Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  6/26/2009 (link)

  (Chateau HAUT GARRIGUE Merlot) Crystals Dear Friends, We've become known for the introduction of wine and related principles before they become the accepted norm. Today, is certainly one of those days. With that, let me introduce you to Sensitive Crystallization - a summer of 1969 approach to all things love and vine... Sean and Caroline Feely are pushing the envelop like no one else. In their little corner of Saussignac, they believe the future of wine (and harmonic balance in life) has been realized and those that make their wine a personal habit, believe good health and good fortune are a result. My own personal experience is that the make darn good Bordeaux-style Bergerac - the holistic nutshell I will leave to those more educated on the subject than I. If nothing else, the story is worth a Garagiste moment and the price makes this an easy wine to support. As far as everyday, serious Bordeaux is concerned, one could do a lot worse than Chateau Haut Garrigue - in fact, they represent a tier of producers on an elevated level that have wellbeing in the mind and pocketbook as the first priority. While technically outside the bounds of Bordeaux proper (the Feely's estate resides in Bergerac), this Merlot dominated wine would give many on the Right Bank a distinct run for their money. Unabashed and unapologetic, this is biodynamic Merlot with a proper Bordelaise reserve that is unlike anything else in Aquitaine. To fully understand the care and dedication Caroline and Sean live and breath on a daily basis, one must ponder the effects of Sensitive Crystallization on wine and its ability to predict the perfect convergence of terroir, time and human intervention. The "perfect" wine and proper time to bottle can all be predicted (according to the Feely way) with an organic study of a wine's crystal spectrum. For more on this subject, please see: http://www.hautgarrigue.com/label.html If you would like to taste a wine firsthand that is grown, vinified and bottled according to the principles of Sensitive Crystallization, the Feely's grand vin, the 2006 Haut-Garrigue will make a believer out of many of us. It is wonderfully fresh with spice-laden red fruit and a distinct feminine grip that is sifted rather than coarse. Full of mineral depth and a real presence that you can actually taste (versus something manipulated or created) this is quality that far outweighs its price range. With a production of only 750-980 cases per year, this is considered boutique by Bordeaux/Bergerac standards. It is not just a drink-now proposition either, it will last for a number of years as well. Where many in the classified growth business would find the Feelys off their rocker, it is no secret that some of their best clients are the owners and winemakers of the same storied and classified Chateau (that would be quick to judge their methods in public but are devoted followers in private). Off their rocker? I don't think so. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as a peek into another world that has a chance to define a new way of wine production. This parcel is directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance: 2006 Chateau Haut-Garrigue (Merlot/Bergerac) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Bord8112