If you have ever talked to me for five minutes, you know that Gigondas and Vacqueyras are my most favored appellations in the southern Rhone valley - but Terroir?
I once read that any attempt to explain that term to the average wine consumer would cause his eyes to glaze over - I'll take that chance.
What differentiates one wine from another? Soil, topography, climate, the vine, and the hand of man - a deceptively easy answer.
The French, bless them, have wrapped the first three; soil, topography (slope and elevation) and climate, into the concept of "terroir", for which there is no precise English equivalent.
Terroir is bound to the natural environment of a specific place, and cannot be influenced by management - at least so the French believe.
Terroir is the basis for most of Europe's wine classifications. The concept of terroir supports their position that, for example, Red Burgundy is unique because the terroir is unique and, as a consequence, Pinot Noir grown anywhere else can never produce wine comparable to Red Burgundy. The same is true, for example, for Merlot grown in the unique micro-terroir of Chateaux Petrus and for Cabernet and Merlot grown in Bordeaux.
New World winemakers, recognize the importance of "place" - the Stag's Leap district of Napa is an illustration - but they do not concede that, for example, Red Burgundy is unique and cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world.
Hugh Johnson, the renowned wine writer, dismissed the region of California in which the Calera Pinot Noir is produced, as being too hot to produce quality Pinot Noir. Josh Jensen, who is as good a writer as he is a winemaker, took him to task in an amusing newsletter. He assembled meteriological data proving that Johnson had his facts wrong. Had Johnson, tasted Calera wines, rather than relying on his perception of the climate of Holister, which is the address of Calera, but not where the vineyards are located, he would not have had egg on his face.
Personally, while I do not believe that any given terroir is absolutely unique, I have no doubt regarding its importance, but in the absence of good farming (viticulture), and good winemaking (viniculture), terroir is meaningless.
What constitutes good viticulture, or viniculture? There are almost as many answers as there are wine-growers, and wine consumers. My answer - assuming that price is not a consideration, but of course it always is - ignore what is on the outside of the bottle and focus only on what is inside.
I have little doubt that the terroir of Gigondas and Vacqueyeras, together with their principal grape varietals, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, account, in some measure, for the quality of their wines.
From fifty miles away you can see the Dentelles de Montmirail - rock fingers thrusting into the sky from the top of the Montmirail mountains.
These mountains were formed by the imperceptibly slow, yet violent collision of two large chunks of the earth's crust. That collision up-ended layers of sand and silt, deposited by ancient rivers, on top of layers of limestone formed from shells and bones of marine life in oceans that have long since disappeared. The Dentelles are those limestone layers.
Take a look at the above geological cross-section through the Gigondas region.
Sedimentary layers of sand, stone, silt, clay and limestone have been dramatically up-ended and brought to the surface. This is mineral-laden soil, lacking organic material and therefore infertile. The geology of Vacqueyras is not much different.
The slopes face south and west - maximizing the sunlight - and the climate is hot and relatively dry - good for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.
Why should this kind of soil, terrain and climate - this terroir - produce good wine from Grenache Syrah and Mourvedre?
The grape-vine is a desert plant that will send roots down as far as 100 feet in search of water. Grow any grape varietal, let's say Grenache and Syrah, in the fertile flood-plain of the Rhone valley, not more than a couple of miles from the village of Gigondas. Irrigate, and you will have a bumper crop of grapes that will produce indifferent wine totally lacking in character. Why?
Largely because the roots of the vines are close to the surface and the water they soak-up has not picked up much in the way of minerals from the soil. Minerals have a dramatic impact on the quality and character of the wine.
On the other hand, take the same varietals; stress the vines by growing them in poor soil; withhold water, forcing the roots down to water that has percolated through the soil, picking up minerals - minerals that stamp a clear imprint on the wine. Go one step further; prune the vines drastically to limit grape production and thereby concentrating the "flavor" elements in a smaller crop, and you have the makings of Gigondas and Vacqueyras - if you have the wine-making.
Gigondas only attained appellation status in 1971 and Vacqueyras in 1990. I still have a few bottles of my very first Gigondas - a 1976. I fell in love with its lovely fruit and its spicy finish - and with its price - then about $5. I discovered Vacqueyras more recently, but both are among my favorite wine appellations. Many of them are truly superb and they continue to be undervalued not only relative to the better-known wines from nearby Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but relative to almost any other quality red wines.
In support of my "spare the oak" campaign, these wines, with few exceptions, have not seen new, or even remotely new, oak barrels - what you get came from the vine.
Here is our current selection:
Gigondas
St Cosme '95, 16.99 15.29
Vieux Clocher '95, 17.99 16.19
Goubert '91, 18.99 17.09
Grand Montmirail '89, 18.99 17.09
Santa Duc '93, 19.99 17.99
Les Pallieres '86, 21.99 19.79
Michel Faraud '90, 21.99 19.79
Superb!
Dom Raspail '89, 23.99 21.59
Brusset, '91 & '94 24.99 22.49
These wines never fail to move me emotionally in the way that music or a beautiful
painting might. They bring tears.
Font Sane '88 Cuvee Futee, 26.99 24.29
This one is laced with lovely oak.
Goubert '88 Cuvee Florence, 33.00 29.70
Goubert '89 Cuvee Florence, 36.99 33.29
Monumental wines.
Caves Gigondas
Co-op wines are often not highly regarded - but there are exceptions. One is Produttori de Barbaresco - their single-vineyard wines are unsurpassed. Another is Cave Gigondas - discovered at VinExpo. Here is what we bought, and with luck it will be here by the holidays.
**Signature '90, 19.99 17.98
Seigneurie de Fontange
**'94 Vieille Vignes 15.99 14.39
The '90 Vieilles Vignes was perhaps the best Gigondas I have ever tasted, but it sold out before I could buy it. The '90 Signature is a very close second - a stunning bottle of wine.
The '93 and '94 Vieille Vignes will make believers of those who have not tried Gigondas because of the price - you now have no excuse!
Vacqueyeras
Vieux Clocher '95, 12.99 11.69
Seigneur de Lauris '95, 18.99 17.09
Clos des Cazaux '90, 19.99 17.99
100% Syrah!!