2006 Jerome Calmes Carignan Vin de Pays des Côteaux de Peyriac Les Terres Rouges

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  10/26/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (JEROME CALMES Terres Rouge Carignan) Calmes Dear Friends, Way up high, over the rolling hills of the Peyriac, sits the bastion of Jerome Calmes and his progressive winery near Felines in the South of France. If you are looking for highly extracted, voluptuous wine from the Minervois, you will surely be disappointed with the discovery of Calmes. On the other hand, if you are searching for JP Brun in southern clothing, Jerome Calmes ranks as one of France's most inspired newcomers. What happens when a young vintner sets out to make Pommard in Minervois (from Carignan instead of Pinot Noir)? You will find out. In this backwater region of France, the norm is to allow the scorching sun to dictate your terms. Most of the wine from this area has a high impact/heady style that satisfies a robust meal or back-yard barbeque. What makes Calmes so different is his ability (talent?) to work with the same gnarled, thick skinned varietals but to vinify them in a completely new way - the way Brun or Lafarge would. Instead of pairing his wine with a Sloppy Joe, Calmes has far grander aspirations such as delicate fish or roasted turkey (hint, hint). In a sense, Jerome Calmes has more in common with Burgundy (or possibly the Northern Rhone) than Minervois with results that skip on stones rather than clod or stomp underfoot. With alcohol levels that border on impossibly low for this region (12.0-13.0% instead of 13.5-15.5% as is the norm), all of his wine has an elegant high-altitude style that stands out in a blind tasting. While the alcohol is low, make no mistake, this is Carignan with its old-vine flavor spectrum intact but also a cerebral lightness of being that makes this everyday wine a delightful breath of fresh air. Nothing is added or taken away from the Terres Rouge to achieve this style - he does not strip the wine or remove anything in the winemaking. What you see is what you get which signals that others could take this light-handed approach if they chose to do so. The 2008 Les Terres Rouges is a fragrant, purple-colored Carignan with a sifted, stony and drinkable medium weight presence that is a deft accompaniment to your evening meal - not the meal itself as in many parts of the South. While many examples from Minervois can be massive and cloying, the Terres Rouge stands tall with minerality and finesse despite a certain structure that would not be out of place in the Cote de Brouilly. With an energetic and lively presence, excellent acidity for this area and an overall delicate complexity that one associates more with the intellectual style of Jungualamene than the Peyriac, Jerome Calmes has served notice that the South of France can not only compete with the new breed but can define it as well. HIGHLY RECOMMEDED as a window into the "new" South - one that takes inspiration from not only Burgundy but from the avant garde in St. Joseph as well. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY with perfect provenance - VERY HARD TO FIND outside of Seattle: 2006 Jerome Calmes "Les Terres Rouges" Coteaux de Peyriac (Carignan) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA SOFR5713