When Melissa finally cut her path through the crowd at the Return to Terroir tasting, I was spitting the Bionic Frog. (Cayuse Vineyards, Cristophe Baron's wine.)
Extending her glass for a taste she whispered to me, “I forgot the address. I was walking down 18th street and then all of the sudden there were all these cute men with scruffy beards, smoking. Aha. Of course. It's here!"
Something about these 'natural' or 'real' wine events bring out the scruff in boys—in a good way. This past February in the Loire, at the energized Chteau d'Angers wine tasting, the boy-watching terrific; all motorcycles and flava patches, profound cheekbones and lingering eye contact. It was so extraordinary that a woman (me?) has to think seriously about a permanent move. However, this isn’t the chick-lit version of return to terroir/flirting, this is about yesterday’s tasting. And it was pretty exciting.
Nicolas Joly, the charismatic (in a good way) big daddy of the biodynamic wine movement, started this road show three years ago. The momentum is quickly building. The place was packed with wine tasters. Competition to get wine glasses filled and Bogart the spit buckets was fierce. It seemed fiercest at the most unlikely tables such as Domaine Andr et Mireille Tissot’s table. I mean, since when did Jura and Arbois get this sexy? And is savingin the new sauvignon? Is Vin Jaune (if you don’t know it, Google it) the new chardonnay? I’ve had sommelier’s tell me savignin is not only the new sauvignon blanc BUT it was sauvignon blanc (actually happened at Aquavit last year!).
Tissot makes a terrific traminer as well. Not at all lychee and viscous but limpid and delicately spicy.
The sweetest revelations, however, were the surprises.
Welcome to the enlightened age of the Italians. There were eight producers and not one of them had hired the Cotarella brothers or Michel Rolland as consultant. Amongst the top for me were:
* Cascina Degli Ulivi. Stefano always makes great wine in Gavi. (http://www.louisdressner.com/Ulivi/). He's a gentle man who makes passionate wines from his cortese to barbera.
*Domaine Borc Dodon made the best Refosco I ever did taste. All carnation and velvet.
*Poggio Trevvalle makes a Morellino di Scansano that is not all barriqued up. Fresh forest like sangiovese. I loved Umberto’s story about how they started to use yeast but realized it messed up the flavors of their wine, so the industrial stuff went out, the yeast from grapeskin was in.
*San Guisseppe. Winemaker Stella Di Compalto’s Rosso di Montalcinos were a bit over ripe and lacked structure but still the wine had beautiful flaws, like a face with a heroic nose. I flagged as one to watch.
The name Castagna is Italian, but the country the wine comes from is Australia. Hold on to your seats. For those who know I've the reputation (thanks to an editor at Robb Report who once was heard saying-"That Alice, she doesn't like anything."), I found an Australian I can drink, and even find interesting! These might even be in the book. (Yes, the same book that is starting to cause me nightsweats.). Julian Castagna calls his shiraz, syrah! Bless his heart. And it tasted like syrah via Australia (not that I know what Australia tastes like) but it had a touch of that mint and verbena and candied bacon.
In terms of Biodynamics, it must have been a fruit day for both boys and wine. And that is in a good way.
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