2005 La Grapperie Coteaux du Loir L’enchanteresse

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  7/17/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (L enchanteresse LA GRAPPERIE) Enchanted Dear Friends, If you are into Frank Cornelissen, Cedric Bouchard, Francois Blanchard or any of our other pioneers, this offer is for you. As far as the Loire and all things underground are concerned, Renaud Guettier of La Grapperie is playing with a stacked deck. He has produced a new super-cuvee based on the 2005 Adonis bottling especially for wine geeks (and extreme gastronomes) that will be discussed in more than a few circles. When I use the term "super cuvee" I do not mean more extract and alcohol, I mean even more eccentricity and magnetism. Instead of re-hashing the La Grapperie story, I've reprinted my original offer for the La Grapperie "Adonis" below (which is sold out) to give you an idea of what we're dealing with here. I would advise scrolling down, reading that first, and then coming back to this offer - I will insert a "pause" here to allow you time to scroll down... Now that you've read about the 2005 Adonis, today's offer is for the big sister, the L'enchanteresse. I tasted the 2005 L'enchanteresse for the first time yesterday and I'm still thinking about it this afternoon - it opened my mind the way Sgt. Pepper forced the cerebral cortex of the musical world to expand beyond its 1967 horizons. In a nutshell, for one winemaker to produce two red wines with this level of ingenuity and intrigue (the 2005 Adonis and 2005 L'enchanteresse - with Pineau d'Aunis no less) is not only revolutionary but needs to be proclaimed from the hilltops. Please allow me to nudge you with as much gentle force as I can. While compatriots, the two wines have distinct differences. Where the Adonis is youthful, in-your-face and full of aromatic insanity, the L'enchanteresse is more regal, powerful and serious although its core is still centered around an aromatic free-for-all and the deep-toned, black colored, liquid cement and pepper-dusted palate that fans of the Adonis will relish. (A presence normally associated with Cabernet Franc - light-bodied Pineau d'Aunis this isn't). The grapes for the L'enchanteresse are hand-picked from the very oldest vines on the property (some are pre-phyloxera in a 1,9h parcel simply referred to as "vignes centenaire" and older) - they only produce a few bunches per plant. Instead of 12-15 months in 228L "vessels" (like the Adonis) the L'enchanteresse spends 24-30 months laying in wait - all without any topping, additions, subtractions or added sulfur of any kind. The result is a production level that is almost too small to commercially offer (1160 bottles in 2005, approximately 96 cases) but I will take all that is presented (10-15 cases for the US - the rest is divvied up in 5 case lots for Germany, Switzerland and Belgium - the remaining 40-50 cases for restaurants in France). The 2005 L'enchanteresse is unlike anything else being produced in the Loire or in France - it is almost an Ausone-like take on Chenin Noir with the Wizard of Oz character that La Grapperie has become synonymous with. It is a wine to study as much as it is to enjoy. As far as biodynamic and progressive entrants are concerned, La Grapperie is among the most cutting edge in France and I advise any bonafide wine pundit or blogger to be on the lookout for these wines before establishing a position of wholesale knowledge of the Loire. Not everyone will enjoy the wines of La Grapperie but they are a reference standard that needs to be tasted (at least once) to insure your palate is centered circa 2009 and not 2004 when Puzelat's version of Pineau d'Aunis was the US reference. This is not a proclamation on the validity of Puzelat (most of you know I adore Thierry's wine) it is simply a statement from where I sit as of July 17th, 2009. In my mind, the world keeps moving forward and the quest for wine knowledge should continue to evolve with it. With that said, La Grapperie is now among the most influential and intriguing French underground experiments of the moment - all of the wines are well worth your experience and experimentation and they are far more enjoyable to actually drink than many of the pioneer wines we offer (unlike most of the entrants from someone like Frank Cornelissen, you can actually drink L'enchanteresse and fall in love with it simply from a vinous perspective). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all the long-winded reasons above and below: 2005 La Grapperie L'enchanteresse Vin Rouge VDT EXTREMELY LIMITED Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Loire8030 ************************ (original offer for the Adonis, spring 2009) La Grapperie Dear Friends, After considering all of my tasting notes (scratched on everything from pieces of newspaper to a sugar packet swiped in Lyon) and re-tasting my top choices, I believe this is the most individual wine I've tasted this year. It will not appeal to everyone but it is the most electric and profound wine I tasted in France during my three month stay this winter/spring and I tasted a lot of top-tier wine. Taking everything into account (price/value/eccentricity/pioneering spirit/quality), this is my early entry for wine of the year. From 100% old-vine Chenin Noir (Pineau d'Aunis) grown in the northern realm of the Loire Valley, this wine has more in common with Cote Rotie than Puzelat. Certainly the 2005 vintage has a lot to do with its intensity but that is more the norm than an exception. What you have to realize is that this wine is not trying to be Pineau d'Aunis or what most associate with the grape - light body and translucent presence. The Adonis is completely the opposite: massive, brooding/black as night, soaring and stratospheric akin to Aunis version of the Cote Blonde. If Didier Dagueneau changed the perception of Pouilly Fume forever than Renaud Guettier has a chance to do the same for red wine in the Coteaux du Loire. There are moments in time when someone comes along and has an opportunity to define an era or define something lasting to their craft - if they seize the moment the road bends forever - if they miss the chance, the moment is lost and history remains the same - this is one of those moments. Mr. Guettier is pushing the envelope to the extreme - he is making some of the finest natural/organic wines in Europe and most that come in contact with them realize they are cut from a different deck than the norm. The vineyards of La Grapperie (Guettier's winery) are among the finest in the entire Loire and, while miniscule in land mass, the attention to each plant is painfully extreme. Separated into 14-16 sub-plots (spread over less than 4 hectares), this is a winery with a mission. While La Grapperie is breaking new ground, it is not to say that 99% of the other "great" wine in the Loire is inferior to what Guettier is producing, quite the contrary - they are just different. La Grapperie is the new kid on the block that old-timers (and coolios) in the Loire can't quite figure out. The winery does not subscribe to the new oxidative trend, they do not follow any formula, they could care less about Breton or any of the other successful producers of Cabernet Franc - in fact, they could care less about Cabernet Franc (the great grape of the Loire) - this is Chenin Noir territory and La Grapperie is out to prove the results from this grape can and will compete with the best of Europe. The 2005 Adonis lets you know from the first whiff you are in the presence of something new. The aromatics are soaring and unlike anything you've ever come in contact with (when I use the term "soaring", I do not do so for hyperbole's sake). Massive black pepper, road tar, stone, forest floor and fruit slap you in the face in the coldest of ways - not Icelandic cold, which is barely cold at all - I mean Greenland cold. This wine is like licking cryogenically frozen fruit slathered cement that has been left in the early morning sunshine to slowly thaw and melt before your eyes. Devoid of any wood or oak influence, you get the freshest, darkest and improbable glass of Loire red wine that is like staring into the nether regions of a different growing district altogether. Layered, complex and very long, this wine routinely barks back at you and lets you know that it is in control, not you - you are merely along for the entertaining and wild ride it takes you on - a rollercoaster of sorts that is difficult to explain in words. From 120-140 year old vines, the 2005 Adonis requires at least 3-4 hours open in a decanter to open but it is so much fun from the first pull of the cork. Unlike many of the more influential wine of the moment in the Loire, this wine actually is drinkable by a wide sector of the public - it is not off-putting or sherried like some of the trendiest examples that almost dare you to try them - this wine is the opposite - it is so perfumed and engaging, it wishes to entice all that will come its way. An educational and world-class beverage that is a reference point wine for a grape mostly held in obscurity. In sum, you cannot look at Pineau d'Aunis the same way after trying the 2005 Adonis - it changes the game in a most flattering and effusive way. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the source with perfect provenance (we cannot get a second shipment of this wine - he only produced 1200 bottles): 2005 La Grapperie "Adonis" (Coteaux du Loir) - SOLD OUT