Wine Adventures: In the Winery and In the Wine Glass
from Spain’s Priorat to France’s Northern Rhône - density, decanting, and more!
When I left you last time, I was discussing how we went to the Priorat wine sub-region in Spain and worked in the Gratavinum winery for 4 days. Priorat is located about 150 km west of Barcelona.
It was quite a wild experience, one that exceeded my expectations. Over the next few weeks, I will share my top 3 ah-ha moments from our time there. Every morning, I looked forward to seeing what had changed overnight with the fermentations.
The 6 different wines made at Gratavinum were in various stages of fermentation in their assorted vessels. Only reds are made here, from Grenache/Garnacha, Carignan/Cariñena and a little Syrah.
My first ah-ha surfaced from hanging around with Jordi, the winemaker!
Jordi would monitor the fermentation with density measurements.
Ah-ha #1: The liquid density throughout the fermentation changes significantly enough to track the fermentation progression.
Most liquids have the density of water (1000 g/l), and wine is composed mostly of water, SO I didn’t think that density variations would be significantly different enough to gauge the fermentation progress.
But in fact, in the early stage of fermentation the density was about 1100 g/l. And when the fermentation was complete, the density would settle around 995 g/l.
As I overheard you discuss over your romantic Saturday night dinner, CO2 expulsion would also be a reason for the density to decrease due to the loss of mass.
Yes. If you must divulge all our nerdiness. (I often joke that this is why we never bred.)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a byproduct of fermentation. So, from a material balance standpoint, there is a ‘loss of mass’ there which would reduce the density. The fermenting liquid also has more sugar than the final wine - again less sugar would drop the density.
More on our Gratavinum winery adventures later, to give you a break from the science nerdiness for now!
Yes, please – good grief!
Okay fine – our next adventure would take us north to Piemonte, Italy.
Since we were driving from Spain to Italy, we stopped in Southern France for a couple nights to break up the drive! I have not talked about the Northern Rhône on this Substack yet – so let’s pause here! This region’s red wines are made with Syrah.
This week’s featured wine showed what quality winemaking can produce. This wine continued to evolve for 2 hours after being opened.
Wow, the bottle lasted that long? You feeling alright?
I have to say I am a little wined out from 3 weeks of intense wine tasting.
Oh, poor baby! Eye roll.
But believe me, this wine sucked me in! I was very impressed with the quality, particularly for the price.
It reminds me of an observation a friend made about wines during this trip when we made a side trip to Geneva. (Our New Zealand friends are currently ex-pats there with a Substack of their own!) We drank a Priorat wine the first night, and Blair said he thought it was so wild how the wine just kept evolving throughout the meal. The following night he noticed that that wine that did not evolve.
It was such a great observation.
This was a perfect exercise in understanding quality. The first wine clearly was superior. This all relates to the concepts that I babble about here. Cooling effects in the vineyards slow down ripening to allow complexity of flavors to develop for example. Think of this complexity as layers of goodness, that if combined with quality winemaking in the winery, create a wine that wants to tell its story by unraveling all those layers throughout your meal!
How lucky are we to have the opportunity to experience this magic!
And today’s wine is just that:
It started as a vibrant and elegant red fruit dominant wine of medium body. This is not typical of the Crozes-Hermitage sub-region of Northern Rhône – they are normally more dark fruited and a little more brooding. I noticed that the alcohol was a moderate 12.5%. Again, a little unusual - I would have expected higher. It was lovely with notes of what I called “floral salami”…
Is that a thing?
It is now!
Is that a good thing?
Floral good. Salami good. What’s the problem?
…bright just-ripe red cherry and red plum, red currant, and licorice/anise with hints of milk chocolate and vanilla.
After decanting for 45 minutes, the floral notes became distinctly violet aromas, and darker fruit flavors came out to say hello – blackberry and blueberry specifically. The perception of tannins increased, as did the body.
Makes sense since tannins contribute to the body. Interesting that decanting can increase tannins and body.
It is not something that is commonly talked about, but I notice this frequently.
As for the last glass from the decanter – after 2 hours – it was more what I would expect for a Northern Rhône Syrah. It evolved to produce even darker black fruit flavors such as black currant, as well as black pepper and baking spice, particularly clove. It had more earthiness and meatiness. Perhaps what was the most enchanting was that the floral notes became distinctly lavender - very “Herbes-de-Provence-like.”
This precision of flavor and aromas is a true sign of quality, I am still so excited about it – not to mention at this price point.
I have a few people for whom I do personal curation, who do not fully appreciate why I tell them to decant. They must think I am being too particular and that they will not notice changes in the wine.
But here is the thing. You may not know why you like the wine, but you know you like the wine!
It is like seeing a person you are attracted to or a piece of art you are taken by.
Sometimes you cannot pinpoint the reasons, but you are enthralled regardless.
So please trust me on this - decantation is worth it! You may not notice all that is developing, but you keep coming back for more because it is keeping your interest. Also, remember that you do not need to decant the whole bottle - just decant what you need!
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M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage “Les Meysonniers” 2021
Style: Medium Body Old World Red
Varieties: 100% Syrah
This complex wine evolved considerably over 2 hours. Initially, vibrant with “floral salami” on the nose and bright red fruit notes: just-ripe red cherry and plum, red currant, licorice/anise with hints of milk chocolate and vanilla.
After decanting for 45 minutes, the floral notes became more distinctly violet aromas, and darker fruit flavors – blackberry and blueberry specifically. The perception of tannins increased, as did the body.
After 2 hours – enchanting floral notes of precise lavender and Herbes-de-Provence aromas, black currant, black pepper, baking spice, particularly clove and an increase in earthy and meaty notes.
Best pairings: Chateaubriand with Herbes de Provence crust, Pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with pepper sauce, Pasta with a sausage based sauce, Mushroom risotto, Salami & Dried sausage, Hard goat or Sheep cheese.
Serving Temperature: 17-19 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Decant for 1 to 2 hours
Price: $28 Cdn
I have compiled all my wine recommendations in one place. I will do my best to keep this up to date. I also include the link(s) to the article in which the wine was featured.
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SOURCES:
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
What a great read! I was in that vat with you and then enjoyed the diversion to the Rhone. You Rock!
I thought of you when writing it ( the breeding part)... I knew you would get the humor! I miss you singing to us! Until our next adventure!