Cuvee Caritas and Ode to Lulu

When deciding what white I was going to make for Bedrock Wine Co. the process was remarkably easy. I made a list of my favorite white wines in the world and decided on the one, other than Chardonnay, which could make great wine in California.  This eliminated Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Chenin Blanc, and quite a few others.  Rather, I kept coming back to my favorite white, Pessac-Leognan Blanc.  These stony whites, made traditionally from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and a trace of Muscadelle, are some of the most unique wines in the world, and when made well, are some of the most delicious.  Over the course of the spring I happily stumbled upon two amazing sources of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, both grown in rocky, hillside, soils.

On August 30th, I pulled the trigger on picking Kick Ranch Sauvignon Musque’.  On what now feels like a long time ago, Phil Staehle, Dominic, Geordie (the staff at Enkidu), and pop and myself poured a touch of bubbly onto the season’s first fruit as it went into the press.  After whole cluster pressing, the wine settled overnight in tank and was barrelled down to a mix of new and used french oak barrels.  After a tense 6 days the native yeasts started their work, and the wine was barrel fermented to dryness.

The second component of the Bedrock Wine Co.’s Cuvee Caritas comes from a plum parcel of 100 year old vine Semillon perched above Sonoma Valley at Monte Rosso Vineyard.  Three weeks later, after many worried phone calls on my part to Luc Morlet (who I shared the fruit with), we brought in some delicious and rich Semillon.  Unlike the Sauvignon Musque’, the Semillon started fermenting within two days of being in barrel and was dry in under two weeks (a short time for a cold fermentation in a cool cellar).

On both wines I added a small amount of sulfur following primary fermentation to impede the onset of malolactic conversion.  Though fermented in barrel, with a decent amount of new wood (40%), I want to place a premium on dryness, brightness, and elegance– something I am afraid would be compromised by added roundness and diacetyl components from Ml.

So far I am incredibly pleased with the resulting wines.  The Sauvignon Musque’ proffers a wide range of exotic aromatics, which differ quite broadly depending on the vessel within which it resides (new wood, used wood, or stainless steel barrel).  The SS barrels, with their impeded oxygen uptake, seem to have the cleanest, but also least complex, aromatics– ranging from peach pit, nectarine, to citrus.  In broad contrast, the wine in new wood has incredible spice elements that jump out of the glass, and also have a bit more breadth in the mid-body due to the wood.  The neutral wood is somewhere in-between.

If the Musque’ is the aromatic component, the Semillon is all about the center.  Though full of the complexing elements of pipe tobacco and tamarind, what stands out is the manner in which the body of the wine is full and fleshy.  It is the hips and the bust of the wine while the Musque is the pretty features and dancers feet.

I am absolutely delighted with the light touch and spice added by the Tonnellerie Bordelaise barrels, and equally thrilled with the Nadalie Perle Blanche effort.  Though I appreciate the Damy barrel, I realize that the richer toast would be better suited to Chardonnay and perhaps even Syrah or Pinot Noir in the future.  I am looking for a delicate kiss of oak, on both cheeks perhaps, but not the full frontal assault for which the teenage “french kiss,” is known.

Ode to Lulu

Anyone who knows me, knows of my deep love for all the wines of Domaine Tempier– and particularly the rose’.  Anyone who has been around me much has also heard me rail against the inadequacy of New World rose’ wine.  Though rose’ may not be the most serious wine, it does not mean that one should not make it seriously.  Too often it is consigned to mediocrity by being made from the bled off or “saigneed,” juice of grapes picked at the elevated potential alcohols of red wines.  Rather, rose’ should be made like a white-wine.  It should be picked at a point where it is forward in its fruit, but also maintains the delicacy and precision and dryness which makes it such a perfect summer wine and a great food wine.

As such, I picked out one of our 120 year old blocks of Mourvedre for the express purpose of making rose’.  Picked at 23.8 brix (about 13% potential alcohol) in mid-September, we crushed the grapes and put them directly into the press.  There, we let them macerate for several hours.  When enough color came from the grapes we pressed into a cold, stainless, tank, where it fermented slowly (to maintain its aromatic esters) over the next several weeks.  The resulting wine is a pale, salmon-copper toned wine, that has all the fascinating aromatics of Mourvedre.  It is bright and fresh, with outstanding verve.  I am actually a little concerned that the color is not going to be deep-enough for the market, but it tastes so good I am hesitant to color it up by adding some finished red-wine into it.

The greatest test will be whether Lulu Tempier likes it or not…..