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Learn about the basics of wine each week.
And, get great recommendations for affordable and attainable wines in the weekly Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week.
Last time we explored how terroir (the soil, terrain and climate) can affect how a single varietal of wine tastes. But, there are a host of other things that can also affect a single varietal’s taste, aroma and overall flavor.
Blending of Grapes in a Single Varietal
This is just a brief outline of some of the factors that can affect a single varietal’s flavor. But, there are even more! And we’ll explore those in future blogs. Cheers!
This is the second of three Behind the Cork™ features highlighting Chilean wines that collectively underline Chile’s historic commitment to sustainable wine growing. Their focus on sustainability includes environmental, social, and economic.
Chile’s elevated sense of agricultural “health-consciousness” can largely be attributed to one man: Claude Gay. In 1830, this French-born botanist, after carrying out some of the first investigations into Chilean flora, fauna, geology and geography, successfully advocated for the creation of a government agency to improve agriculture and protect the country from the perils of imported plant diseases. Chile famously remains one of the few places on the planet where phylloxera has yet to make serious inroads and Vitis vinifera vines continue to thrive on their own un-grafted rootstock.
Here are two more excellent examples of high-quality, affordable wines coming from Chile.
2018 Viñedos Emiliana Coyam ($35)
A pioneer in Chile, Emiliana is one of the world’s largest producers of organic and biodynamic wines in the world. Coyam comes from a vineyard on granite-based soils in Colchaga’s coastal mountain range. All the fruit is own-rooted and is a massal (field) selection of different varieties, except for the Syrah, which is a specific clone. Eight different varieties are included in this tasty blend (42% Syrah, 39% Carmenere, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Garnacha, 3% Malbec, 3% Carignan, 1% Tempranillo and 1% Mouvedre). This medium-bodied wine has nice black and red fruit flavors, medium tannin and an easy finish. It’s made with organically grown grapes and is Vegan.
Sustainability Pillar: Installation and support for organic gardens in local schools in 50% of the communications Emiliana operates in (goal: 100%). Also has 91 organic vegetable gardens for is employees, with many participating in collective growing to provide healthy food for their families.
2019 Viña Koyle Gran Reserva Carmenere ($17)
Viña Koyle’s (KOO-lay) biodynamic vineyards are planted on the rocky slopes of Los Lingues in Alto Colchagua and are currently tended by the sixth generation of a family that has been making wine since 1885. Thanks to the deep roots of the vines, this Carmenere-based wine (85%) also includes Tempranillo (10%) and Petit Verdot (5%).
This wine has nice red fruit flavors of raspberry and cherry, medium tannin and nice finish.
It’s biodynamic, Non-GMO, Organic Agriculture and Vegan.
Sustainability Pillar: Demeter-certified, biodynamic producer Koyle also has installed solar panels which harvest 40% of the energy used.
Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Samples Provided by Creative Palate Communications
The next three Behind the Cork™ features will highlight Chilean wines that collectively underline Chile’s historic commitment to sustainable wine growing. Their focus on sustainability includes environmental, social, and economic.
Chile’s elevated sense of agricultural “health-consciousness” can largely be attributed to one man: Claude Gay. In 1830, this French-born botanist, after carrying out some of the first investigations into Chilean flora, fauna, geology and geography, successfully advocated for the creation of a government agency to improve agriculture and protect the country from the perils of imported plant diseases. Chile famously remains one of the few places on the planet where phylloxera has yet to make serious inroads and Vitis vinifera vines continue to thrive on their own un-grafted rootstock.
Here are the first two excellent examples of high-quality, affordable wines coming from Chile.
Viña Marquis Marquis Gran Reserva Cabernet Franc 2018/SRP $24
Owned by the Hurtado family for four generations, the winery sits between two rivers in the Colchagua Valley. The two waterways not only moderate temperatures and protect the vineyards from spring frosts, but also provide the 6.5-foot layer of concentrated clay set over gravel. These well-drained soils enable grapes to lose their green characteristics early in the season. The long cool 2018 growing season yielded a wine that is vibrantly fresh, featuring a basket of red and black fruit flavors in the mouth, along with floral touches and a dark tobacco background.
Sustainability Pillar: Electrical consumption has been reduced by 30% and liquified gas requirements by 90% thanks to an energy recovery system using geothermal heat pump technology that was awarded the 2013 British Chilean Chamber of Commerce Innovation Prize.
Concha y Toro Gran Reserva Serie Ribeiras Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 / SRP $17
In 2021, powerhouse Concha y Toro received B Corporation Certification, which recognizes companies around the world that meet the highest standards of environmental management, governance and social performance. The Serie Ribeiras line of wines are single vineyard wines offered at super competitive prices. Fruit for this wine comes from the Palo Santo Vineyard, D.O. Marchigüe, Colchagua Valley, on the banks of the Tinguiririca River. The unctuous wine, aged in French oak and foudres, is 94.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with Syrah and Carmenere rounding out the blend.
Sustainability Pillar: B Corporation-certified with metrics including: 100% drip irrigation, 97% of waste reused/ recycled, 24% reduction of waste over 2018, 83% of energy comes from renewable sources.
Carbon Footprint has also been a focus for Concha y Toro, who have been working with international scientific organizations, to develop a detailed roadmap, which identifies costs and pegs them to reduction levels and targets. This methodology has been shared with Wines of Chile and in June 2021 several companies will sign a document in to commit to specific reductions – a first in the wine world.
Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received these samples at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Samples Provided by Creative Palate Communications
I just had the opportunity blind taste three bottles of California red wine. To start the blind tasting, I did not know the varietal type but was told it was a single varietal wine. And, I was informed that one bottle was from the California Central Coast, one was from Paso Robles and the other was from Napa. It turned out that they were all California Merlot. But, each of the three bottles tasted very different. So, why is this?
One simple answer is - Terroir (p. Te-war). This is a French word that’s derived from their word for earth which is “terre.” It describes the interaction of soil, climate, terrain and grape variety in a specific site, and how they each imprint the wine, making each wine from a specific site distinct.
Here’s an overview of the various components that define a terroir:
There are multiple types of Merlot grapes, often referred to as various clones. And a quick survey says there 12 certified clones of Merlot in France, approximately 30 registered clones in California and hundreds of clones of Merlot throughout the world. So, there is great variety within the Merlot family of grapes.
Throughout the world, there is tremendous differences in the types of soil, rock and minerals. Soil definitely affects the flavor of wine while the jury is still out on the topic of rocks and minerals affecting a grape’s flavor. But, many believe that minerals play a defining role.
The geological features of a wine-growing region (e.g., mountains, valleys) as well as surrounding plants and large bodies of water (e.g., rivers, lakes and oceans) affect how a wine tastes.
Wine regions can vary significantly in climate from cool and foggy to hot and sunny. Warmer climates typically generate higher sugar levels whereas cooler climate wine grapes generally have lower sugar levels and higher acidity.
There are also a host of different winemaking techniques that affect how a wine tastes. We’ll get into those next. Until then, Cheers!
2019 Sosie Rossi Ranch Sonoma Valley Red Blend ($43)
For Sosie, France has always shaped their appreciation of wine. It has influenced the way their vineyards are farmed and in the way they treat the fruit in the cellar. They proclaim this affinity with France with their label and their name “Sosie” which in French means ‘twin’ or ‘spitting image.’
In the French tradition of the Rhone Valley, Sosie produces this blend with 51% Grenache, 34% Mouvèdre and 15% Syrah, all from the same certified organic vineyard. However, their wine isn’t just a blend, it’s co-fermented, with all the fruit picked on the same day and the percentages decided then and there. This approach can be a big risk, but it can also yield big rewards.
This Sosie Rhone blend did indeed yield a big reward. While only 10 barrels were produced, I bet they wish they’d made a lot more! The production began with 19 days of skin contact, fermentation in stainless steel tanks and then got the benefit of 15 months of aging in neutral oak.
This GSM Rhone blend is medium ruby in color with dark cherry, lavender, clove and anise aromas. On the palate it’s dusty dry with very moderate tannin, great richness and complexity, flavors of blackberry and plum, and a balanced finish with just the right touch of acidity.
This Sosie Rossie Ranch Red Blend is vegan friendly, organically farmed and fermented with native yeast. With just 10 barrels being produced you may want to get your hands on this one quickly through a direct order from their website. Cheers!
Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Sample Provided by:
Michelle Keene | Account Director
CALHOUN & COMPANY COMMUNICATIONS