Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
Email Don directly with your wine-related questions.
Varietal Definition in the New World [Part one]
Until the 20th Century, Merlot was not generally regarded by wine writers as a "noble" grape. The quality and fame of Chateau Petrus and other Bordeaux estates gradually changed the minds of the skeptics. The list of "noble" grapes is well established these days, but what of how they perform in Australia, Africa, New Zealand or in the western hemisphere? Are they noble anywhere we plant them, or even similar? What is the definition of varietal? It seems, thankfully, to be elastic.
When Beringer released the 1987 Bancroft Vineyard Merlot from Howell Mountain, the wines distinctive character was considered "non-varietal" by some wine writers. The wine was delicious however, and the successful vintages that followed broadened the accepted varietal definition of Merlot. When Ladera made a great Howell Mountain Merlot, some twenty years later, there was no discussion of its varietal accuracy at all.
This had happened before. Since 1952, Penfolds Winery in Australia has made a great Syrah called Grange. It has been recognized as a world-class wine for a long time now, yet it tastes nothing like great French Syrahs like those of Jaboulet or Chave, which were the traditional standards. Connoisseurs just had to recalibrate their palates to get used to it.
The great, but distinctively herbal-accented, "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernets from Napa Valley had to fight skeptics for acceptance, particularly in France. I can remember having to "defend" the varietal accuracy of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Black cherry has been a common descriptor in the RRV, but not so in Burgundy, although Bing cherry and other cherry flavors are common. This used to be cited Francophiles as a "flaw" in the wine!
When is a wine accurately varietal and who decides?
There is no committee of standards on this subject, but I think that if you establish an authentic clone of a noble grape in entirely new territory, you are likely to get one of three results:
1 - Something unexciting and lacking in character, which despite the vintner's honest efforts, fails to capture the flavor intensity, depth or charm that was hoped for.
2 - A wine whose character attractively parallels the bottlings grown where the grape is historically successful.
3 - A wine whose character is significantly different from the bottlings grown where the grape is historically successful, yet is otherwise virtuous and appealing.