New York - OK, you know the names of dozens of grape
varietals and wine regions and all (well, almost all) the Bordeaux crus
classes. You can name with ease the best Burgundy chateaux and famous vineyards
such as Napa’s To Kalon.
But you’re not done yet.
Now it’s time to bone up on the latest must-know: the
“dirty” side of wine. Not the geographic region, grape, or vineyard,
but what’s below the surface of the land, where vine roots sink deep into the
earth that (supposedly) gives a wine its true character and
quality. Soil type is the latest way to classify wines.
At the James Beard Award-winning Husk restaurants in
Charleston, S.C., and in Nashville, wines on the list are organized by rock
type—limestone, granite, slate, volcanic. Under limestone, you’ll see a white
from Portugal; under granite you’ll find two Beaujolais reds from Fleurie.
More and more bottles are highlighting their rock roots
right on the bottle as well. The first cabernets from Argentine
billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni’s brand-new estate in Napa, which are
being launched next month, include two wines in a so-called Lithology line.
Each features a different type of rock on the label.
Film producer and wine entrepreneur Mark Tarlov and
Burgundian powerhouse winemaker Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, who are behind
Oregon pinot noir winery Chapter 24 Vineyards, are also pushing the importance
of identifying soil on the label in their Fire + Flood wines.
“If you prefer the Fire,” asserts Tarlov, of his pinot
grown in volcanic soil, “you’ll like wine from volcanic rocks, with smoky, savoury
flavours, like those from Sicily’s Mt. Etna. People who prefer the Flood [grown
in sedimentary soil] are river people, who go for wines that are supple,
rounder, and smoother, like Bordeaux.”
The underlying idea, of course, is that volcanic soil
provides a taste theme irrespective of grape or region, be it California
or Italy or New Zealand. Winemakers say that the type of soil
strongly influences the personality of the wine in the glass, giving the best
ones a distinct “sense of place.”
A photo posted by Chapter 24 Vineyards (@chapter24vineyards) on Dec 16, 2016 at 4:52pm PST
True, the concept that specific flavours are being
transmitted from rocks to vines is not exactly backed by scientists—“Vineyard
geology can’t be tasted in wine in any direct way,” says Dr. Alex Maltman, a
geologist at Aberystwyth University—but many winegrowers remain convinced.
Which means wine lovers should get prepared.
Think of the new rock-mania as the latest extension of
the traditional French concept of terroir.
“Soil is making a comeback,” says natural wine high
priestess Alice Feiring, whose new book, The Dirty Guide to
Wine, comes out in June. It aims to convey the wider world of rocks
in an entertaining personal way, offering helpful “cheat sheets” linking rocks,
regions, and grapes. Feiring rightly points out that organic viticulture
helps differences in the glass stand out as long as winemakers match the right
grape to the right soil. I buy into that, too.
Read also: '100 wine producers are lost each year'
Take Muscadet, my go-to oyster wine. Wines from the local
melon de bourgogne grape taste very different depending on the type of rock on
which the vines grow. Over the past 10 years, the best vignerons have been
identifying the region’s top vineyard sites in terms of their rocks and soil.
Since 2011, nine have been officially recognized as crus communaux, or grands
crus. One of the first was Clisson, known for its bedrock of granite, whose
wines are edgy, complex, and very mineral tasting, with salty
power. Goulaine, known for its schist soil, produces wines that are
rounder and softer. Some winemakers make several cuvées, each highlighting
a different type of rock.
In Alsace, the grands crus are a geological laundry
list that includes the granite of Brand and the volcanic site of Rangen.
Interest in volcanic wines, has, well, erupted. Witness
the popularity of bottles from the slopes of Mt.
Etna and Greece’s Santorini. Oregon’s latest appellation, added in
2015, is the Rocks District, an area of dark-colored volcanic basalt, whose
wines have a distinct earthy, savory flavor. It helps that volcanic
grape-scapes also happen to be some of the most spectacular in the
world. Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grit, and Power by Canadian master sommelier
John Szabo, published last October, is proof enough, filled with knockout
photos and fascinating info to equip you to get into the wine-dirt
linkage with your sommelier.
If you’d rather just drink your way to knowledge,
here’s my quick guide to rocks and their respective wines to try:
Alluvial
This fertile soil features a mix of sand, gravel, and
silt. It has good water and nutrient retention, translating into the more
opulent style of wine found on the Napa Valley floor.
Bottle to Buy: 2014 Alejandro Bulgheroni
Lithology Beckstoffer To Kalon ($175)Of the Lithology series wines, this
cabernet with a sandstone on its label was my favorite. It’s rich and complex,
with dark mineral tones and smooth tannins, earthier than the winery’s opulent,
powerful estate cabernet.
Granite
The hardest bedrock contains a lot of quartz and drains
quickly, forcing vine roots deep into the earth. The wines have edgy flavors
and structures.
Bottle to Buy: 2014 Domaine de l’Écu Muscadet
Sèvre et Maine Granite ($22)The domaine makes three very different Muscadets
with labels that highlight the subsoils. This one shows powerful stony flavors
and has more aging potential than the citrusy Gneiss cuvée and the herbal
Orthogneiss bottling.
Limestone
This chalky subsoil, made from fossilized seashells
left behind by a prehistoric sea, has been famous for centuries as the source
of great wines in Burgundy and Champagne.
Bottle to Buy: 2014 Patrick Piuze Chablis Les
Preuses Grand Cru ($100)Winegrowers in Chablis, such as Piuze, credit
Kimmeridgean limestone for the deep, tangy and salty flavours of their
chardonnays. This one, with aromas of flint and stones and layers of mineral
and flower flavours, is shot through with energy.
Silex
Composed of flint and sand, this rock is found in
Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire Valley and gives wines a smoky
character.
Bottle to Buy: 2011 Domaine Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé
Silex ($125)This intense, deep, flinty sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley
has earthy-truffley aromas—and a cult following. Now made by the son of the
late wild man Didier Dagueneau, it’s a wine to age.
Slate
Layered in broken slabs, slate warms quickly in the sun
and retains heat, allowing grapes in cold climates to ripen fully. The steep
vineyards in Germany’s Mosel region are famous for slate that gives rieslings a
spicy, citrus, flower-and-flint taste.
Bottle to Buy: 2014 Fritz Haag 'J' Brauneberg
Riesling Trocken ($35)This racy, exciting white, from red slate vineyards, is
pure and refreshing.
Volcanic
A catch-all name for varied soils born in fiery
explosions includes pumice, lava ash, and basalt. The wines often show smoky
aromas, dark, earthy flavours, and mouthwatering acidity.
Bottle to Buy: 2012 Chapter 24 Vineyards The Fire
($60)Vibrant and sparky, this pinot from Oregon’s Willamette Valley has plenty
of bright energy and power with a spine of minerality.
Bottle to Buy: 2012 Diamond Creek Vineyards Volcanic
Hill ($200)In the early 1970s, this Napa Valley winery introduced three
cabernets from different soils. This one, from a vineyard of gray
volcanic ash is savoury and long, with flavours of dense minerality.
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