Thursday, May 22, 2008

Wave goodbye to winter.


Domaine Tempier you probably already know, but as I was browsing Du Vin Wine and Spirits today, I saw these half bottles in their big diverse bins of 375ml. ($26.99 in half bottle, $43.99 in full)

I love the 2005s, the entry level Bandol is 75% Mourvedre, with the remainder a mix of Grenache and Carignan. Deep and rich, with intense black fruits and it's waayyy less dirty and stinky than the last few vintages. This one actually tastes clean and pretty!

Because it was raining today it seemed like the perfect time to cuddle up at night and drink a toast to the last remnants of winter and spring!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Less dirty because they finally purged Brett from their cellars.

Amy said...

and how did they do that???

Anonymous said...

1. the addition of generous amounts of free sulphur dioxide (SO2) at strategic intervals;
2. the elimination of residual sugars & nitrogen at the end of fermentation aka brett fuel;
3. clean cooperage may or may not help: better safe than sorry;
4. mine's a pint

Anonymous said...

"It would be very interesting if we could isolate a strain of brett that worked in wine, depleting nutrients but producing very low levels of 4-ethyl phenol. In this way, one could inoculate one’s wine with brett, much the same way as one inoculates one’s wine with malolactic bacteria, thus depleting nutrients and rendering the wine safe from further microbial degradation."

Amy said...

Dr. Pascal, yes, yes, I understand how to control Brett - but how the hell do you elminate it once it's invaded your cellars?? I went to a Vinquiry seminar at CCWS on wine faults and if I recall correctly they recommended burning the cellar down to get rid of it. It's a bit like eliminating TCA. Throwing out old barrels is the first step - but the yeasts are just everywhere - maybe they bleached it out (kidding!) I was shocked and thrilled when I tasted the 05 Tempiers - I am not a lover of "baby poopy diaper" nose.

And as for finding that strain of brett to inoculate with - why??? You can't cherry pick your brett flavors...