Terroir = man???
"Last Saturday, the Napa Wine Library Association held its 17th annual Varietal Seminar. This year, the program had two components: the first was a panel of viticulturists who spoke about the various terroirs of Napa Valley, and the second panel consisted of winemakers, who spoke mostly about how their careers led them to Napa Valley. There was considerable discussion about the word “terroir.” ... Bob Long (Long Vineyards) offered a definition of terroir as “the land plus the hand of man,” which better clarifies the term."
This seems totally incorrect. I can accept that terroir is partially attributed to the weather (with the land), but if you include the "hand of man"... what does that leave out from the winemaking process?
Labels: terroir, wine
Bordeaux tasting at Wente
At Wente, we organized a comparative Bordeaux tasting last week, and it was very successful. We were comparing the
Pichon Lalande and
Lynch Bages to the
Murrieta's Well red meritage. While the Bordeaux clearly had more complexity and potential to age, the Murrieta's Well had great balance and really great upfront fruit. The 04 Lynch Bages was bretty and austere. Pretty closed fruit-wise, it will need some time to resolve the tannins and I am not sure if it has the stuffing to be good at that point. The Pichon Lalande was much better in my opinion - good complexity, dark fruit in the background, and classic Bordeaux. A little light in the mid-palate, but I think it will be great in 5 years... just won't age for ages.
In addition, here are the websites from
Pichon Lalande and
Lynch Bages discussing their vineyards:
Pichon Lalande was a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc in 2004.
"The exceptional wealth of the Pauillac appellation is due to the poor and miserly earth. The hilltops are made up of gravel on top of clay, a composition which favours excellent water drainage. It is the gravel of the first quaternary, called Garonne Gravel, namely that of the Günzienne layer (the oldest and most elevated) that explains the quality of the best vineyards of the Haut-Médoc."
In 2004,
Lynch Bages was a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
"The Lynch-Bages estate (90 hectares) is located just outside the city of Pauillac, overlooking the Gironde estuary, on one of the most beautiful gravelly plateau in the appellation.
The well-drained soil consists mainly of Garonne gravel. The sub-soil (marl, chalk, and thick clay-sand gravel, or hardpan) forms a solid, but fairly disjointed foundation, enabling the roots of old vines to grow to a depth of 6-8 metres. The average age of the vineyard is about 30 to 35 years. The plantation is traditional and characterized by a high density level of 9.000 vine-stocks / hectare.
The Lynch-Bages vineyard which is amazingly homogeneous, is the focus of much careful attention: short pruning, green harvesting, thinning-out, hand-picking with highly selective sorting."
The
2004 Murrieta's Well is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc in 2004. The higher Petit Verdot percentage might show more cherry, but overall I thought the wines were similar in fruit profiles.
2004 Murrieta's Well Meritage - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley
The nose was clearly driven by red fruit with some crushed berries and tart cherries. I also found a little tobacco. The tannics were tight and focused, and I found a little spice and pepper on the finish. A balanced wine overall with the brightest fruit of the three wines. (Note: I am interning for Wente, but these wines were tasted single-blind.)
2004 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Compared to its compatriots, this was a heavy wine with big black cherry, a little tar, cassis, and herbal tea. It is a little tight on the mid-palate, but the finish was on another level. This wasn't a fruity wine - it was more powerful, more complex on the nose, and clearly had the tannins to resolve over a few years.
2004
Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
This particular bottle was showing off the Bordeaux barnyard and band-aid - it definitely had a little brett, especially next to the other two bottles. In addition to the barnyard, the nose was a little floral with a little dark berry and chocolate. The mid-palate was lighter but it had a nice plum-fruit finish.
Labels: Bordeaux, Lynch Bages, Murrieta's Well, Pichon Lalande, PLL, Wente, wine
