Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  6/21/2010 (link)

  (CONTADINO 7 Frank Cornelissen) UPDATE: Greed 2009 is now officially what I refer to as an “auction vintage” in Bordeaux and the top-tier wines have become nothing more than a commodity to be traded back and forth (that may never be uncorked). What a shame. You may as well put water in the bottles? Why even bother with a growing season? I used to have a simple formula: When a bottle of wine on 1st tranche is more than an ounce of gold, we have a problem. I was certain that this year, the wine would be lower (as gold has been trading above $1000/ounce) - I was wrong. With the release of 2009 La Mission and 2009 Lafite-Rothschild this morning, I'm not sure whether to throw up or applaud a group of owners for their stone-faced greed? If a person can look themselves in the mirror and feel no sense of shame for a decadent (disgusting?) display of capitalism (especially during this economy) then I'm not sure what to say? $800-900 for La Mission Haut Brion on 1st tranche? $1000-1100 for Lafite on 1st Tranche? The last time I checked, you could still purchase 1989 Haut Brion for $750-850 and it is one of the greatest wines ever produced in Bordeaux. 2009 L’Evangile for $250 now looks like a “bargain” and $80 for 2009 Pontet Canet and 2009 Leoville Poyferre may be the steal of the vintage (although $65-$70 for Calon-Segur is just as worthy). In addition, how can one vintage (2008) be so inexpensive and the next so outrageous? I cannot stress enough how good the 2008 wines are but I'm almost hesitant to give support to the same greed that opens their arms one minute and kicks you in the face the next? What other industry could survive in this manner? What if their brand was so tarnished, the entrance of a bottle of Lafite at a special event was met with “no thanks” by the collector circuit? Maybe I should open a bottle of 2009 Le Pre de la Lande for the owners of all five First Growths to demonstrate that good is still alive and well in their region? On second thought, maybe not – they’ll buy the property and convince everyone the same wine is worth $100. Don’t get me wrong, this is not crying over spilled milk, but the top chateau owners have short memories and a negative PR campaign of this significance should have a lasting affect. Will It? The only factor that has a chance to curb this predicament is for Parker to take a year or two off. Bob, if you are reading this, it’s in no way your fault – you are simply a messenger and you “call ‘em as you see ‘em” but...we’ll see what happens to prices if you decide to take an extended vacation for a few years? Parker has certainly earned the right to affect the market in a downward sense as well increase the fervor every spring. What if Bob simply ignored the 2010 and 2011 campaigns and made no mention of them (regardless of quality) on his blog or in the WA? Stranger things have happened... Not only is the current 2009 pricing ludicrous, but a business model that searches for the 1-2 buyers that can afford its goods each year (in this case, it’s China et al) and then switches like the wind to the buyer that has the most funds to burn the next year is not only foolhardy but, at some point, there are no other buyers available? If the Chateau owners are attempting to set themselves up for smart business, with another 100 years of financial success ahead, they have a funny way of showing it. At some point in the cycle, each of the spend thrift flavor-of-the month nations they court will go through a recession and they will be forced to come calling to the nations they burned in a previous campaign. Will we say no? In addition, I used to think our own domestic “cult” wines were bad but it’s hard to imagine an industry that shuns their own people more than the classified growths of Bordeaux – do you think the French collectors are lining up for $1200 Lafite? They are snickering at those that do and hoping their taxes will be off-set by the windfall. If nothing else, there are so many worthy, well-priced small producers in Bordeaux that a purchase of the 2009 First Growths and many of the Super Seconds (like La Mission) just feels unclean and wrong. Don’t let the poison of a few trickle down and spoil the goodwill established by the Pre de la Lande’s of the world. As far as I'm concerned, if you were going to spend $12,000-13,000 on a 1st tranche case of 2009 Lafite this morning, give your money to charity instead – the drink will be that much sweeter. - Jon Rimmerman ********************************* 2009 Frank Cornelissen Dear Friends, ...and now for a producer who’s motivation is about as distant from any semblance of profit as it gets. I just returned from a complete tasting (over 2 days) of Frank Cornelissen’s new releases and his audience is about to get a whole lot larger. Whether he’s the King of Etna or the Grand Master of the New Movement, Frank Cornelissen has opened the doors for hundreds, if not thousands, of young, passionate vintners around the world and his dedication to a hyper-natural and unique style of winemaking is worth far more of your time and effort than the nonsense covered in the UPDATE above. If you are new to this producer, he is part man, part mountain goat - an iconic winemaker, perched atop an active volcano (Mt Etna in Sicily) with stunning, old-vine, high-altitude material to work with (from indigenous varietals). Here, in the upper reaches of the mountain, you are just as likely to find snow, sun or steam gurgling from under foot. On Etna, the earth is literally alive and that aspect is on full display in his wines (if the image of being buried alive by molten lava is unappealing to you, a more civilized retirement location may be better suited to your needs). In the midst of the volcanic steam, Frank’s fruit basket of choice contains grapes such as Grecanico Dorato, Coda di Volpe, Caricante and Nerello Mascalese – a most unusual assortment. The winemaking is as close as you can get to what existed in the 17th and 18th century and the wines live and breathe just as we do. Polarizing, complicated, inspirational and memorable, the wine of Frank Cornelissen is a picture of a very specific time and place – each bottle is the essence of a single terroir and the wine itself cannot be duplicated by the hand of man or in a lab. His portfolio defines the term “it is what it is” and that is, well, what it is and nothing more. Today, we have two of Frank’s 2009 wines and I urge all of you to sample at least one bottle of each – you may love them or you may be thoroughly puzzled, but you will gain the reference that all oenophiles’ seek regardless of their breadth of experience. With Frank Cornelissen, you gain knowledge: 2009 Frank Cornelissen Contadino 7 (rosso) - Look out below. If your idea of a good time is running head-first into a wall of granite while clutching an armful of 2009-quality ancient red varietals, this may be your new house wine (with a nice dose of effervescence of course). Like drinking rose-colored Bing cherry dust swirling with volcanic rock, Txacoli, fresh pipe tobacco, bee pollen, rosemary sap, sandpaper, orange rind, mountain spring water and a handful of crumbled cardamom pods for good measure, this is the most profound Contadino yet produced and the alcohol is only 12.5-13.0%. The finish lingers for minutes and a new nuance emerges with every hour of oxygen contact. Light in body (there’s really no body at all?) and it isn’t really “wine” in the modern sense, but it is a Medieval badge of honor worn by the coolest of the cool. Those that grace your presence with a rare bottle of Contadino 7 are indeed FWB’s. Frank calls this red wine “Fragrant and profound” and that about sums it up. 2009 Frank Cornelissen MunJebel 6 Bianco - This is by far the finest white wine ever made by Frank and it is a complete departure from previous vintages. Where previous years were very full in extractive and glycerols (not to mention alcohol), the 2009 is a decided move toward a stony, lithe and low-alcohol structure that is disarming the first time you taste it – it is so complex, descriptors hang on the tongue and the cerebral cortex for a moment longer than the norm (if for no other reason than grasping at something that can’t really be described at all). This is the first vintage from a new high-elevation vineyard of Grecanico Dorato (bianco), picked grape by grape and lightly pressed with little more than gravity to aid his hands - the delicate and lightly effervescent nature of the wine is without peers. From the first whiff, a swirling amalgam of orange blossom and jasmine floats to the nose in a striking display that can only be described as floral summersaults. In the glass, the MunJebel 6 is more tangerine colored than white and a taster I was with over the weekend identified a beautiful layer of what he called “peach skins resting on a bed of Cuba’s finest fresh tobacco”. Like the Contadino, this wine is only 12.5-13.0% alcohol (in opposition to the nearly 15% of previous years). In addition to Grecanico Dorato, it also contains small amounts of Cataratto, Caricante and Coda di Volpe and the sum of the whole is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted. Along with the above tangerine, orange, etc, there are notes of Champagne, Chablis, Vodopivic, Gravner and Francois Blanchard but the wine is also noble and full of an intrinsic self-awareness that has it rise above any and all contenders. To be sure, there are no other vinous peers in this group and whether “good” or “bad” a comparison is a bit moot. With the MunJebel 6, Frank did not set out to stand alone but the end result is evidence that he indeed does just that. A wine that surprisingly pairs very well with the evening meal, especially light white meats (although, like the Contadino above, it’s not really wine but an entirely new vinous creation). The wine of Frank Cornelissen is very hard to find in the US (only a few dozen cases of each makes its way to the US) – compare at $30-50+ for the above wines, even up to $60 for the MunJebel (you can look up previous vintages). Please give us your maximum number of each and we will allocate accordingly To order either of the above: niki@garagistewine.com This parcel is set to depart from Etna – it will arrive in the summer (please check OARS for local pick up after Aug 1st). It will ship during the Fall shipping season. Out of state orders will be held for free under ideal storage conditions (56 degrees/70%humidity) until shipping is possible. Locals may pick up at their leisure. For current local pick up and arrival/ship information, please see your OARS link below (at the bottom of this offer) - don’t know how to access your OARS? Simply click the link and see your account. You can also paste the link into your browser. If you are having trouble with your link or your account, please contact: support@garagistewine.com NO SALES TO RETAILERS OR WHOLESALERS Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy8981 Italy8982 Click here to view the status of your orders in O.A.R.S.