Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/314991
62 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2014 As this conversation took place—mostly in large, urban markets with a longstanding wine culture—I thought it was a great time to look at one of the first to champion this winemak- ing—to see how these wines aged and how they differed from pre-bio to post-bio farming. Could it help us see a bigger picture? And would these low-intervention wines be able to speak of the land the way a vertical of Musigny from Vogüe would? The controversy didn't take long to ignite! The 12 of us tasted the wines in two differ- ent flights blind, taking vigorous notes. We stopped to discuss the individual wines that were randomly poured: 1967, 1973, 1983, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2002 through 2011, skipping 2004. Everyone scored each wine from 1–20 and those scores were averaged. I can't list all our tasting notes, so I will summarize: The wines were very erratic and exotic! I have done many of these tastings and have never had such varied opinions from the same taster from one wine to the next—from hate to love and everything in between. I have never heard so many exotic descriptors: chamomile, green and black tea, soy sauce, ginger and star anise, kale, barley and wild wet flowers. (Re-listening to the audio of our ses- sion made me want to take up poetry.) Yet the same descriptors came again and again: acid (good and bad), saline, botrytis and minerality. I think it was very evident that the wines (all but '67, '73) had more structure, weight and depth. They also scored higher than Joly's mother's wines, leading to the assumption that bio-farming, not just age, was a factor in our assessing quality. The older of Nicolas's wines were the highest- scoring and most praised. Many panelists noted how quickly the wines were evolving and chang- ing (Joly suggests decanting up to three days in advance—not possible for our purposes). The highest-scoring wines were 1995, 2002 & 1983; the lowest-rated wines were 2010, Notes from the Somms Eric Zillier: "Although some wines were drastically different than the next, for better or worse I respected the individuality of them all." Hristo Zisovski: "Impressive that they are so different yet from the same place. The older wines clearly showed better, so I think it would be great to see these younger wines in ten to 15 years and see if they balance with age." Bernie Sun: "There is a thread of minerality that is from the soil that runs through all of these wines. He [Joly] pushes the envelope [on ripeness] in Savennières—too far can be debated—but I would still love to see many of these wines ten years from now." Daniel Johnnes: "There were a few wines that showed well today, but the winemaker has a responsibility to history, to the terrior, to the appellation and to the consumer. I believe these wines are made irresponsibly because they are so inconsistent." Hristo Zisovski, Beverage Director at AltaMarea group. PHOTO: DANIEL KRIEGER 2006, 1973. The younger wines took a harder slamming mostly due to their unpleasant acidity and out-of-balance character. Many panelists speculated it was inconsistent wine- making, though the winemaker claims to use the same exact practice with each vintage. Some thought it irresponsible to the con- sumer, to which Joly might argue his only responsibility is to the land. In his words, "Don't drink it if you don't like it!" Do these wines just need time to evolve to achieve balance? I think so. And for that reason, the panel also thought they are risky to sell in restaurants. I agree with that, too. I think it is imperative to taste these wines, choose a vintage you can work with in your restaurant and decant them well in advance of serving. The wines can be incredible if you find the right one at the right time. Somm Journal June/July.indd 62 5/9/14 12:10 PM