Tuesday, January 6, 2009
What better start to the new year than with some truly impressive wines? These lovelies are not budget-friendly, but relative to the same amount spent dining out, this is a great value on a wine that is a memory waiting to happen.
The Winemakers: Yves and Mathilde Gangloff
I don't know whether Yves' long, curly tresses inspired Jim Clendenen's (owner/Winemaker at California's Au Bon Climat) aging rock star look, or whether it was the other way round. Wherever the truth is found, they both define the look of the hip, flowing-haired winemaker.
Yves youthful appearance hides his many years of experience. In 1980 he began (as so many great producers do) working in the vineyards of esteemed Côte-Rôtie producer Delas, where he gained intimate familiarity with the vineyards and micro-climates of the area. As money and opportunity allowed, he pieced together his own patchwork quilt of vineyards.
A native of Alsace, which is no stranger to great white wines, Gangloff was unexpectedly thrust into the producer's role in 1987, when his négociant suddenly backed out just before harvest. What a serendipity this was for the wine world.
The Gangloffs are the very definition of boutique producers (or micro-domaine, as the French call it), with little more than 5 acres of vineyards planted to grapes (1.7 in Condrieu and 2.4 in Cote Rotie). Their wines are well worth the hunt!
The Three Wines
Wine #1 - 2006 Condrieu (Viognier). $79.75
Happily, this beautifully aromatic white wine grape has become increasingly popular over the last 15 years or so. Sadly, good examples are still relatively scarce, as new plantings have lagged demand. It can vary in style, from lightly perfumy to highly alcoholic, but is always identifiable through its nose of peach-and-apricot floating on top of waves of honeysuckle.
France's Rhone Valley (and specifically Condrieu) is often thought to be the best spot in the world for Viognier. In Condrieu, the maximum yield is a low 30 hl/ha, assuring the rich character for which their wines are known, and the high prices they command as a result. Gangloff vinifies his Condrieu using the method common to the area:
- Oak fermentation. Typically, about one-third of the barrels are new, the remaining 2/3 consisting of 1-3-year-old barrels.
- Sur lie Aging. After fermentation the wines are left to age on the spent yeast cells for one year.
- Bâtonnage. A labor-intensive stirring of the lees while in the barrel. This further softens the wine prior to bottling.
The wine is made in a lush, bold style, with fig and papaya fruit flavors. To that I would add one of the more interesting descriptors I've heard for Viognier - graham cracker - in addition to the classic peach/apricot and floral notes that are markers of this varietal - though here they are heavier, richer, more honied.
Every great cellar needs a case of this wine. Sadly, you'll have to build it slowly, as I have to limit this wine to just one bottle per customer.
Wine #2: Gangloff 2005 Cote Rotie, La Barbarine, $75
2005 was an outstanding year for lovers of Rhone wines, as it was in many winemaking regions. I don't know if the dry conditions meet the classic definition of a drought, but summer rainfall in the Northern Rhone has been well below average since 2002, a condition that can benefit well-established vines in certain soils.
The summer was long and hot, the only relief coming in the form of the Mistral wind, which cooled at night and provided sufficient diurnal variation to preserve the day's concentrated ripeness with the night's adequate acidity. You will notice a powerful structure, but it is so well balanced as to be most pleasant.
The grapes were completely destemmed prior to fermentation in stainless steel tank. Natural yeasts and very little SO2 were used for fermentation before the wine was matured for 23 months in oak barriques - Yves and Mathilde employed some new barrels amidst others that were 2 - 4 years old (sorry, I don't know the breakdown in percentage) , as is his custom. Likewise, the wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined in September 2007.
Making the most of a beautiful vintage, Gangloff has crafted a memorable wine. This is his Syrah from his younger vines, ranging in age from 5 -15 years, and with yields of 40 ha/hl. The granite slopes of his vineyard produce a classic Cote Rotie - an earthy minerality, and a roasted coffee bean aroma, smokey “roasted slope” (the translation of Cote Rotie) and sweet cassis aromas. This wine's tannins and refreshing acidity give it weight which also adds to its gravitas as well as its long finish. Will age nicely for years to come.
This wine reflects the Gangloff's vineayrd plantings - 92% Syrah, 8 % Viognier - a traditional blend for Cote Rotie. The addition of Viognier is perceptible only in that it amplifies the aromas of the wine, helping the more reluctant Syrah aromas to leap from your glass.
Only 467 cases produced. Only one bottle per customer. Sorry.
Wine #3: Gangloff 2005 Cote Rotie, La Serienne Noire, $97
I often disagree with the Wine Spectator, and this is no exception. The only reason I can think of for a score of only 92 points for this wine is that they are suffering over at the Spectator offices, with rating points being in shorter supply than an optimistic economist.
This is a beautiful wine that will turn any ocassion into a great memory. Look for black cherries and red berries that surf down rolling waves of mineral, dark chocolate and black olive. Despite the old world origins of this wine, it is quite fruit forward, sporting surprisingly fine-grained tannins for a wine of this youthfulness. A very dark and powerful wine. A telltale sense of its own terroir lurks within, making it unique among its Cote Rotie peers.
For this wine, the Gangloff's traditionally use 100% Syrah, choosing to employ more new oak to soften the tannic grip and add some of the sweetness lent by the floral Viognier in La Barbarine.
The grapes were completely destemmed prior to fermentation in stainless steel tank. Natural yeasts and very little SO2 were used for fermentation before the wine was matured for 23 months in oak barriques - for their premier crus, Yves and Mathilde employ 30% - 50% new barrels, with the remainder 2 - 4 years old. Likewise, the wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined as is their custom.
Only 290 cases made. Very limited availability. Sorry, only one bottle per customer.
Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
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