Cast and Crew
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about
Two important photos to wrap up the Grenache Symposium in Le Crestet, Rhone Valley, France. A truly well selected bunch of people all round, especially the crew who enabled the cast work so efficiently.
The crew of the Grenache Sympoium
Team Grenache
Progress with time
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about
It may have taken a day of hard debating, but any sceptics finally came around to the merits and potential of Grenache yesterday at the Symposium in Le Crestet, South France. Where Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards had reservations of the development of discussions on Friday, he soon warmed to the belief that producers and writers can raise the profile of the grape to a greater state. You can watch the video interview on the Wine Challenge You Tube Channel.
Aside from this glass half full/half empty syndrome, you could not move for the enthusiasm and drive at yesterday’s symposium. Viticulturists kicked off the morning sessions with a long and heated debate on the ideal soil types and site that favour the variety. We were told how most Grenache vines do not have their own roots, but rather are grafted to root stocks which do the work in it’s place.
The panel of winemakers, largely Australian, lightened the mood of the gathering by taking a simplistic approach to understanding the workings of the vine. Peter Schultz, of Turkey Flat Vineyards, pointed out the fact that Grenache is the most widely planted old vine variety in the world, lots of it still producing quality fruit. It’s ability to do so, whilst maintaining fresh acidity in challenging conditions, is testament to the virtues of the variety.
What the second panel of winemakers lacked in presentation skills they made up for in expertise. With the Library Collection in mind, I asked the panel for their thoughts on the age ability of Grenache. The response could not have been more enthusiastic. Vincent Avril of Clos Des Papes in Chateauneuf De Pape told us of how it played such an important role in his blending every year and credited it to the central role of Grenache played. The panel continued with the metaphor of how the grape is like the engine around the motor car styles of most Rhone style blends.
Then it was over to the panel wine writers commenting on the grape in established markets who coined the phrase “Grenache – You know it – you just don’t know it”. They went with the idea of focusing a campaign around three P’s – Pleasure, Price and Partnership – all of which they believed were outstanding merits for the variety. There was a strong call for the wines to be served at a cooler temperature , 15-16 degrees, though some believed even cooler was necessary. International Wine Challenge Co-Chairman, Tim Atkin MW, suggested Grenache should be seen as the mother or father of the Mediterranean family of grapes, continuing later to highlight that old plantings of Grenache gris and blanc in the Rousillon are making extraordinary wines, both just as exciting as the red version.
I will be covering the Emerging Markets panel discussion in Harpers Wine and Spirit in the next issue, but it is suffice to say there were some real revelations from this team – notably the advice to wine makers not to continue to say that there wines go well with Asian foods as there is such diversity in cuisine in any single Asian country.
Discussions were concluded with two panels for the On and Off trade who went over all was had been said already, not a problem as each panel needed to present their own interpretations of the grapes potential. It was suggested that Robert Parker’s love of Grenache could be seen as a major opportunity for the grape. To encourage a better understanding of the grape for consumers the panel suggested a neck tag for these wines as well as listing the varieties and their percentage on the back label.
Nicole Rolet and Walter McKinley wrap up events
We were then treated to a fantastic tasting of Grenache based wines from around the world, which provided a great opportunity to compare global styles. Finally a wonderful meal gave the delegates time to relax and network whilst discussing the outcome of the day’s events.
It was a world class show with world class speakers. Congratulations to the entire team of the Grenache Symposium for pulling off an event which was deemed by everyone to be a seriously high calibre.
Robert Parker Garnacha Tasting at Wine Future 2009
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under IWC, Out and about, Parker Tasting
Ahead of the Grenache Symposium taking place in the Rhone Valley this weekend I am re-posting this piece on the Robert Parker Garnacha tasting at Wine Future in 2009.
Last night’s focus on Garnacha wines by Robert Parker was attended by 530 people, every one as keen as the other to snag a prime spot to sit and taste with Sir Bob of Baltimore. The room was very impressively set out to accommodate the 10,600 glasses (20 per person) for the flights of Garnacha from France, Spain, USA and Australia. Pancho Campo MW introduced Parker as “a beautiful and humble man”, which although I may not have shared similar intimate moments as Pancho did with the man, I definitely got the impression that this was a very straight talking, easy going guy who you would quite happily sink a few beers with. Kevin Zraly was introduced as “the greatest wine educator in the U.S.”. His job on the night appeared to be to break up Parker’s journey through the wines with questions to the critic on how he would assess the wine in question, which worked quite well.
Parker is 31 years in the game and he told us there were only a few Rioja wines and a few from Miguel Torres that represented Spain when he started out. He enthused about the new wave of wines coming from regions like Jumilla and Yecla. Comparing the recent trend to places like South America and Italy, he talked about the resurrection of old vineyards and a change from co-operative mentality to artisanal practises.
He felt he was getting a bit of stick for hosting a tasting in Rioja and not showing any Tempranillo wines. In his defence he stipulated that you can only find good Tempranillo in Rioja and this was an international tasting of wines and so focused on Garnacha. The crowd bought it!
The running theme from the 20 wines he showed was that none of the wines are made in new oak, only old foudre or inox, although there was certainly new French oak detected in one or two such as Torbreck Les Amis 2005. He also told us that none of the wines were decanted, to prevent the Garnacha wines which would be susceptible to oxidation, but Pancho Campo later told us that at least one had been decanted. Last little gripe about the tasting; the wines numbered in front of us did not correspond with their number in the book, which meant a scurry through the pages to see where they had been randomly placed as you moved on to the next wine. This proved tricky at times as when Parker eventually got going he barely came up for air, moving swiftly along to the 14th , then 15th wine in succession.
But overall it was a great focus on the qualities of Garnacha from around the world. As opposed to posting lots of tasting notes, I’ll just mention the impeccable Domaine Charvin 2007 (85% Grenache + Syrah, Mouvedre and Counoise). This was pungent in sweet aromas of kirsch liqueur and lavender. It had a deliciously velvety mouth feel with very clean and very pure fruit. Finishing on a fiery , spicy edge this was electrifying stuff!
Parkers prediction on varieties to watch out for in the future included the Mediterranean bunch (not exactly narrowing it down) Pinot Noir and Tempranillo, a final ‘chapeau’ to his hosts. He stated that the best will be those that offer the best value, pushing home the point that you must over deliver on value. He’s optimistic about the future of wine as wherever he goes, Hong Kong, Korea etc.. he sees more and more education, interaction and interest in making wine more fun.
As we began to disperse, he was approached by fans from all angles to sign whatever they could find remotely relevant to him. Great to sit through his master class and understand how he assesses wines.
Tags: Garnacha, Grenache, Robert Parker
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