Christmas Day is approaching and I have arrived to yet another little snow covered northern town, not too far from Santaland, to celebrate with the rest of my family. Wanting to set the mood for the holidays, I needed to break out a wine that I thought would please the palate of my family ( tough job - as they are not wine drinkers), and myself. Henry Marionnet Première Vendange Rouge 2014 it was, and it for sure made a nice accompaniment to the meal of baked ham and the mountain of other foods strewn across my grandmother’s table.
The color had me doing a double take: medium purple with ruby hues - it looked pretty seductive. Not a bad start I’d say….
On the nose, plenty of pretty dark cherry bubble gum, blackberry jam and an added hint of pine tree needles. Fitting for the holidays so far, no?!?
On the palate, there is loads and loads of blackberry fruit, dark cherries, and slight sweet spice, slight herbaceousness…this wine is lively. The acidity is pleasant and tannins are there, but not distracting. However there is something a tad lacking for me - the fruit which is abundant and lovely at the beginning kind of fades mid way through the palate as does the medium finish. Don’t get me wrong - this is a good, clean, rustic wine.
Reading all the reviews online, I cant help but wonder if I am the only person in history not to fall in love with it? Self doubt washes over me and I want to destroy my tasting note and go for a second slice of apple pie.
This wine was made with no added sulphur or cultured yeast - minimal intervention - a fine natural wine sitting in front of me. Good, clean, and enjoyable but I am not over the moon about it.
Then, I had a thought… this wine tasted familiar to me. Something I have had before. Reminded me of ….that Trousseau from Bornard, and the Lammershoek Pinotage…..and, “Oh yeah”…… my mind drifts.
Why the hell do all these natural wines sort of taste the same? What is the commonality between them? Naturally occurring yeasts? All these examples are from different regions - where does terroir fit into this? It would be very difficult for me to taste and distinguish these wines blind without any preparation beforehand.
I have had absolutely beautiful, amazing examples of natural wines before - my post from last week will support this statement….but at the same time, I have had wines that well…reminded me of the other natural wine that I had not too long ago. It also reminded me of all the similar Californian cabs I used to drink when I first started getting into wine. What the piss is up with that? It seems to me natural winemakers are doing exactly the same thing they blame the industrial wines for doing: formatting the taste.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for any winemaker, and that especially includes those who chose to take the organic/biodynamic route and let the grapes speak for themselves. ( The making of wine is a freaking miracle anyway….so there.) It may or may not be considered more work depending on who you talk to….and there is a lot of risk involved. One vintage may be nowhere near the same as the next.
Henry Marionnet is making wines on ungrafted vines in the Loire, which means they are very susceptible to the phylloxera louse which can pretty much easily destroy his vineyards. I have another bottle of the Première Vendange and I look forward to opening it again to get a comparative tasting. I have a lot of respect for his winemaking philosophy and I am eager to more of his examples in the future.
Wine: Henry Marionnet Première Vendange Rouge 2014
Producer: Henry Marionett
Grape: 100 % Gamay
Alcohol: 12.5 %
Price: $23.15
SAQ Code: 1251178
Buy Again: Unless the second bottle I have gives a different impression, I don't think so.
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