High Acid, Priestess, Patti, pH, Flor and Natural Wine

 That is not Stuart George, it is Anthony and yes, it is  YES!

Lately the debate about natural has become contentious. Bashing vin nature has become something of a sport. You'd think that natural was the Morris (dance) of the wine world.

Take a recent article penned for an Australian magazine, written by a UK writer, named Stuart George.  His framework was born in my kitchen. His  wit turns on a dime, filled with piss and vinegar. After all, a palate assault can be incredible fodder for a good spin around the keyboard. 

But like any good lampoon, (wait, is it?)  this article would have been more powerful if it had reliable reportage instead of being eligible for the  James Frey award. All joking aside, there were a few holes in the reality and authority. Okay, some facts were more important than others.

Such as, I  never saw Goodfellas, I have no idea what he was talking about. (not important)

This was not a tasting but a dinner I cooked. (not important). On impulse I invited Stuart, who had been a complete stranger to me. But he was in town, was alone and free and three friends were coming over. 

I greeted my guests with Cedric Bouchard Inflorescence Blanc de Noirs "La Parcelle" [2003] 

After that Stuart reports I served up about a dozen wines. He hated four of them so much it might have been a dozen, but in reality  there were five (5). (Actually, quasi-important.) And they were........

+Cedric Bouchard  

+Mendall YES (Macabeu. Our guest hated this, poison, we loved it. Hard core natural. Skin contact. Freshness with nut and peach. Flor)

+Montbourgeau Savignin '04:  (not natural. plenty of sulfur. Flor wine.  Very juicy and delicate with hazel nut and silver water. Poor Stuart, the next time no flor, no vin jaune, no sherry! )

+Petit Domaine de Gimios, rouge de causse '08 St. Jean  de Minervois (languedoc) this Biodynamic wine is a blend of grapes, carignan, grenache, cinsault + Alicante +. Delicate in texture. Pretty fresh. Touch of brett and smoked, plump olive, a little twiggy.

+Olivier Cousin VV cabernet franc  2006 (no sulfur. Everyone loved this wine, which is Biodynamic. Roasted deep sweet red pepper. Carnation pollen. Great acidity and depth.) 

Now I draw attention to this part of the story.  

The priestess’s and the congregation’s wines were invariably oxidised and had acidity like a banshee’s wail, more suggestive of unripe grapes than cool climate viticulture. Natural as they were, I took no pleasure in drinking them. I like freshness and balance, not decay and a kick in the face. I think of these wines as I do of Vegemite and Aussie Rules – I like the idea more than the reality. 

Alice and her followers believe emphatically that natural wine = good wine, or, more poetically, truth is beauty. But, on the basis of what we tasted together that night in NYC, this is a fallacy. Just because a wine has used cultured yeasts or sulphur doesn’t mean that it’s bad or that it doesn’t speak the truth. But going natural can be a good thing and one wine in particular remains my benchmark for this genre. 

Well, the last time I looked I was a writer not a high priestess, but if the HP job pays, I might consider.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, I don't have followers. Those at the dinner happened to be friends. (important.) One of them, Anthony, calls me the Patti Smith of wine. I have no idea what that means, but I rather prefer it. 

 What's more, there is good wine and bad wine--even in the vin naturel world.  I'm not happy when people write their fantasies about me as fact. (important.)

 
Poor Stuart!

He was in pain. And in the moment, I felt like a dominatrix.  He tried, poor thing, he tried to like the whites, as I stood over him with my black boots and cat o' nine tails.  Good sport. But he winced  as I would if I drank, let's say Colgin or Château Valandraud. Ah, he indicates that the wines profile this points to under-ripe grapes? I can't even say this is a fabrication because it is his belief, but dear man, this was not at all a problem. 

But what he didn't remember, (probably in the midst of all that pain), is that the whites were both oxidized, and raised under that layer of yeast referred to as flor.  That as their point. That was their style and it had nothing to do with natural or not, and certainly nothing to do with under ripe grapes. And let's just say that Langeudoc and the Penedes aren't actually cool-climates.  (And this note is ultra-important.) 

One of the wines, the Jura, the Montbourgeau in fact, was not natural (ultra-important) but from a great producer in the Jura and was made under flor, under a layer of yeast, as is the custom. The Yes wine was made in the custom of the  Penede. There was higher perceived acidity because of the skin contact.

Think Sherry, Stuart.

A wine which matures under this magic layer of yeast develops aromas and tastes from the aldehydes, leather tanning, some nail polish, that sort of thing. The Jurassic wine was more elegant. The Penedes more forceful.

Now as far as the reds; the Giminois is a natural wine, probably whole cluster, probably carbonic. It is  a hate it or leave it. A wine from the Languedoc with freshness. One of my guests,  friend (not follower, except on Twitter) Anthony Wilson, brought it. He's been hot on that wine for a while. Expressive juice. At least for four of us. 

However Stuart who was about to fall down from fatal wounds, about to ask for a glass of milk, loved one wine. Shockers, it was a hyper-natural wine, no sulfur either, it was the Olivier Cousin.

Loved it. Yes, he loved it. At least we thought so. Now I hear that he liked it. Whichever. (And this is ultra-important as well.)

I had to wrestle the bottle away from him. He was thirsty for something good after all of those bad wines. When in his article, he touted the virtues of the Torbreck "natural" wine, he forgot that he had also fallen for the Cousin with its velvet texture and perfect balance of tannin, structure, fruit and acid.  And what's more, the wine had been shipped from France to New York without sulfur and had spent two years in my no-temperature controlled apartment. To steal a few words from Stuart's own mouth, "take note; a good drink."

Now, I'm not sure why Stuart had to change some of the facts for the piece, maybe artistic license and all that, but I just couldn't let that lovely dinner, where we all had such a great time, be the drum for schtick.

I just couldn't let the style of oxidized and flor wines become the benchmark for natural. Not could I let an opinion of 'natural' be formed on a tasting of three wines.  I just couldn't let him forget his love for Olivier Cousin, even though it was the second natural wine to turn his fair head.

But if he believes a project in Australia, made as a lark from a company high on spoof is his benchmark, all I can say is the next time I'm drinking with him, I'm going to hog the wine list. 

Comments

[Thomas Glasgow]

They love to pick on you Alice.

[Alicefeiring]

Why is that?

[Jasonadams]

Bashing Natural Wine, denying evolution, bashing NPR and "The Liberal Media" - all attention is good attention right?

[Thomas Glasgow]

Not sure, they might feel threatened.

[BelgianGourmand]

Fear their safe environment comes down ... that's all.
Keep banging the walls, Alice. Someone has to breach them. If the Huns won't, we will!

[Amy Atwood]

Kudos for your patience & perseverance Alice. This writer sounds like most people when they first encounter wines (natural or not) that are outside their comfort zone. They have no flavor context for this new experience and some recoil in shock, retreating to what they know and understand.
Goes back to my Wonderbread vs fresh Sourdough baguette analogy. If you grow up eating the former, you think that bread crusts are supposed to be soft and sweet. Otherwise, it must be bad bread.
Cheers, Amy

[Alicefeiring]

Amy. Wait! Me patient? Ha.

[Carloslcamacho]

I can't understand how anyone could not like the wines you drank that night, especially a "wine expert". I have tasted and loved the Yes!!!, I actually have a bottle that I will drink tonight, but not the other beauties. I follow your wonderful insights, actually it was after reading your book that I started in the natural wine journey, and I am not coming back. Thanks for your work.

[Alicefeiring]

That is really kind of you, the wines were delicious, though I can absolutely see the whites being perplexing to the uninitiated. I am so happy that my book had a good effect on your drinking life and enjoyment, that's the best compliment of all.

[R2Dad]

What did you eat with these wines, and is it possible those combinations had a negative impact on his perception of the wines?

[Alicefeiring]

Doubt it. Soup which went well with the oxidation, roast vegetable of the starch variety, cheeses. A very, very peasant meal for peasant wnes.

[Joe Dougherty]

I'd admit that I didn't like the first Jura white that Robert Callahan sold me back in the day. Had no context, and it was a shock to the system. I think it takes a lot of time to appreciate them, and given the prices I'm OK if the entire universe doesn't love them.