Your Guide to Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wine
The Organic Wine Journal caught up with Dr. Vino himself, Tyler Colman, at Return to Terroir in New York. Find out what he thinks about organic and biodynamic wine, the future of online wine criticism and how he got his famous moniker.
Follow Tyler Colman’s writings at www.drvino.com.
Greg with Dominque Derain shortly before the rooster calls began.
There was a moment during the Jenny & Francois tasting and dinner last night that I had an epiphany about natural wine makers; they are all certifiably crazy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m surrounded by crazy people in daily life, but after hearing from Christian Binner that he tastes everything he sprays on his crops and then watching Dominique Derain howl like a rooster, I realized I was in very special company. The other half of this epiphany, however, was that because they are such free spirited individuals, the wines they craft are expressions of their personalities and are a tribute to the pioneering spirit of making wines naturally. After thanking Jenny Lefcourt for inviting us to the tasting, and saying a quick hello to the producers we had previously interviewed, I dove right into the tasting.
The first standout for me was Christian Binner and his wines from Alsace. In particular, the Cremant d’Alsace was an excellent way to cleanse my palette and get into the tasting. This bubbly is made from 70% Riesling, 10% Pinot Gris (to give it it’s “bite” according to Christian) and 20% Auxerrois. It has a wonderfully aromatic nose with very little yeasty or toasty notes that you typically get from Cremant when made in other regions in France. In fact, I got a hit of raisins or dried fruit that made me think of other Pinot Gris or Tokay I’ve had recently from Alsace. In the mouth it is extremely lean and incredibly light, but with very fine bubbles and a racy minerality that is present, but not overpowering. This wine just tasted clean, fresh and alive.
According to Christian, the fine bubbles comes from the fact it spends 3 years on the lees (natural yeast that dies off during fermentation). What I found interesting though is that unlike conventional producers, Binner does not use sugar to cause a secondary fermentation which gives the wine it’s bubbles (also known as the “Methode Champenoise”). What he uses, instead, is the free run grape juice of the following vintage which still has it’s natural sugar had has not begun the fermentation process. When I asked which grapes he uses for the juice, he simply took a deep breath and said “Well…it really depends on how we feel when we pick the grapes.” Clearly, it’s a an arduous and logistically difficult task, but my guess is that Christian relies on a little bit of intuition, a little bit of timing and a whole lot of luck. Whatever the combination, this Cremant is wonderful and as interesting and alive as the man who makes it.
Setting out in search of something a bit meatier, I came across Alain Rochard of Le Loup Blanc in the the Languedoc region of southern France. Alain is a interesting guy who splits his time between Montreal (where he owns Bistro Continental) and Minervois where he owns Le Loup Blanc. I didn’t even need to make it past the first wine to know that what I was drinking was a wine right up my alley. The wine, Le Regal du Loup, had a great nose of black fruits and spice and was dark and brooding in the glass with hints of something lighter thrown in the mix. It reminded me of a southern Rhone wine (specifically Chateauneuf du Pape) and when I said this to Alain, he got extremely excited, took my hand and said “Thank you! Those are some of my favorite wines and to be compared to them is an honor” When I tasted it, there was a wonderful balance to this wine with just the right amount of acid, tannin, fruit and kick (yes…”kick” is a technical term). It is a blend of 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, and 20% Syrah (hence the “kick”) Alain called this wine the “perfect table wine” and said it would be great with “some roasted duck with a berry sauce” Personally, a burger and fries would have done just fine for me.
As the tasting continued, the food began to arrive and somewhere, one of the wine makers was caught drinking a Budweiser while another imitated a pig, I knew that Jenny and Francois had assembled a portfolio of more than just some wonderful wine. They had assembled a group of crazy French citizens with a passion for making some crazy good wine.
I went to the Return to Terroir event at the Metropolitan Pavillion and it was a blast. I did more schmoozing than tasting but that is the way of the business these days. Anybody who tells you their business is doing great is lying. I have never heard so many retailers and restaurant people saying how well they are doing. Denial is a river in Egypt last time I checked, not the state of the wine business in New York. It was good to see the usual suspects and some not so usual suspects and catch up. It also sucks to have everybody and their mother ask me what I am doing. I am working on it…….soon. But any-hoo on to some brief impressions of some wines that made impressions on me.
I do not like Austrian wine that much but after I taste Nikolaihof wines I wonder if I am wrong in that assessment, or if I am drinking the wrong Austrian wines or I just need to drink organic, biodynamic and natural wines that are Austrian. If the third one is true then I am doing just fine by having only Nikolaihof in my cellar and lavishing praise on them. The ’93 GV Vinothek was a stunner. Rich, airy, calm, zen-like balance and transcendence are the order of business for this wine. In old wooden foudre for fifteen years and released not a moment too soon. The best Vinothek I have had. The two ’08 Federspeils I had were lovely. Crisp and extremely mineral with ravishing textures and stunning depth. Even the couple of Smaragd’s I had were airy and balanced with the delicacy of a ballerina. Wonderful wines. There was also a 2004 Steiner Hund Reserve. This wine had an interesting story in that the vineyard this comes from is three minutes from the Wachau, so Wachau could not be on the label, nor could Smaragd, so you have the omnipresent reserve which doesn’t mean shit but the law is the law, so reserve it is. This wine is amazing. Big stuff. But as all Nikolaihof wines go this is airy, present, minerally, mellow and zen-like in its balance. This is a stately wine that commands your full attention once you stick your nose in the glass. So pure it is astonishing that any liquid could taste like this. Yikes, I better stop, I am turning into Terry Thiese. Great wines which were a great start to the day.
Other highlights included the excellent 2007′s from Wittman. Or I should rephrase, the great 2007′s from Wittman that their importer Frederick Wildman actually brings in. Wittman is the second greatest producer in the Rheinhessen behind Keller, yet Wildman only brings in one of their four Grosses Gewachs. And if NYC does see it is from shady grey market sources. While it is the Morstein, which in 2007 is an astonishing wine that balances power and finesse, it still is a shame to me that the New York market will never see the Aulerde or Kirchspeil. That is like importing Rousseau and only bringing in the Chambertin, No Beze, CSJ or Ruchottes. But forget this little tirade as I do not want to take away how great 2007 was at Wittman. From the wonderful estate Trocken up to the Morstein Grosses Gewachs (well there was only one wine in between and I don’t want to mislead you into the idea that I tasted 20 wines in between the Trocken and the Morstein) these were wines of power, minerality, fruit, supple textures, great acids and incredible structures. The more structured the wine the higher pradikat you got. The Riesling Trocken was a nice young go getter of a trocken, but not without structure. Not as structured as the Morstein, but there are not many dry Rieslings on earth that are. The Morstein will be a twenty year wine no doubt and is up there as one of the finest dry wines of the vintage for me. Wittman did pour the Morstein Spatlese and Auslese which were good but no where in the same league as the dry wines.
One more estate worth mentioning is the Domaine de Villaine. What amazingly pure Burgs for a song. They age extremely well too. I mean there are two Bourgogne Rouges from 2007 (La Digoine, La Fortune) that the winemaker says will age 15 to 20 years. After tasting these absolutely uncompromising pure burgs, I would have to agree. Lovely structure, brambly fruit, supple texture and tons of minerality and earth are the hallmarks of these amazing value-priced and ageable red burgs. So pure and alive were these wines you could almost taste the beetles in the vineyard. The 2007 Bouzeron was a lovely Aligote with mellow acids and great taut lemony-lime infused mineral fruit and a lithe structure that hints this will grow older gracefully. The 2007 Bourgogne Blanc Les Clous was bright, opulent and clean with nary a trace of oak or any of that other shit that makes Chardonnay suck. Like ML. Like overripeness. Like botrytis. Just a stunningly pure and eminently drinkable Chardonnay. There was also a 2007 Rully 1er Cru “Les St. Jacques” which has always been a favorite of mine with its piercing acidity, intense layered minerality and hints of fruit. All in all it looks like 2007 was a fantastic vintage at the Domaine and in this awesome economy this is where I am putting my money as they are astonishing values.
Phil Coturri at Kamen Estate Wines. This series of videos is brought to us by Deborah Gavito of Counter Restaurant.
The fifth American tasting of the Return To Terroir group took place in New York yesterday. Eighty wineries from around the world were there to pour wines and discuss biodynamic methods and philosophy. The group was founded by Nicolas Joly in 2001 and to be accepted a winery must not only adopt biodynamic practices, but also produce a superior quality wine that will pass the tasting panel of the group’s directors.
Lyle Fass interviews Nikolaihof Wachau
We’ve got numerous interviews and reviews that we’ll be posting in the months ahead. Our new reporter, Lyle Fass, has been brought into the video age thanks to our new partner Greg Wacks, who’s been a producer at VH1 and MTV for the past decade. Lyle talked with his favorite wineries in the show and also did on camera tastings with them. And in a celebration of all those who’ve been kicked off the Robert Parker boards, we taped a discussion of biodynamics between him and Alice Feiring.
Nicolas Joly and an adoring fan.
The day before the event we sat down with Nicolas Joly at Appellation Wines for a more relaxed hour-long video interview, that we’ll be posting in segments. To really understand his passion for biodynamics a written interview just wouldn’t do. We also taped a long discussion with Julian Castagna, of Castagna Vineyard, arguably the most interesting winegrower in Australia. Julian talks about his ideals, his problems with the current state of Australian winemaking, and why you won’t find “Shiraz” on his bottle.
Alec Kristancic of Movia isn't kidding about moon cycles.
During the show, I also did interviews with “rock star” Alec Kristancic of Movia in Slovenia, Mike Benziger, Telmo Rodriguez from Spain and Robert Sinskey among others. Alec never failed to have a crowd of admirers around his table and whenever word spread that he was decanting a bottle of his Lunar wine people began rushing over. Telmo is a very thoughful guy, and discusses how Spanish wines are losing their identity. Mike Benziger has become one of the leading voices of biodynamics in the United States and talks about how he’s never had a job outside of wine. And Robert Sinskey describes how being an adrenaline junkie is what leads him to make Pinot Noir.
All these interviews, and many others, will be coming online soon. Be sure to come back.
What is more California than fresh, local sake?
Our gorgeous state is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. This locally produced sake is a perfect example. California has long been influenced by Japanese culture and foods. But just like Cabernet grapes from France, we are discovering that we can also produce great sake with special sake rice from Japan.
If your only experience with sake has been the hot, cheap and nasty rocket fuel that comes out of 18 liter boxes, then this sake will be an eyeopener.
Premium sake is almost always consumed chilled. It is usually about 15-16% alcohol ( about the same as many Aussie Shiraz or Red Zinfandel from Cali!). You probably thought sake was higher in alcohol because you drank it hot, the fumes of warm alcohol gave you the impression of a higher alcohol percentage.
This sake is a Nama, or unpastuerized, sake so you can really taste the fresh ricey flavors. It also means it should be kept refrigerated and consumed as soon as possible after it was brewed.
Sho Chiku Bai is made by Takara Sake and is widely available (try Wholefoods or any local Asian grocery store).
Grab a california roll and enjoy!
SHO CHIKU BAI Organic Nama $7.50
Type: Junmai Nama / Draft (Organic)
It’s totally natural, using OCIA certified rice harvested from the Sacramento Valley with absolutely no preservatives, no alcohol, and no sulfites added. It is brewed under the direction of Takara’s master brewer combining the most traditional methods with modern technology to arrive at the Ginjo grade.
Character: Full, dry and balanced flavor with fruity and fresh taste
Dry/Sweet: +5 (dry)
Texture: Soft and smooth
Aroma: Pleasant ginjo aroma
Suggestions: Cold seafoods, sushi, etc
Serving: Chilled
Pairing food: Cold or vinegar-marinated
Alcohol: 15%
Size: 300ml
This is one of the most forward thinking, exciting estates in all of Germany. Located in the Rheinhessen, with some of the same great vineyards as super star Klaus-Peter Keller, Phillip Wittman does not miss a beat making predominantly dry wines in the small town of Westhofen. As soon as you enter this estate you know things are a little different around here. From the amazing rose garden in the entrance, with at least fifty varieties of roses, to the Burmese ducks walking around and the lovely Buddha in the cellar. My type of winery and vibe.
I visited in the summer of 2007 and tasted many of the 2006’s. Phillip Wittman guides you through all the wines with consuming passion and the detailed knowledge of a devout scientist. We got into a conversation about the aging of the Grosses Gewachs wines. He told us all to wait a second, ran away to the cellar, and came back with the moldiest, untouched and out of this world bottle of 1989 Morstein. That put to rest the position that the great dry wines of Germany don’t age. Then we got to talking about the specialty at Chez Wittman, Albalonga TBA. Albalonga you say? Albalonga I say. Alabalonga is one of those wacky German hybrids. A marriage of Rieslaner and Sylvaner this yields such a high acid grape that it is rarely used for anything besides sweet wines. So Phillip pulls out a bottle of the 2003 and we finish off the tasting with that. A splendid afternoon and, from what I understand, very typical at this winery.
Phillip is an impassioned winemaker and has greatly improved the quality of the wines since taking over for his father Gunter. The estate has been organic since 1989 and biodynamic since 2003 and really does everything the right way. The winemaking is fairly traditional with the use of indigenous yeasts, hand-picking in the vineyards at absurdly low yields at 20-30 hl./ha, and old wooden casks or stainless steel vats for the long slow fermentations. The style here is of utmost delicacy married with intense terroir expression. The wines are dazzlingly pure but also have the structure to age gracefully for many years. Most of the production is dry, but the small amount of sweeter wines they make can be just as compelling as the dry stuff. I fondly remember drinking a lot of the 2001 Westhofener Morstein Spatlese which was as sweet as a candy cane but delicate like nobody’s business.
So what do these wines taste like? The first thing that comes to my mind is the intense crunchy minerality along with the uncanny reflection of site. These are wines of racy acidity, intense minerality and wonderful aging capability, Even the lesser wines like the estate Riesling or Silvaner are agers. Phillip puts in the same care across the range from Estate Riesling to Morstein GG.
They make really compelling Riesling but Phillip is also deft at other varieties like Schuerebe, Chardonnay, Weissburgunder, Silvaner (Gruner Silvaner in the Rheinhessen) and Albalonga. One of the reasons for the diversity of varieties is because Phillipe went through the painstaking process of analyzing the soil and microclimate and seeing which varieties were suitable for planting in this not very popular area. Now it is very popular as a result of Phillip and his hard-working neighbor Klaus-Peter Keller.
Phillip makes many wines, but the estate is famous for its three fantastic Grosses Gewachs sites: Morstein, Kirchspiel and Aulerde. Morstein is seen as his greatest wine but each of them is special in their own way. The soils of Morstein are chalky loam, limestone and loess. Aulerde is south and southeast facing vineyard with heavy clay-loam and loess with barely any limestone. Kirchspiel is in a sheltered amphitheatre and the vines face east and southeast. The soil here is clay-loam with some limestone. Beyond these three sites, Wittman makes compelling wines under the “S” designation which means “Selektion” which Phillip uses for particularly outstanding bottles. The Weissburgunder and Riesling “S” were particularly impressive in 2006. As an aside, the 2006 GG’s from Wittman are around and are spectacular wines. For under $60 they are steals in profound German white wine,
If you cannot visit this estate when you are in Germany I highly recommend you find some bottles as they are magical and unique wines and quite cerebral. This is a superstar estate in Germany but still suffers from a lack of exposure in America due to weak distribution and high demand in Germany. I think only Morstein comes in for the Grosses Gewachs and don’t ever remember seeing much “S” around. Too bad as this is one of the great estates of Germany.
Not too long ago I didn’t really know the difference between Grenache and Genache. I was blissfully unaware that one was a dominant grape in some of the world’s top blends and the other was the blending of dark chocolate and heavy cream. Now don’t get me wrong, I knew both were delicious, but I didn’t have the ability to articulate their differences until I discovered the Rhone Valley and all of that changed.
In my opinion, wines from the Rhone rank as some of the most unique, interesting and awe inspiring wines on the planet. Bordeaux gets all the hype, Burgundy gets all the folklore, and Champagne gets all of the bubbles, but the Rhone makes some of the most balanced and complex wines that I have tasted in recent years. Just take Chateauneuf du Pape. Here you have an appellation where up to 13 different grapes are permitted in the wine and vineyard yields are kept to about half of what is permitted in Bordeaux. That means that quality and concentration are high, but finesse is the name of the game. And finesse ultimately makes a wine that is way more interesting to drink than a full throttle, in your face, gun slinging wine that comes out of the bottle screaming of oak and wearing its certain high rating, from a certain wine critic, on it’s sleeve.
Armed with a nicely appointed gift card from Bottlerocket Wines and Spirits in New York, and a mission to get more “finesse” wines for my collection, it wasn’t long before I recognized the M. Chapoutier logo on a bottle of wine hiding on a lower shelf in their “Green Wine” section. The Chapoutier estate has long been synonymous with great wines made in the Rhone valley and a commitment to expressing terrior through their biodynamic approach. This particular bottling called “Belleruche” was from the Cote du Rhone appellation so I knew that there would be a decent amount of Grenache in the bottle, and by now I knew that meant it wouldn’t come out looking like chocolate syrup. What I found, however, was such a wonderfully pure expression of “finesse.” This wine did not let my love of the Rhone Valley down.
In the glass, this blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah is a beautiful garnet color with just a touch of brick. It’s light but not so light that you can see right through it. The nose is not overpowering but scents of strawberries, raspberries, and a bit of spice blend together and are lifted out of the glass with a decent amount of alcohol (14%). When I finally got around to tasting this wine, I was absolutely floored with how perfectly balanced this wine was right out of the bottle. Seriously, I’m not one of those guys who gets all giddy from wine (you know who are, don’t be ashamed), but I was overjoyed to be tasting a wine 1 minute out of the bottle that didn’t make me say “well…maybe with a little time it will open up.” It was just that balanced.
It has a wonderful roundness in the mouth but the oak and tannins are integrated perfectly and framed by the exact amount of acid I would want in this wine. Grenache can sometimes be a bit too high acid for my liking but I believe the blend of 20% syrah and the fact that this is a biodynamic bad boy from one of my favorite regions just had everything right going for it. I couldn’t put it down and quite frankly, I was fearful that it was just going to go downhill from here so as any responsible wine drinker would do, I made sure to drink half the bottle so as not to miss out on the opportunity to drink it at its peak. I was pleased to see, however, that several hours later this wine still tasted fresh, balanced and wonderful so my excuse for drinking half the bottle went out the window.
Maybe I’m getting older and my palette for big ass-kicking wines has subsided a bit, or maybe it’s that as I discovered the wonders of biodynamics, I realized just how pleasurable a subtle wine is when made in the right conditions. But what do I know? I sometimes still order chocolate Grenache cake without any qualms.
