Syrah | amarchinthevines

August 22, 2017
by amarch34 2 Comments

Under starter’s orders

Le patron earlier tending his vines

Other than wine my main interest is horse racing and I couldn’t help feeling a similarity as I toured the vineyards at Mas Coutelou this morning. The trainer has prepared his charges to the best of his ability throughout the year, faced up to problems of weather and disease, been up all night tending them and must now carefully select when they are at their peak for the big challenge ahead. Meanwhile his assistants and stable hands gather together, friends old and new to lend a hand to the master and to learn from him.

Old Cinsault vines of Rome

OK, maybe I am getting carried away. However, there is a feeling on the eve of my 4^th vendanges of excitement that the race is on to bring in the best possible harvest from the grapes. Through winter, spring and early summer all went well, the rain came, the sun shone, the vines grew well. Latterly there have been setbacks it must be said. There has been next to no rain since June and the ground is once more parched. Some of the vines are stressed and their sap has lowered. This means that instead of concentrating energy into the grapes and ripening them fully the vines are protecting themselves. That is a real shame as everything was set for a top class vintage, now we have to wait and see what the next few weeks bring along. Rain is currently absent from the weather forecast, let’s hope that the meteorologists are mistaken.

Flower Power and ‘friends’

That said as I toured the vines I was impressed by the quality of the grapes. Yes the vines look tired, they should at this time of year as they ought to be giving everything to the fruit rather than the plant.

The grapes though look healthy, big bunches in the Carignan vineyard (above) for example though there is still some greenness in the juice and the pips. The Muscat is yellow, orange and flecked with gold and tastes very characteristic with its floral, sweet notes. They will be harvested on Friday, the Carignan in weeks to come.

Ones to follow? Well, in Peilhan the Castets looked lovely and tasted even better. Flower Power has so much more fruit this year though the snails are still present. The Grenache of La Garrigue, Syrah of Sainte Suzanne and the splendid old Cinsault vines of Rome would be my tips for future winners. There will be others which will surprise and delight, and hopefully few will prove lame and disappointing. (That racing metaphor just won’t go away!)

Meanwhile back at the cellar; cleaning, checking the equipment (the large press being serviced above) and even bottling the skin contact Carignan Blanc which James took charge of last year.

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James served his time here in Puimisson, learned and has just completed his first vendanges with his own wines in the Adelaide hills in Australia. Vincent’s vines in the Béarn are easing towards maturity, Julien has his vines here in the Languedoc. The team are back in Puimisson though, together with Michel and myself. And joining us this year is Ambroise from the Loire, come to learn too (in the photo with Vincent).

And even Jeff will be learning as two new arrivals from Spain will mean a new form of vinification this year. They will take their place alongside the (much) smaller amphora dating back to Julius Caesar which was donated to Jeff during the winter.

So we are under starter’s orders, Jeff will press the button on Thursday morning and we’ll be off. Let’s hope for a classic year.

Syrah, Ste Suzanne

Piquepoul Gris, Peilhan

Muscat Petits Grains, Peilhan

April 6, 2017
by amarch34 2 Comments

Mas Coutelou 2016

Version francaise

Tasting September 27th

It was a year of difficulties as I have reported on here many times. From a virtually arid winter and spring to a chilly early summer and then a very hot summer the vines had a struggle to cope with the bizarre climate. Add in a hail storm, snails eating away large numbers of grapes and mildew. No surprise then that the quantity of wine produced was much reduced, bottles will be much scarcer than previous years – so when you get the chance buy them. If quantity is down then what about quality?

I have had the good fortune to taste through the range of wines on two occasions. On September 27th the wines were in their infancy settling in tank, the team got together to gain first impressions. In late January and in February this year I tasted them again with a number of visitors. What I tasted was the wine from the different vineyards before it was then assembled into the various cuvées which Jeff will eventually put out. Therefore, my notes are about the ingredients rather than the finished dish.

Tasting January 28th

I decided to simply publish my notes as I wrote them on the two occasions – no editing, just my personal impression at the time. Already these wines had changed a great deal after 4-5 months and they will have changed again even before being assembled into Le Vin Des Amis etc. I have chosen only the main wines, there are several other cuves with other wines but these are the main wines of Mas Coutelou.

September 2016

January / February 17

Muscat Petits Grains – 2 weeks maceration, fairly neutral nose but fresh Muscatty flavour with tannins / texture. Orange flavour in there – G

Nose is Muscatty and orange blossom. No real grapey Muscat flavours but a dry wine, fresh, direct and clean. Little drying on finish but coming together well. – G

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Carignan Blanc – little reduced on nose, nice fresh acidity and appley fruit. Still cloudy – G

This has improved, white flower aromas, fresh, white fruits, very long – VG

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Maccabeu/Grenache Gris/ Muscat – Lovely pears and red apples. Fresh acidity, lovely. Full, nice texture – VG

Some residual sugar still but direct fresh fruit – pears and apples – G

Cinsault (Segrairals) – assembled with marc from Syrah. Nice fresh acidity – OK

Not tasted

5. Grenache Ste Suzanne – Little green, quite acid, some spicy after notes. A bit tart – OK

11.5%, light but fruity and grapey, lost its tartness, more round – QG

Grenache just picked

6. Syrah Ste Suzanne – Nice, perfumed, red fruits, good acidity and soft tannins – G

Very attractive red fruit nose, has some heft yet only 12%, rich and easy to drink – G

Syrah from Ste Suzanne

7. Flower Power (plus others) – Round red fruits, lively, red fruit flavours – QG

Syrah and Cinsault in there too, nose is lovely, really attractive with red fruits and floral. Nice round easy fruits – G

8. Syrah Segrairals – Still fermenting, quite a lot of residual sugar. Nice, fresh acidity, red fruits – G

Not tasted

9. Syrah La Garrigue – Slight acetate nose, Round dark fruits. Nice texture and mouth filling – G

Dark, ripe round fruits on nose and flavour, plummy, a little closed, good tannins – G

10. Grenache La Garrigue – Nice ripe cherry aromas, good acidity and texture. Ripe – G+

Very fresh and open, round ripe fruits. A little residual sugar still – G+

11. Mourvedre – Very attractive floral aromas, some sugar still, raspberry fruit – G

Improved a lot, a little reduced but liquorice flavours, dark and how it builds in the mouth, could be a surprise star – VG

Mourvedre I picked

12. Carignan – lovely dark fruit, very fruity and fresh flavours. Very clean finish, almost slatey minerality – VG

Still working, a little spritz. Quite acidic as yet but there are dark ripe fruits and these are playing together on the palate, will develop well – G

Still fermenting

Overall, the general impression is of good quality with plenty of freshness and fruit to balance. Mourvedre could provide the star wine of the year which would be a surprise, though the Carignan will no doubt improve and be a star once again. The whites, in various styles, are again showing how good white wines can be in this region. After a very problematic year it is surprising that the wines emerged so well, testament to healthy vines and a skilled winemaker.

Celebrating 2016 with a lovely Bibonade rosé

September 30, 2016
by amarch34 1 Comment

Vendanges 2016 #9 – Days Like This

“When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
Then I must remember there’ll be days like this” (Van Morrison, Days Like This)

l-r, Morgane, Jeff, Julien, Thierry, Michel, me, James, Howard

As we approached the end of vendanges a number of the team were moving on. It was an inspired move to have a farewell day, picking, tasting and celebrating together, though we were already missing some like Charles, Carole and Maylis.

The morning dawned over Peilhan and the vineyard which we planted in March 2015. Rows of Terret Blanc and Noir, Riveyrenc Gris and Noir, Piquepoul Noir and Morastel produced grapes this year. They cannot be used in major cuvées sold to the public as they are too youthful. However, Jeff decided to pick them to make something for himself out of interest. So, on a bright, warm autumnal morning we gathered, picked, chatted and laughed.

Terret Blanc

Piquepoul Gris

Riveyrenc Gris

Piquepoul Noir

Morastel

Meagre Terret Noir

Interesting to see how some varieties produce more than others already, more precocious perhaps, the Terret Noir being especially shy. Altogether we picked around six cases only but there was a real mix of colour and some nice looking fruit which went into a small cuve in whole bunches.

Howard

James and Julien

Later that day we gathered again, this time in the main cellar along with Thierry Toulouse, Jeff’s oenologue. We tasted through the whole range of 2016 wines in cuve before heading to a local restaurant for a meal. The results of the tasting were fascinating. Clearly, they are in a stage of transition, fermentations still progressing. Nonetheless the wines were already showing their character. I won’t go into too much detail here, though I did take notes to help me record how the wines change in coming months.

Me, Thierry and Priscilla

Priscilla, Morgane, Jeff and Julien

l-r, Morgane, Jeff, Julien, Thierry, Michel, me, James, Howard

In summary though I was amazed. I have said many times on here how difficult this year has been. A very warm winter, drought, mildew, delayed summer being just some of the problems. Yet here we tasted some lovely fresh fruit, lively acidity and other promising signs. I would mention the Carignan Blanc, lovely Syrah and Grenache from La Garrigue, juicy Mourvèdre and in particular the wonderful Carignan Noir of Flambadou. All those puzzles which Jeff had to hold in his head about harvesting dates, moving wines, possible assemblages etc, well those puzzles were solved in the glass. I had expected some disappointments but somehow Jeff has conjured some potentially top quality wines.

2003 Roberta

At the end of the current wines Jeff also shared a 2003 bottle of white wine based on Grenache Blanc, Noir and Gris, called Roberta (it’s a long story!). This was one of three cuvées which were the first that Jeff made sans sulfites. Yet it was complex; fresh, fruity, nutty. A wine which made my heart sing, proof that SO2 is not required for ageing wines as we are often told. Perhaps in 13 years time we shall be tasting the 2016 wines and marveling at them too.

A fitting way to close the vendanges period, a team rightly proud of what it had achieved.

“When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
Then I must remember there’ll be days like this”

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September 15, 2016
by amarch34 4 Comments

Vendanges 2016 #5 – Bolts from the blue

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La foudre s’est abattue sur le cirque de Gavarnie, dans les Hautes-Pyrénées, dans la nuit du 13 au 14 septembre. (Photo : capture d’écran webcam Gîte Oxygène Gavarnie)

En français

Tuesday September 13^th, the return of picking, with a little urgency in light of the weather forecast for heavy storms that night. The objective was to collect the Syrah from La Garrigue, the grapes which go into La Vigne Haute, my personal «cuvée mythique» of Mas Coutelou.

Last year the grapes were slightly swollen so Jeff decided to make another cuvée instead, On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que, and it is now 3 or 4 years since we saw LVH. It remains to be seen whether Jeff decides that the grapes were of high enough quality in 2016 for such a prestigious wine.

Syrah in La Garrigue on Saturday 10th

The grapes started a little messy requiring some careful triage both in the vineyard and cellar.

Syrah moving fast, the juice is in the glass

Tri

However, the quality improved after the first few cases which had been picked in a lower part of the vineyard. Certainly by the end of the day we had sorted a good quantity and quality of fruit, my shirt can certainly testify to their juiciness.

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That night came the predicted thunderstorm, violent though not as long lasting as perhaps expected. I saw that some parts of the region saw over 200mm of rain, fortunately Puimisson did not reach those levels. However, there was enough to stop picking for the next few days. As I said last time wet grapes are not ideal. In addition the soft ground in the vineyards would be churned up by feet and wheels.

James working hard as usual

In a way the storm came at a good time on a personal level. I developed a mild case of bronchitis out of the blue on Tuesday which would have prevented me from working on Wednesday and Thursday. So, I have left cellar work to the experts whilst I recharge my batteries for Saturday when we may get to the Grenache in La Garrigue which looks bountiful and ripe.

Grenache in La Garrigue Sept. 10th

Meanwhile analysis of the grapes continues. There was the result of Ecocert’s evaluation showing that Mas Coutelou successfully retains its organic certification and also their analysis proving that no sulphites were or are added in the wines. And then there is the daily analysis from the oenologue which shows information such as alcohol levels, total acidity, pH levels, residual sugar etc. These help Jeff to think about how to look after the wines and which ones might blend together successfully in future.

analysis

The weather is now set fair until we finish; Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon should arrive in good conditions with a light north wind and under blue skies.

September 9, 2016
by amarch34 3 Comments

Vendanges 2016 #3 – Press review

En français

In the last vendanges update I wrote about stages 1-3 of harvest; picking, care in the cuve and pressing. Well, all three are moving on apace.

More and more wines to analyse, Jeff can’t keep up!

Today (Sept. 9^th) was the first pressing of the year. In the small basket press was the Grenaches from Rome vineyard picked earlier this morning. These were the same vines as the ones I picked last year for my special cuvée. By chance, or design, the younger barrel of that cuvée was given a soutirage this morning. It tasted very well just showing the influence of the barrel. As the other barrel and 27 litre glass bottle are much more fruity the eventual assemblage should be nicely balanced. Here is last year’s Grenache saying hello to its younger brother.

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In the big press was the white picked last week, Maccabeu, Muscat (Alexandrie and Petits Grains) and Grenache Gris. The press is big but the bladder inside lightly squeezes the grapes to release the juice, a gentle giant. The juice now goes into cuve and will ferment into the finished wine.

Skins after pressing, the pinkish coloured ones are Grenache Gris

Meanwhile stage 2 continues apace with remontage and pigeage of the growing number of wines now in cuve. Stages 2&3 require increasing effort, there was very little picking today though tomorrow will be busy again.

Jeff and Louis Pérot working on the cuves

Wednesday saw a full day of Syrah from Segrairals. The grapes were good and often very juicy. There are sections of the parcel which seem to retain moisture and help the grapes even in such a dry year as 2016.

Syrah

Maccabeu

Thursday was the busiest day so far. A morning of picking Peilhan white grapes, mostly Maccabeu, Grenache Gris and Muscat. These had suffered through the attack of mildew in spring time and some careful triage was necessary. Nevertheless, small in quantity but good quality.

5SO 2015 greets this year’s grapes

In the afternoon arrived the Cinsault from Segrairals which makes 5SO Simple. Cinsault gives bigger berries with lots of juice. The juice came in at around 10.5%, Jeff said that it would be a ‘vin dangereux’ as it would be very easy to just keep drinking it.

Team Coutelou

Plus one sleepy dog

September 6, 2016
by amarch34 Leave a comment

Vendanges 2016 #2 – adolescence

TWednesday – Grenache right, Syrah left

Today – Grenache and Syrah has matured

En français

When I mention vendanges to most people they think of grape picking and, maybe, putting the grapes into a tank (cuve). However, vendanges means much more than that and we are now entering stage two of the process.

Flower Power in cuve

Muscat in cuve

When the grapes have been picked and sorted they are stored in a cuve where the juice interacts with the skins extracting flavour, colour and also coming into contact with the yeasts which grow naturally on the skins. These yeasts then begin the process of fermentation which turns the sugars in the juice into an alcoholic wine. This mix of juice, skins, pips and flesh is known as must.

Checking progress

So, whilst picking continues at Mas Coutelou Jeff must already plan what is happening to those cuves of grapes which were picked a few days ago, You will remember from #1 that we picked Grenache and Syrah on days 1 and 2 and that they were in cuves 2A and 2B. They are picking up colour and the fermentation means that the sweet grape juice of last Wednesday is already very different. Still plenty of raspberry and red fruit flavours but the sugar levels have fallen and the liquid is now more austere, a little acidic and with a weight of alcohol. It has turned from child into young adult.

Today – Grenache and Syrah has matured

To ensure that the grape skins do not give unpleasant flavours, volatility etc., Jeff must ensure they do not dry out as they float on the juice, forming what is known as the cap (chapeau). Therefore, wine is pumped from the bottom of the cuve over the top of the chapeau to push it down a little and to moisten it. This is known as remontage.

Carole carries out a remontage

Alternatively, an instrument or hand can be used to push the chapeau down into the juice, a process called pigeage.

James performs a pigeage

When Jeff is satisfied that the juice is ready and has had optimal skin contact he will begin pressing the must to leave the final juice. We await the first press as yet but it will be in the next couple of days as the Grenache and Syrah are already showing their adolescence.

Meanwhile picking continues. Friday saw Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat À Petits Grains as the first white grapes of 2016 at the domaine. Monday saw the picking of the Merlot from Colombié which will, unusually, find its place in the Coutelou cuvées. I am no great fan of Merlot but the grapes were lovely and the juice tastes especially rich and full.

Today (Tuesday) was Flower Power day, sadly the snails won the battle this year. They ate so many of the buds in Spring that the vines struggled to produce much. The dryness merely confirmed Font D’Oulette would be low yielding in 2016. Around twenty cases is not much return for such a lovely parcel of vines. High quality grapes from the various cépages but very low quantity.

Flower Power

Clairette and Oeillade from Peilhan with some Grenache Gris and Muscat Noir was added to the mix. Also picked was the Cinsault from Rome which was in good condition with nice big berries. So my two favourite vineyards are already harvested.

James models the lovely Segrairals Syrah

Finally, some lovely Syrah from Segrairals was picked and there will be much more of this tomorrow. This Syrah is such good quality that Jeff is already excited about what he can do with it. Segrairals is the biggest vineyard of the domaine and is also serving up some of its best fruit.

Charles, Vincent and the new sorting table

A new sorting table was brought into play this week and it is certainly much more efficient than the previous method of sorting from the cases themselves. Triage of better quality but also much speedier too. The table is already paying for itself.

So, stage 1 (picking) is well under way, stage 2 (the must in cuve) is under way for some and stage 3 (pressing) will shortly begin. The jigsaw is already becoming more complicated for Jeff Coutelou.

There really is a puzzle under there

August 31, 2016
by amarch34 Leave a comment

Vendanges 2016 #1

First cuts of 2016 at Mas Coutelou

In 2015 vendanges began on August 21st, in 2016 things kicked off on August 30th. The protracted cool spring and the drought contributed to a later harvest though not so late as predicted because of the hail on 17th August. This damaged some grapes especially in Sainte Suzanne (Metaierie) and Jeff decided that the grapes needed to be picked as they would lose acidity if left on the vine.

On the 30th it was the Syrah which was picked, unusual for a vendanges not to start with white grapes. Syrah normally produces small berries but these were especially small. The cagettes in which the grapes are transported back to the cave are usually running with grape juice, requiring regular cleaning. Today they were virtually dry. Jeff calculated that the volume of juice produced was around half of the normal harvest which is not good news. Hopefully other grapes in other vineyards have fared better but we shall see. This is all the result of the protracted dry spell in the region. Rainfall, other than the occasional storm where the rain comes too heavily. has been pitiful. The vines have found it hard to cope and give water to swell the grapes. The hail confounded the problem by shredding leaves which would help to nourish the grapes.

The good news was that the grapes gave lovely juice; fresh, very raspberry fruit and they smelled of beautiful warm spices. The measure showed potential alcohol of 12% so it will make a light, fresh Syrah wine or blend.

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There was a full house to help out. Michel, Julien and Vincent as usual. We were joined by James, an Australian who is staying for the harvest to help his learning for making wine in the future. Charles who spent a few days with us last year is also here for a longer spell, he adds humour and energy. Jeff’s primary school classmate Maylis was also present spending the day in the vineyards. And Céline, Brice and their two girls were here on the way back from their holidays, it is always fun to see them.

Vincent and Charles

Cé;ine

One or two bits of machinery creaked under the strain of a new harvest but the changed cellar made cleaning so much easier. The team is taking shape for the challenges ahead. The Syrah sits in cuve 2A, I shall keep you up to date with its progress and path to the bottle.

Egrappoir in action

The rafle

Hard day’s work

Day 2, August 31st

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The last of the Syrah was picked first. If you look at the photo of the vines with James picking you will notice the lack of foliage and therefore why Jeff felt the need to harvest now. First official analysis of the Syrah from yesterday showed healthier than expected acidity and potential alcohol, a welcome fillip.

Julien

James

Then came the Grenache from Ste. Suzanne, in many ways more problematic than the Syrah due to mildew earlier in the year. However, when it came in there were many good firm bunches of healthy fruit with possibly a little more juice than the Syrah. It was a very hot day so Jeff worked some magic by using frozen pellets of CO2 to stop the juice from starting to ferment too soon so that it doesn’t extract too much of the flavours of the dryer grapes before it is moved for the first time. This was the first time that Jeff has tried this method due to the nature of the vintage and its drought. Difficult to take a photo as all you could see was the mist of the frozen gas.

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The juice tasted healthy and fresh with red fruits, a little vegetation still present. Yesterday’s Syrah was already darker, more weighty and very different to yesterday. Wine alchemy. It now sits in cuve 2B next door to the Syrah.

Grenache grapes

Grenache at 13%

TWednesday – Grenache right, Syrah left

Tomorrow (September 1st) is a new moon and so no picking or work. It is also the 2nd anniversary of my arrival in France, days like this remind me why that decision was a good one.

Salut to Jean-Claude, tu nous manques

The guardian

August 1, 2016
by amarch34 2 Comments

Between a rock and a hard place

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Flower Power

Segrairals

Flambadou

En français

Back in the Languedoc and, the first morning, I went over to see the vines. Jeff had sent me a message that they were in real stress because of the lack of rainfall. Ironically we had driven south through France under leaden skies and through fairly steady rain, until we reached the Languedoc where the skies turned blue and the temperatures rose. It has been very hot here throughout the three weeks I was away and, following a very dry autumn last year and not much rainfall in 2016, the vines are definitely in need of a good drink.

Stressed vines

Clear signs of drought

I have written many times this year about the vine stress due to very unusual seasons, the warm winter, cool spring. Sadly, summer has also added to their difficulties. Sure enough the vines look dry. The apex of the vine is often a good way to tell their health and they look tired and bare, almost burned.

Photographié de Rec D’Oulette

To safeguard the health of the young, newly planted or grafted vines Jeff and Julien were busy watering them in the Flower Power vineyard, Font D’Oulette. This is allowed as they are not grape producing this year. Straw was then placed around them to keep the moisture inside. Julien showed his dedication by doing more of this work at night time.

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Even Icare was feeling the heat despite his haircut, he kept hold of the stick when it was thrown as if to say I’m not chasing after this anymore.

c/o agro.basf.fr

c/o gourgazaud.fr

Jeff also informed me of yet another problem, ver de la grappe. This is the larvae of a moth which feeds on the grape. I took a photo of an affected grape last year.

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There are chemical treatments available to prevent and to treat the problem, no use to an organic producer of course and these chemicals are especially harmful, you can’t use the grapes until 21 days after spraying.

So, for Jeff the treatment involved spraying clay onto the vines to try to make the grape skins less attractive to the moth so it will lay the eggs elsewhere. This was only the second time in twenty years that he had sprayed against ver de la grappe. Also in the spray was fern and seaweed, the fern is a natural insecticide and the seaweed gives a health boost to the vine. However, having sprayed this morning (July 31st) Jeff was hoping that the much needed rain would hold off for a couple of days to allow the spray to work.

You can guess what happened next. A storm, heavy rain, much of the spray washed off the grapes. It is that sort of year, nothing seems to be going right. The rain which did fall was minimal and only undid the good work. The worst of all worlds. To spray or not to spray? To rain or not to rain? Caught between a rock and a hard place.

Colour and life remains

As I made my way around the vineyards there were plenty of good grapes to see, véraison (the changing colour of red grapes) has begun especially amongst the Syrah and Grenache of La Garrigue.

And I spent some time in Rome, a very parched looking vineyard but the ideal place to reflect upon its creator, Jean-Claude. There are some things to be thankful for even in this difficult year.

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June 14, 2016
by amarch34 4 Comments

The Forgotten art of assemblage

One of the more interesting wines at Mas Coutelou is L’Oublié. It is also one of my favourite wines. On Thursday, June 9th Jeff called in his oenologue, Thierry Toulouse, to help to decide on the blending (assemblage) of the new version of L’Oublié.

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So what is L’Oublié? It is a blend of grapes just like the vast majority of Languedoc wines and, indeed, Mas Coutelou wines. However, it is also a blend of wines from different years. For example the Carignan is a blend of wine from 2001, 2007 and 2010 which has been stored and aged in a barrel called a demi muid. Add in a similar blend of Grenache and Syrah from different years and then other wines to add even more complexity and depth. The name means ‘the forgotten one’ referring to the original barrel of wine which had been, well, forgotten.

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This is how I described L’Oublié in my article about the Coutelou cuvées:

“It has aromas of dark fruits and leathery, spicy notes too. It is dark flavoured too, blackberries, liquorice and even coffee are just some of the many complex flavours. It benefits from decanting to allow that complexity to resolve itself a little, and it will stay fresh for days after opening. There are not many wines like this around and I honestly don’t know why. It is unusual and one of my favourite wines because of its complexity, its balance of older and more youthful flavours. Terrific.”

It is the mix of darker flavours with the hallmark Coutelou freshness which really appeals to me about this wine. So, how is it made?

Jeff had taken samples from the demi muid barrels of old Carignan, Grenache and Syrah and also samples of other wines which he had, for example Copains 2013. This is a pure Cinsault, from Rome vineyard, released in 2014 but Jeff had aged some of it in barrel too. Younger wines were on the table too, available to be used. We tasted these separately first to get a feel of the flavours which would be in the mix. Frankly, the barrel aged Copains was so good I’d have made a wine just of that!

Using the base wines of the old blends the oenologue measured out the proportions based on the quantities of each wine available for the final cuvée.

The wine was left to mix for a few minutes and then we tasted. The first was very good but, perhaps, edging a little too much towards the dark side of flavours. So, some 2015 wine was added to freshen it up and … voilà. The characteristics of previous versions of L’Oublié but made with newer wines on top of the base wines.

Premier assemblage

L’assemblage qui compte

The decision on the blend made, Jeff then set about blending the components together in tank where it will sit for a while to marry together. This will be bottled at a future date, yet to be determined as it depends upon when the wine is ready. It will tell Jeff the right moment. Yet another wine to look forward to.

The secret code of L’Oublié

If you don’t want to take my word for how good L’Oublié is then here are other reviews and tasting notes:

http://www.lsfinewines.co.uk/acatalog/Mas_Coutelou.html

http://www.leblogdolif.com/archive/2011/12/05/grain-grain-le-petit-raisin-gnan-gnan.html

April 25, 2016
by amarch34 4 Comments

The story of a wine – we can’t really say

En francais

On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que * is a new cuvée from Mas Coutelou in 2015. So how is a new cuvée born? This is its story.

Untitled

My favourite Jeff wine over the years has been La Vigne Haute, a pure Syrah coming from the vineyard La Garrigue. This vineyard has a small ridge running west to east meaning that part of it faces north and part faces south. Jeff planted Grenache on the southward side as Grenache is a Mediterranean grape and likes the heat. On the north side is Syrah, a grape from the Rhone, which likes heat but not too much if it is to reveal its best.

La Vigne Haute is a wine of subtle Syrah. Perfumed with red fruits and tasting of silky smooth red and black fruits it carries elegance and restraint. However, in 2015 Jeff took the decision at the last minute not to make La Vigne Haute but rather to change the whole vinification of the grapes which were harvested. Here is the story in his own words, as told to Paco Mora a caviste in Ivry sur Seine. Jeff kindly gave me permission to reproduce it here.

“To thank you [for a generous comment on Facebook], I’d like to take a few minutes to tell you the story of “On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que.” A story which confirms that to make wine, we must first know, love and pamper both vineyards and grapes.

It comes from the parcel “La Garrigue”, my only parcel on villafranchien soil, which I planted:
 On the north side: Syrah (planted north / south) to be always caressed but never assaulted by the sun.
 On the south side: Grenache as it is not afraid of the heat.

The buffer zones in Garrigue

This decision made me lose 10 vine stocks per row of vines (300 in total) to leave a buffer zone between the two varieties but it was a decision which seemed most suited to making the Syrah I dreamed of. It normally makes “La Vigne Haute” but also produced “PAF La Syrah” in 2012. This plot has a vein of water running underneath which the presence of horsetail fern confirms. This year, even during the heat wave, it never suffered and continued to push …. It was the most beautiful vineyard at harvest time.

The day of the harvest, we had planned to make Vigne Haute by implementing the classic method; destemmed grapes, putting it into tank, maceration of 2 to 3 weeks with little pumping, to encourage infusion and not to seek extraction.

The vineyard was beautiful, beautiful grapes, everyone at the winery was excited that this would be a great vintage. The first grapes arrived, and as son as I saw them, I thought I had to change everything … ..
The fact that they had not suffered from the July heat wave but instead had profited from it (because of the sun caressing that north facing slope, the heat effect lessened because of that vein of water). It had produced berries more swollen than usual … and I could really see that when they arrived in the cellar.

After an hour, I said to myself “if you do as usual, you will not get to do what you want.” The fact that the liquid / solid ratio is different, if I had made a classic wine, I would have to extend the maceration time to extract enough material relative to the juice and in that case, there is also the risk of extracting good but also the less good.

So within 10 minutes I decided to change everything.

We continued by putting whole bunches into tank with the idea of making a short vinification. On that day, everyone was down in the mouth in the cellar because I had told them that there would be no Vigne Haute …. But I trusted my grapes and they told me that they would repay my faith in them .

We just left the grapes in vats for 7 days without any intervention and then pressed. So there was almost no exchange between the skins and juice in tank. The tannins and colour were extracted because of pressing the skins, which were ripe, and released them after their short stay in the vat.

In the end, it’s just the juice of the vine and the terroir that you have in the bottle ….
Nothing technical, just grapes that were cared for and nursed from their birth to their maturity ….”

So that is the story of On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que. I was one of those who was ‘down in the mouth’ on that day when Jeff changed everything. Yet it was, of course, the right thing to do. The wine is very like the Paf of 2012, fruity but with a lovely vein of soft tannin and bite running through it. It is elegant above all, a Syrah worthy of the great Rhone appelations but with Languedoc warmth and fruit.

And OPPVDQ is a tribute to the talent, intuition and knowledge of Jeff Coutelou. He knows his vines, his grapes and how to help them to express themselves to maximum advantage. I can’t really tell you how he does it… it’s natural.

* A phrase which can be translated as ‘we can’t really say’.