Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  10/15/2007 (link)

  (Muscat Sec (d) de Blanes) (d.) de Blanes Dear Friends, What does the strange abbreviation above stand for? That is the symbol that Marie Borie places upon the liquid nectar she makes known simply as “Muscat sec”. This wine is so memorable aromatically that it’s almost a crime of passion to actually take a sip - the nose alone needs nothing further. For this price, this wine represents what it’s all about from a white wine discovery standpoint and it is a beverage all of you should try at least once. It is one of the Roussillon’s bargain revelations and another reason why this southern French outpost holds so many possibilities with high altitude wine of terroir. I was first introduced to this wine in Paris as dry Muscat makes its claim to be all the rage but not many restaurants carry the wine as few producers continue to make it (they make far more money if they make top quality sweet wine from the same grapes). From petit grain destined for the sweet Muscat, Marie makes a small amount of dry Muscat (sec) that will really make a mountain out of a molehill with its bargain price but piercing and pure presence. Dry Muscat has become very hard to find in the south of France and Marie aims to keep this traditional wine alive with one of the region’s finest efforts - the 2006 is just that. Aromas of bright, bitter apples, quince, kumquat and clove this wine is akin aromatically to a fine Moscato di Asti, but instead of a sweet, delicate bead on the palate, you get a dry wine of substance with terrific natural acids, low alcohol (12.5+/-%) and length to burn - think of this wine as the melted equivalent of a fresh candy cane of Muscat but it is a more serious wine than that may seem. This Muscat is extremely rare - only a few hundred cases are made. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for educational and experimental value as well as 2006 (d.) de Blanes Muscat Sec (Pazilla la Riviere) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA SOFR9510