Tasting Great Wines Requires Restraint and Discipline

Here I am again, in the middle of beautiful wines, that I can’t drink!  I have to go armed with much restraint and discipline if I am going to get though my long list of wines that I want to taste at the spring Salon des Vignerons Independants.

Tasting and drinking are two different things! At a wine salon offering free degustations with countless wonderful wines, you learn pretty quick if, you are serious about your wines, to not drink them.

Why ? Because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to discern with much acuity all the other wines waiting to be taste. After a few ounces,  your taste buds has a more difficult time discerning the various nuances of each wine.

For me, smelling the perfume of wines is as important and enjoyable as the taste.  At home I find myself just savoring the perfume alone of an intensely perfumed one over a minute or two, before I can even come to put the wine glass to my lips.

At wine salons, I have learned to make friends with the spittoon, not because I want to, but because I don’t have any other real choice.  I rarely spit out the wine though, being too lady like, I much prefer to reluctantly pour it out, however hard that is to do with a beautiful wine!

There is a ritual involved in wine tasting that becomes automatic over time.  At first glance, one quickly notes the color and yes there are many shades of whites, roses and reds depending on the grapes used.

Without thinking, I immediately swirl the small sample round and round in the glass to help release the olfactory esters that I just love to sniff.   After putting my nose deeply in the glass and taking a few short whiffs, I get an immediate feel of the wine , but will pull away and repeat the process for a second validation.

Bringing the glass to my lips, I sort of quietly slurp up a mini sip that takes a little practice to achieve.  It sounds a little like when you suck the last liquid up through a straw.

That is done because you want to incorporate a little bit of air into each sip, which helps intensify the wine more fully, by releasing those wonderful aromatic esters.  This helps your palate fully to appreciate and taste the wine.

Because I take just a mini sip, I do allow myself to swallow minute quantities of the wine only about twice.    Frankly that is the only way you are able to capture the aftertaste, which is for me even more important that the first taste of the tip of the tongue.

Now comes the hard part, especially if the wine is knock dead gorgeous, like the Corton Charlemagne 2008, going for over 50 euros, that I was privileged to taste. It still needed another two years though to reach all its glory!

I drink more reds though than white, and the expensive ones from Burgundy and Bordeaux are for birthdays and holidays.  Fortunately I have found some excellent and affordable Bordeaux, but not Burgundy, whose magnificent reds are very expensive!

Most of my everyday reds in my cave are from Cahor, made from Malbec, which I adore, Gaillac, Rhone, Fitou,  and the wonderful reds for the Loire valley, made from the Cabernet Franc grape, such as Bourgeuil and Saumur Champigny.   I especially love the powerful older reds from Chinon, which can also be quite pricey.

Since the white burgundies are way too expensive for everyday,  I lean towards the Loire for Sauvignons and Chenin Blanc, Entre de Mers from Bordeaux,  Alsatian whites,  and the very flavorful and perfumed whites from Gasgogne, made from the Columbard, Petit Manseng and Ugni Blanc grapes.

I like to point out that I drink wine, not labels!  Therefore I enjoy wines from all regions of France.  You can find all sorts of beautiful expressions of wine from every region.

It all depends on what I am eating, the season, and my mood, as to which wine I will choose. I tend to drink more whites and rosé in the summer and reds in the fall and winter.

The soil, climate, the geographic position of the vines, and the exposure to the sun all make up what is called “terroir”. The same grape planted in this region versus another will give you a  wine that reflects all the particular differences.

What I find fascinating is that even in the same village, planted with the same grape, on an adjoining hill or only a kilometer apart, the soils can have a different composition that are going to each give off different flavors to the harvested grapes, which is most evident in Burgundy and Bordeaux.

The vintner knows his territory and soil composition by heart, so he can plant whatever grape that is allowed in his region to get the very best out of it.  Each appelation controlée is very strick about what sort of grapes can be used.

The skill, expertise and magic of the vintner comes after harvest, when he has to vintify whatever mother nature has given him into wine.  Not an easy task, such as in 2013, where the weather left many regions with less than perfect grapes.

When I remarked that I was disappointed in the 2013 vintage of Entre de Mer, a white Bordeaux, the vintner nicely chastised me, saying “But Ms Chapman, I don’t make perfume, I make wine”.  Indeed, all wines are living  and changeable each year, and those little changes diversify the multiple dimensions of the wine year after year.

The other big restraint I have is my budget and space in my cave, which is very small, holding about 90 bottles as it is currently arranged.  At least though, it is cool and dark year round, which helps protect the integrity of the wines stored.

I generally buy more wines in the fall than spring.  The spring salon though is where I buy most of my champagne and rose wines.  I have recently discovered a new jewel, the Champagne house of Salmon, where their Cuvée Montgolfière is really lovely at an excellent price!

My strategy at the wine salons, is to spend the first day tasting whites, crémants, which are sparklings from various regions. and champagne.  The next day is devoted to tasting reds and rosés.    I do this to preserve a clean palate, which can be influenced by mixing the two.

Though I concentrate on my favorite vintners first, I always try to leave enough room for new discoveries and this spring there were three.  The most mind-blowing find was the gorgeous Bonhomme Viré Clessé, a white wine from Burgundy made by the adorable Aurelien Palthey, who has wonderful passionate energy, seen beaming in a white shirt.

As  I have said before, I really like getting to know the vintners; maybe its the therapist in me, but also because frankly I want to know their energy and personality.   It does translate into their wines, and those who are generous, passionate and warm, gives off energy to their wines that makes them better and more voluptuous.

The second find was the really lovely and unusual Rieslings from Sylvie Fahrer, along with son Raphael, seen in a dark blue sweater, who proudly told me he was a fourth generation winemaker.      The third was a rosé crémant from the Loire made from 100% of the grolleau grape, which is particular to the region, that was light and crisp with a slight almond aftertaste.

The third day is wishing for more discoveries and finally loading up the cases in the car for delivery home.  It is not recommended that you open a special wine newly purchased, until it has had time to rest a bit, but this can be violated for some of the others.

In the past I had to resort to negotiating the metro or buses with my very heavy caddy and saw many a brave soul doing the same.  I have unfortunately left a box of three champagnes on the metro, which was a very expensive lesson for me!

The best part is finally getting to drink the lovely wines that I bought!  I only drink them at dinner, where I can relax with my candlelight and my lovingly prepared foods, that goes with whatever wine I am serving.

I always think of the vintner that made them and in some ways, it is like having them join me.  I love sharing them with friends who are serious wine lovers, which makes it all more enjoyable.

As Brillat Savarin said ” a meal without wine, is like a day without sunshine” and I for one, couldn’t agree more!