Community Tasting Note
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coremill wrote: 91 points
February 11, 2017 - Has that distinctive natural wine aromatic freshness that seems to be a combo of carbonic + low SO2, but unlike many natural wines it's totally clean and there's no brett or cidery oxidation or yeastiness. Instead it shows powerful aromatics of tart dark berries and herbal/foresty nuance. The fruit on the palate is lithe, juicy, and silky, but with impressive concentration despite the minimal extract, and even more notably it has lots of savory complexity, with noticeable meatiness and rocky minerality. Remarkable wine that reminds me much more of a top cru Beaujolais from someone like Foillard than it does of any Pinot I've had. Excellent QPR at $30. I will have to seek out more from this producer.
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3 Comments
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IB71 commented:
3/21/17, 10:50 PM - "Remarkable wine that reminds me much more of a top cru Beaujolais from someone like Foillard than it does of any Pinot I've had. "
That sums up my main issue with many so-called "natural" wines: instead of expressing terroir and typicity of grape variety, these wines seem to share features (brett, high VA) related to low or no additions of SO2 in the winery. -
coremill commented:
3/22/17, 7:13 AM - Yes, that's an issue, but a different sort of problem. Flawed wines all taste similarly and don't reflect terroir because they taste like the flaws, and low SO2 wines are more likely to be flawed. Separately, a lot of so-called natural wines taste somewhat similar to each other even when not flawed because they're made using similar vinification techniques, e.g. carbonic maceration.
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IB71 commented:
3/22/17, 8:42 AM - "Separately, a lot of so-called natural wines taste somewhat similar to each other even when not flawed because they're made using similar vinification techniques, e.g. carbonic maceration."
Good point - I agree. I admit not to have tasted extremely many low SO2 wines, but the frequency of brett+highVA has been so pronounced, that I - perhaps unfairly - have come to see it as a deliberate choice of style.
Because, in reality, the question of flawless vs flawness is not always an easy question to answer: I very recently "enjoyed" a glass of 2014 Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py. To most CT-users this wine, which from my glass showed both distinct brett and nail varnish remover notes, is of very good to outstanding quality. Others, myself incuded, find it good enough, but slightly too funky to really excite. Others again will instinctively write off any wine showing any sign of brett and/or VA in the glass.