The extremists
Oenology is no different than politics or religion when it comes to hanging onto a doctrine
When dealing with the very finest wine, those that could be described as ‘noble wine’, it is easy to understand a producer’s fondness for his or her terroir, and their will to go as far as possible to reveal its originality. Alas! Nature has no notion of justice or democracy, and so every piece of land and meso-climate with the means of producing wines gets what it is given. All combinations can be found in nature. One of the most perverse is magnificent soil and meso-climate that only allows a second-rate grape variety to ripen fully. Examples of this could be in France at Beaujolais, Muscadet, and Languedoc. Another would be the best grape varieties with perfect ripening conditions but no decent soil, as in the southern alluvial plains’ vineyards of Bordeaux or the southwest. Then again, when man adds his Catch-22 to the scene, where soil, climate and exposure are perfect but the authorised grape varieties are mediocre!
Things become dramatic when well-intentioned growers ruin themselves by trying to obtain impossible nectar from ordinary raw material or soils. And we have some cases here in Cyprus. They become dire when misled producers create plonk on the noblest terroirs. Our individualism leads us to try and raise the status of the first category to that of a hero, rather than teaching them humility and realism through a proper match of ambition to natural conditions. Again I would rather use examples from France to avoid local controversies. One sees, for example, the merits of old carignan in the Corbi?res region being oversold and likened to the greatest pinot in Burgundy. This may lead to its price becoming absurdly over-inflated despite the fact everything in its taste puts it below the level of a great wine and everybody knows that in five years time it will be showing all those ‘foxy’ smells that its genes were programmed to produce! All that will have been achieved are two other perverse effects: a misled producer and a fooled consumer.
Following the same line of thought, I am far from sure that it is a good idea to give extensive column space to those producers who reduce their yields to ridiculously low levels in their absolutist and egotistical search for ‘ultimate quality’. All they are doing is increasing the scarcity of a fine product, thereby preventing a greater number of people from enjoying it. When 10,000 plants per hectare are in a good condition, and this is just about normal in the finest of vineyards around the world, producing less than 30 hectoliters on average over a 10-year period is more a question of neglect than of humanism.
There are all kinds of extremists: the new oakers, the anti oakers, the pro-sulphurites, the anti-sulphurites, the heaters, the coolers, the carbonic macerators, the de-stemmers and so on. Oenology is no different than politics or religion: a sizeable minority feels the need to hang on to some form of technique, some trick of the trade for the more superficial ones, or some doctrine that may well go beyond the strict field of wine for those who think a little deeper. And it has to be said that the way the wheel of fortune turns, they even turn out to be right from time to time. However, the only piece of reliable information that good wine-making over the centuries has passed on to us is that techniques should be intelligently adapted to natural production conditions. We have to struggle, from time to time, with ambitious natures in order to be modest enough to look before we leap. Thank goodness, our truly great growers and wine-makers are quite incapable of doing anything else.
Wines of the week
For wines of the week I have chosen two simple table wines form Cyprus. This page has, several times, praised the work of Aes Ambelis Winery in Kalo Chorio Orinis in the Nicosia region. Recently I tested the 2005 Aes Ambelis Dry White, Lemesos Region, Alcohol Volume 12.5%. It is a blend of Xinisteri and Semillon grapes from vineyards in Limassol. This dry white has a greenish yellow colour and an intense aromatic character of citrus blossoms, an evolved nose showing complex yellow and white tropical fruits. The palate is soft, with a refreshing acidity allied with crisp bright flavours by waxy citrus fruit lingering in the aftertaste. Serve at 9? to 11?C with citrus based salads, fish and shellfish with tomato based sauces, feta cheese and grilled chicken dishes. Drink now.
The SODAP regional wine of Kamanterena produced the 2004 Kamanterena Dry red, geographical indication Pafos, Stroumbi, Alcohol Volume 12.5%. Another blend of Carignan Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and the local Opthalmo, this deep red wine with violet hints is a combo of red fruits – prunes, cassis and cherries – complemented by some wood and spices. Concentrated hedgerow fruit flavours on the palate, simple and youthful with soft tannins and prune tart finish. A medium-body wine with a couple more years to be enjoyed at 16? to 18? C. A good companion to green beans in tomato sauce, stuffed vegetables, pastas with meat, red meat barbecue, charcuteries and medium cheese.
