Unchartered Territory
Unchartered Territory - Cult Wines from the Loire
Last Tuesday I ventured into uncharted territory. I found myself in some mystical city called NYC, way down at the bottom of Broadway. What led me there was a whiff of wines that I had never tasted before. It was a special morning for many reasons - not least it was my first outing to the city since BC. It was my first restaurant lunch in the city since BC. And it was the first time I tasted a succession of wines that I had only heard of, in passing.
The occasion was a 9.00AM 'glasses up' tasting in the offices of one of my favorite importers, Grand Cru Selections.
How do you begin at 9.00 to taste a series of wines that blow your mind? To start, you don't have coffee, then you get on a motorbike, travel 30 miles through a myriad of senseless idiots who have only just woken up, both literally, and to the concept of driving. You park, you cross Broadway and realize that in NYC there are no traffic laws! But I calmed myself down with a glass of Domaine Danjou-Banessy 'Supernova'. And I continued into a state of harmonious bliss surrounded by mouth-feels of texture, taste and ethereal sensation. It was like a liquid Yoga session!
What I tasted were the following wines. They are all in the store today. And they all represent some of the most exciting new wines to adorn my shelves in a very long time. Pick and choose at your leisure. There is no 'Care Box' for these wines.
Domaine Danjou-Bannesy.
If only I knew when I studied in Perpignan University that the village of Espira de L'Egly (minutes from Parpignan), was home to this winery...but sadly, that was in the 70's and at that stage the winery was only making sweet Rivesaltes. Today, and for the last 20 years, the estate has been managed by two dynamic and experimental brothers, Benoît and Sébastian. The vineyards are comprised of black schist, silica, limestone and clay. The brothers use that soil to make contrasting wines in a completely organic, beyond bio-dynamic, and natural way. Their level of intervention is practically zero and for anyone who wants to taste real, beautiful, natural wine, try these. They are as natural as you can get. Not raw and disgusting. Natural and beautiful.
'Coste'. Côtes Catalanes Blanc. $36. 100% Maccabeu.
Farmed biodynamically; whole cluster fermentation in Burgundy pièces, aged 12-14 months in huge barrel.
Fresh, tantalizing, like a fairy dancing through the undergrowth. Textural, delicious. Lime zest, lots of minerality, touch of spearmint. Knocks your socks off at 9.00AM
'Supernova' $30. One of the most exciting wines I have tasted in a long time. I am not a fan of this 'unnatural' wine surge that seems to have affected ZZ Top lookalikes. The vast majority of 'orange' wines that I have tried have reminded me of unhygienic public swimming baths. This wine however, is beautiful. It's a golden orange color that wafts from the glass with intriguing aromas of Jasmine and Daffodil. Fabulous.
Roboul. Côtes Catalanes Rouge $32. A blend of Mouvèdre and Grenache from 30+ year old vines grown on heavy heavy clay and limestone soils. This is all about the minerality of 'place'. Super smooth, engulfs the entire mouth with crushed red fruit, touch of citrus peel, smoked meat. As they say in France 'Super bon'.
Les Myrs Rouge $68. This is serious. Carignan from 90 year old vines, aged in fûts for 20 months (very large, neutral oak barrels). The soil is all slate. A seriously balanced blend of black cherry, touch of black licorice, baking spice. This is an amazing red.
Chateau de Bonnezeaux.
Almost overnight, Château De Bonnezeaux became one of the most exciting producers in the Loire. The Château had not produced a single bottle of wine in over 30 years, but in 2012, these once abandoned vineyards began their slow road to recovery, led by winemaker Guyonne Saclier de la Bâtie. After much work, the first release was the 2016 vintage.
Guyonne apprenticed under the legendary Mark Angeli at Ferme de Sansonniere. Angeli pioneered the use of biodynamic farming in the region and was one of the first winemakers to eschew traditional wine laws and produce high-quality dry wine where only sweet winemaking was permitted. Following in Angeli’s footsteps, Bâtie implemented biodynamic farming at Château de Bonnezeaux and began producing dry wines of extraordinary quality. She is now one of the few 'Cult' wine makers in the Loire.
La Montagne 2019. $60. The fact that Chenin Blanc is my favorite grape is simply confirmed by drinking these white wines from Bonnezeaux. The grapes come from 40+ year old vines in the Coteaux du Lyon region. Minimal intervention allows the purity of the flavors of Chenin to shine. Globs of almond cream, Nougat, dried jasmine leaf - what Guyonne can coax out of a grape is incredulous.
Frimas 2019. $55. Think of biting into a Golden Delicious apple, skin and all. Think of that same sensation making a dry apple cider. Now take away the carbonation. You are left with the most exciting Chenin to breach your lips that you have ever tasted. It's no wonder that in just a few short years this 'upstart' wine-maker is the cult sensation that she is. Spectacular.
Bruno Ciofi. Beret et Compagnie - Ze Bulle Zerio Pointe. $29.
There is a link between Chateau de Bonnezeaux and Ciofi. Both winemakers worked, and were taught, by the legendary Mark Angeli at Ferme de la Sansonnière. Bruno began in Alsace, met Nicolas Joly's (Sancerre fame) daughter, Virginie, moved to the Loire to be closer to her and began working with Angeli. In 2017 he started his own, somewhat experimental, winery Beret et Compagnie. Along the way he met Philippe Gourdon , then retired, who was the man behind Ze Bulle. A wine-making method of creating a sparkling rosé by reintroducing captured carbon gas given off as a by-product of fermentation. He asked Ciofi to 'adopt' his child and Ze Bulle Zero Pointe was created. Customer's may remember a wine I used to sell that sadly is no longer imported - 'Fritz' - it had the striped black and white label. This is Fritz on steroids, plus. I took a bottle home last night and demolished it - quickly and easily!