A tasting note: 2009 Gaëlle Berriau "Flon Flon"!

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:30:41 +0000

Finally! I have been tasting, drinking and enjoying this wine for a year now ever since Patrick Desplats (Domaine Griottes) and his girlfriend Gaëlle came up to Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken for a visit. I must have helped consume 30 bottles, not to mention that it was the welcome drink for guests at my wedding. Flon Flon and I are close friends by now

One of the most enjoyable sparklers I have ever tasted, and everyone else who has tasted it agrees.

A wine from the Anjou area of the Loire Valley made with organic Chenin Blanc grapes, spontaneously fermented without any additions. The wine was bottled (again without additions) before fermentation could finish it’s process of eliminating the grape sugar. As fermentation continued in the bottle, sugar was slowly digested producing carbon dioxide (bubbles!) and perhaps a half a degree more of alcohol. This is the natural way to produce bubbles in a bottle. The resulting sediment was not removed. The wine was left as it was. I am happy about that

Over the last year the wine has improved. My first experiences with the wine suggested that there was still some residual sugar which today has diminished a bit. Mother nature at work. The wine today is one of the most expressive examples of Chenin Blanc I have ever tasted. Proof that healthy ripe grapes, a lot of know how (thanks to Patrick’s help I’m sure), a lot of patience and hard work can pay off.

One thing I have to mention here is the label. Now, I personally love the labels found on the bottles of natural wine. They sort of represent the anti-label. Often poking fun at conventional assumptions of what a wine label should look like. Gaëlle uses the same label for all of her wines, and I love it! I also love Patrick’s Domaine Griottes labels (see label detail on the right). Now to the discerning eye, there is something else about the label(s) that I love. There is no mention anywhere that the wine(s) contain sulfites, and you won’t find this on the back labels either because there are no back labels. This is because according to EU labeling laws, you don’t need to write that a wine contains sulfites on the label if the wine has less than 10 mg of sulfur at time of bottling. Something that is no easy feat. It takes years of hard work, dedication and sleepless night for sure.

Ok, say no more, time for my tasting notes on the Flon Flon. i don’t know how many bottles were produced of this wine, but I am sure they number less than 1,000

Date Tasted: January 11th, 2012 19:30 (and many many times before this night)

Appearance: Lot’s of sediment floating in the glass. Dark colored sediment. Yellowish. Click on the photo and see for yourself

Nose: Sweet lemons and citrus aromas with some hints, and only hints, of mild caramel (like those milky caramels we used to chew on as a kid ). But without being overly sweet on the nose. Mineral undertones.

On the palate, there is some residual sugar, but it is much less sweet and/or seemingly sweet than it was the first time I tasted the wine a year ago. Great, ripe acidity. Most would place the acid at only a mid level, but if you pay close attention, the acidity is noticeably high and refreshing, never harsh or abrasive. Absolutely refreshing. The bubbles are firm enought to appease the sparkling wine drinker, but at the same time integrated and not overbearing. A nice long finish. Very balanced, very drinkable.

The only drawback I can think of about the Flon Flon is that I only have one bottle left.

Natural Wine Makers in France – Part II – Jean-Pierre Robinot

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:25:43 +0000

(I am sorry for the quality of the photo’s in this post. Since I am not a photographer, I should really apologize at the beginning of every post, but the photos in this post are especially low quality – blamed on the settings being incorrect on my “wonderful” camera phone. Oh, and although this post seems long, it’s mostly full of pictures to entertain you)

Tuesday November 3rd, 2009

Our goal was to reach Jean-Pierre Robinot sometime in the afternoon, but when visiting with natural wine makers, it’s really best not to have a schedule! We left Griottes quite late, and it was at least a 2 hour drive to Robinot’s, so we didn’t arrive until around 2200 (10pm) that evening. Nevertheless, we were greeted by the very energetic Jean-Pierre and his wonderful wife Noella. He immediately took us into the cellar where we began to sample his 2009 harvest of Pineau d’Aunis right from the fiberglass containers where they had just finished fermenting. We started with the 2009 Concerto d’Oniss which was fermented using purchased grapes from farmers (and friends) who have the same values and ideals in the vineyards as he does. This “basic” wine of his will be bottled straight from the fiberglass tank and spend no time in any other container. Wines made from purchased grapes go into bottles labeled under the product line “L’Opera des Vins”. This is one of my favorite of Robinot’s wines due to the clean, precise fruit and no oak influences.

We also tasted the just finished fermenting wine from grapes growing in Jean-Pierre’s own vineyards which will for the most part spend some time in oak before being bottled with labels indicating that the grapes were his own by the product line “Les Vignes de L’Ange Vin (L’Ange Vin for short)”. These were so stunning that I feel confident when I say that the 2009 vintage for Jean-Pierre Robinot will be top!

After a few quick hours in the cellar tasting the new wines, we retreated back to the home of Jean-Pierre and Noella, where Noella started to cook a wonderful home-cooked meal which consisted of vegetables from their “natural garden”. Grown in the same way their grapes are grown, the vegetables are left to grow “wild” without the use of any chemicals nor fertilizers. We started dinner at around 130am, which I must admit was probably the latest dinner I had ever had! Jean-Pierre’s energy never faltering!

The totally natural, totally awesome Robinot vegetable garden

Jean-Pierre’s labels for his wine bottles are reproductions of his full-size paintings which are scattered through-out the Robinot home. It’s obvious that when Jean-Pierre is not hard at work with his vine and wine, he is painting, his other passion. His labels are all different, unique and my opinion, very beautiful.

Jean-Pierre Robinot's label paintings - absoultely beautiful

The next day, we had a quick lunch together as Jean-Pierre hurriedly ate so that he could be off to great a small group of Japanese wine tourists who were looking forward to tasting Robinot’s wonderful wines. It seems that the Japanese really appreciate and understand natural wines. After lunch, Noella took us to see the vineyards, and I have to say, they were truly a sight. Now I have seen many vineyards including biodynamic ones, but these had to be the most natural vineyards I have ever seen. The vineyards that in my opinion were the most stunning, were his old-vine Pineau d’Aunis. These 100 year-old+ vines where growing in a field of weeds, they were covered in moss and ivy and looked absolutely at home there. She mentioned that the vineyards were the laughing-stock of his conventional neighbors, yet produced the greatest grapes in the area by far. When walking through the vineyards, I couldn’t help but notice the way the soil was soft and just gave way under the weight of my body. The soil was very much alive, and the bugs and insect in the area were proof of this. By contrast, when we walked through the vines of the neighboring vineyards, it was like walking on cement. The soil was extremely packed and dead. Not a bug in sight. Soils that have been killed by the use of chemicals take years and years to recover. I am told that even 10 years after converting the agriculture to organics, the soil is still not completely alive.

Jean-Pierre Robinot's 100 Year-Old+ Pineau d'Aunis Vineyard

After our vineyard tour, we met with Jean-Pierre in his cellars to taste from the barrels. We tasted at least 40 wines ranging from his top reds, base whites (Chenin Blanc) to some of his sweet wines and even some Vin-Jaune-like wines that had been in barrel for 5 years and more and had developed the wonderful flor that develops in the wines of Jerez and the Jura. Jean-Pierre left us to run off to Paris for the weekend, where we were to meet again on Saturday night for dinner!

We spent two nights at the Robinot’s modest home where were fed only vegetables from their garden and meat from friends who had raised the animals in a natural environment. For their hospitality, I am completely grateful. They were extremely gracious hosts. Simple, yet complex people who truly lived off the land and who enjoyed every moment.

My final thoughts about the wines of Robinot are that his wines are dark, haunting, complex, while maintaining a certain freshness and drinkability which I find too many wines lack. His wines are not easy to understand and are full of mystery, as are the Robinot’s

Chenin Blanc – Vinosseur.com

A tasting note: 2009 Gaëlle Berriau "Flon Flon"!

Natural Wine Makers in France – Part II – Jean-Pierre Robinot