The Aesthetics of 2013 Crus

The 2013 Crus turned out to be one of the delicious vintages in my recent memory. The 2013 vintage did not start well and was difficult.  It was cool and grapes struggled to ripen.  As with great wines, the vignerons, who cared their vineyards and not pushed what the vintage had to give, produced beautiful Crus in 2013.  It was so much work in the vineyards that I think the vignerons were exhausted by the time the elevage was finished.

When first bottled, our vignerons themselves did not know how the vintage would turn out. It may be a surprise to readers, but our vignerons themselves do not always know how the wine will evolve. They, of course, have a reasonable trajectory but not always certain. The uncertainty lingered after the wines were first bottled.  After a year in bottles, the Crus evolved to be have what I call ‘French aesthetics’ – pretty and perfumed. The Crus, not lacking intensity, are low in alcohol with stunning nose and freshness. Subtlety and nuances, which I appreciate the most in wines, are abundant in the 2013 Crus. The differences of terroirs are clearly etched in 2013.  I can’t think of another wine that brings so much joy at my dinner table.

Catherine et Pierre Breton in l'île d'Yeu

Catherine and Pierre Breton, with their children, have been taking their family vacations on the island of Yeu or, as French would say, l'île d'Yeu. They now opened a wine bar/store La Dilettante Yeu. That is Catherine Breton on the left in front of La Dilettante Yeu. It serves simple delicious local dishes as well as their wines and many other wines that they personally like. You can also purchase wines and take them home with you. How civilized is that?  I can only dream about this kind of place in BC.  Sigh...

Catherine and Pierre Breton simply pack their family and a whole lot of wines and head to the l'île d'Yeu for summers. By the way, La Dilettante Yeu is opened only in July and August. The wine bar/store also serves to anchor this somewhat remote community, where people come to socialize and eat in a relaxed setting. There are jazz sessions in La Dilettante Yeu. The inimitable aesthetics of Catherine and Pierre Breton wines are also translated in their La Dilettante Yeu.  Their beauty is everywhere in La Dilettante Yeu.  So, if you yearn for an island vacation in France after a busy week in Paris, La Dilettante Yeu may be just the thing. 

Low Alcohol Wines - Drinkability

I just received the latest November 2014 issue of The Art of Eating.  Ed Behr, the editor and founder, of the journal writes about wine and food with a refreshing thought. On the opening page of the editor’s section, he presents how the traditional wines, whose alcohol levels were low, in the 1930’s were enjoyed in quantities for nutrients like food.  And that rising alcohol levels, driven by farming tactics and warming climate, are leading to wines that are difficult to drink, let alone in quantities.

And that has been my experience as well. Of course, there are exceptions, where wines with 14% or more alcohol do taste balanced.  But increasingly, I find such exceptions rare. Drinkability and pleasure-ability came into light recently at our dinner table when my wife and I shared a bottle of Le Clos du Tue-Boeuf ‘La Guerrerie’ 2011 – a blend of Côt (aka Malbec) and Gamay.  The wine had 11.1% alcohol, tasting perfectly ripe and balanced.  The wine perfectly described the drinkability that Ed Behr mentions in his article. 

By the way, if you like food and wine, I strongly recommend The Art of Eating.  It is an ads-free quarterly journal – an independent journalism that is rare as the traditionally-well made wines in a sea of industrial plonk.