment?

Champagne is a great wine. While there are good, bad and middling Champagnes out there, the style and the region is undoubtedly one of the world's finest, with a strong claim to the top spot. It is not often that an established and reliable institution comes along and presents the world with a whole new bag of tricks and says, "Oh by the way, I also have all this fun stuff!" so I think we can call ourselves lucky to have a bevy of novel Champagnes to look forward to.

One last thing; these growers are not new. Some are centuries old, and their heritage goes back well beyond the currently fashionable big brands. They have been growing the grapes for ages while the Négociants have been taking the credit. There are two little letters on each bottle of Champagne that can tell you whether the producer bought in grapes and ready-made wine or grew their own grapes and made their own stuff. 'RM' for Recoltant Manipulant and 'NM' for Négociant Manipulant. Time to give the Récoltant his credit where credit is due!

Much Love,

G

 

Posted with Blogsy

Classic Merlot! Thelema Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2009

Hey Everyone,

Today's wine to try is, in my opinion, an excellent bottle of one of my favourite grapes. Despite the bad press given to Merlot, I believe that it can produce some of the most delightful wines on the market. What is best about Merlot is that it does not have to be expensive to be good, but there are a few examples of world class Merlot that deserve a tip of the hat.

Just a bit of background, Merlot is the principal grape in some of the most important wines in the world, and when vinified to it's full potential, it produces the tannin and acidity needed for long ageing. Important wineries, including Le Pin, Cheval Blanc (where it is heavily blended with Cabernet Franc) and Petrus make the finest examples of Merlot and the best vintages can fetch astronomical prices.

Tonight's bottle is a Merlot from South Africa, in particular from the Stellenbosch region which produces a great proportion of South Africa's best wines. As one of my earlier posts on South Africa's wine industry makes clear, I firmly believe that this remote wine producing nation is very much an old soul in the new world. This Merlot, with its characteristics of the terroir and tannin, is very much an old world style of wine.

The wine is deep in colour with an opaque colouring. Three years on from vintage, you would expect a new world Merlot to fade a little bit, but this one is really quite inky in colour. The glass, as I swirl, is coated with thick, slow running legs, hinting at the high alcohol levels inherent in the wine.

The nose, after a bit of breathing is full of all kinds of wonderful things essential to a good Merlot. There is black berry, rasberry, hints of brambe and cassis, all proped up by rich roasted coffee and dark chocolate. There is a chalky element coming through which I believe hints at the soil of the vineyards, indicating that this wine was made with the intention that it reflect it's sense of place in the fashion of an old world wine maker.

The palate is rich and velvety with few flaws. The tannins are big and pleasing, with a chunkiness that I desire from a full-bodied wine. There are bitter elements reminiscent of the feeling left in the mouth after swallowing some 85% dark chocolate. If anything, the mineral could be more pronounced and the tannin a bit more forward. Basically, I feel that this wine has the markings of a very skilled winemaker who may be holding back for his more premium labels.

I would be very interested to try a more special Thelema bottling. I would be looking for a more bold style, with bigger tannins, more forward acidity, a greater emphasis on the terroir and overall a more Bordelais style. I feel that is what Thelema wants to produce.

All in all, I loved today's wine. I think that, as a daily drinking wine, it is a cracking bottle and for the price of just over fifteen pounds, it is a great value bottle. For those looking for a silky, chocolatey merlot executed with an esteem for class and the goal of producing an elegant Merlot, this is the bottle!

Much Love,

G

Posted with Blogsy