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19 Cards in this Set
- Front
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Vin Doux Naturel |
- wide range of fortified wines made throughout the south of france - mostly in the Mediterranean - predominantly based off of Muscat or Grenache Noir - Muscats released unaged to enjoy now while fresh - Grenache come in two styles: wines dominated by primary fruit aromas or the oxidative rancio aromas - Domestic market has shrunk recently however wines remain common on wine lists all over - demise in domestic market is ironic given that france remains largest export market by volume for port (ruby and tawny) both of which are styles reproduced in the Roussillon. |
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location |
Rhone - Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Languedoc - Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois Roussillon - Banyuls - Maury - Rivesaltes - Muscat de Rivesaltes |
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climate |
- warm mediterranean - altitude can have an important impact locally on acid retention and the freshness of the wines |
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Vineyard |
- raisining on the vine, especially Grenache, which often happens in Banyuls |
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Grapes |
- Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains - Muscat of Alexandria for Rivesaltes - Grenache Noir - Other local varieties are permitted in the blends |
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Winery |
- Fermentation is arrested with the addition of highly rectified grape spirit Muscat wines: - winemakers seek to maximise the aromatic intensity of the grape. - oxidation is not permitted and wines are sold when young Other whites: - Rivesaltes, which is rare, can undergo extended oxidative ageing Grenache wines: - 2 key styles depending upon oxygen exposure. - in essence they are both ruby and tawny styled wines - alc. is lower than port - extended maceration after fortification mutage sur grain is also used to extract color and flavor - ruby styles either fruity and youthful or early consumption or more concentrated from longer bottle ageing - oxidative ageing can take place in oak vessels of various sizes or partly sealed in glass bonbonnes. This style is locally referred to as rancio |
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Classifications |
- Banyuls: Banyuls Grand Cru - Rivesaltes: Ambre / Rouge / Tuile / Hor's d'Age |
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Rivesaltes |
- largest appellation of vin doux naturel in Roussillon - today covers 86 villages - no estate produces Rivesaltes alone (covers Pyreneses-Orientales / Cote du Rousillon, Fitou / Corbieres |
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Rivesaltes - History |
- the discovery of the process of making vin doux naturel is attributed to Arnau de Vilanova - he was a dr. of medicine at the university of Montpellier at the end of the 13th century - he added eau de vie to some fermenting grape juice, with which the result was the stoppage of fermentation - in 1299 he received a patent for this discovery - During 14th century, Grenache rather than muscat had assumed prominance as the grape for fortified wines - spanish influence is evidence here for Grenache is spanish in origin and Rousillon was under Aragonese rule - 19th century, muscat superseded grenache - Muscat of Rivesaltes was highly regarded - described originally as dried on the vine which turned it into more like a syrup compared to the other wines that weren't dried - 1827, Arago law which recognized the existence of a style of wine making peculiar to Rousillon - 1898, the term vin doux naturel was given legal recognition - phylloxera hit hard and while vineyards were replanted, it never regained it's former size - Muscat de Rivesaltes (grouped Muscats of Banyuls, Maury, and Rivesaltes covering 90 villages) became an appellation in 1956 |
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Rivesaltes - grapes |
- made from two grape varieties: Muscat a petits grains and Muscat Alexander - muscat alexander has larger berries and is sometimes reffered to as muscat a gros grains / less aromatic than the smaller Muscat berry and gives it a heavier palate with less finesse and a citrus lemony character - muscat a petits grains is more exotic in flavor (pineapples) - % of grapes vary depending upon the grower - no regulations within the appellation for min / max % - some producers like Gerard Gauby make their wine 100% muscat a petits grains |
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Rivesaltes - vinification |
- various methods involving skin contact or immediate pressing and fermentation is always strictly controlled so as to retain the fresh fruit of the grape variety. - Pierre Piquemal (producer) is experimenting with ageing muscat in wood / first vintage was 1993 / realized the wine could use some age before it really became enjoyable / his 1995 Coup de Foudre is rich and apricoty |
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Mutage sur grains |
- when fermentation is stopped while the juice is still in contact with the grape skins - less usual for Muscat de Rivesaltes |
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Rivesaltes - styles |
- 3 or 4 main styles according to color, determined not only by grape but also by length of ageing - Grenache Noir is the grape that is the basis for all good Rivesaltes, along with Grenache Gris / Blanc, Macabeu, and Malvoisie (10% of comp. Carignan, Syrah, Cinsaut are permitted) - traditional taste is gout de rancio (gentle oxidation) - achieved by keeping the wine in large oak casks for some many years (as many as 20) - also can keep them in large glass demijohns called bonbonnes outside so that they are subject to all extremes of temp and climate / not airtight nor are the completely filled so oxidation has an even higher mark / with time, wine turns brown and begins to smell of rich xmas cake and tastes sweet and raisiny with a long nutty tang |
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Rivesaltes Ambre |
- comes from white grapes - develops amber color after a couple of years of oxidative ageing |
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Rivesaltes Grenat / Rouge |
- made from at least 75% grenache noir (which is young and fresh)
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Rivesaltes Tuile |
- minimum 50% Grenache noir, develops orange brick color with a min. 2 years in wood
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Rivesaltes Hors d'Age |
- minimum of five years elevage (progression between fermentation and bottling) - it could be a much longer time - can be applied to Tuile or Ambre |
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Cazes Freres - Rivesaltes producer |
- long established family company in the heart of rivesaltes - buck the trend in that their wines are selling very well, even to the point that they do not have enough stock to meet demand - have ignored the fashion for producing very young wines, with the exception of Muscat de Rivesaltes - for them, Rivesaltes must be aged, that is tradition - they have old barrels (dating back to 1911) that they use - cellar smells of fruitcake, prunes, liquorice, instead of smelling like wine - top wine is 1975 Cuvee Aime Cazes / 90% grenache blanc and 10% muscat / spent 20 years in cask / under 17 dollars, it's a steal / wine is firm with nutty flavors - Muscat de Rivesaltes has opulent muscat perfume, honeyed oranges and well integrated spirits / due to 3 vinification processes - 40% pressed immediately, fermented then muted - another 40% undergoes skin contact for 12 hours and then pressed - remaining 20% is treated like a red wine, skins and juice are fermented together so that mutage takes place sur grains - process makes for an enormous extract that is too powerful on it's own so it is blended with the other two before given 6 months of aging on the fine lees. - final wine has 15 alc with 115 g/L RS |
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Market for rivesaltes |
- has fallen so far from favor, most producers has lost pride in their product - efforts to promote wines have failed despite improvements in quality - temp controls are in now strictly paid attention to / in the past, it didn't matter if fermentation stuck due to heat as it was going to be stopped anyways - Muscat de Rivesaltes was often a deep golden maderized color with a taste of caramel, while today it is almost invariably opulently redolent of the fresh flavor of the grape variety - coops tend to paint a gloomier picture as they have stock to sell and many have reduced prices to a derisory level - it's just fallen from fashion / even those who do like it, drink it in very small quantities - can find great bargains now though - unsure what to do about the decline / used to be sold under a brand name / people were loyal to a brand without really knowing what they were drinking / was just a cheap aperitif / younger drinkers prefer muscat while old rivesaltes demands a certain connoisseurship - attempts have been made to regulate the market a la out of 40 hl/ha of muscat, you can only make Muscat de Rivesaltes out of 30 hl and the remaining balance must be turned into vin de pays as Muscat Sec (which has a higher demand) / creates an artificial supply / demand - some success coming from the development of vintage wines - coops at Baixas first made this style of young grenache that spent 12 months in vat in 1994 and that sales (while slow) are beginning to grow. - compared to port, it's lower in alc. 17-20% - Rivesaltes suffers from lack of a pacemaker - 500-600 producers, several coops, negociants, and individual estates but no collective will - france is one of the biggest consumers of port so it's strange that this lagging behind as it's so similar - Maury and Banyuls (smaller appellations) appear to be flourishing - distinct shift towards Cote du Rousillon and away from Rivesaltes - 20 years ago 3/4 of vineyards of Rousillon produced Rivesaltes, while today the converse is true - needs severe reduction of the appellation for it to recover the reputation of the earlier centuries (cheap aperitif) |
