DOMAINE DES CASSAGNOLES COTES DE GASCOGNE, GILLES BAUMAN

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand” …  Neil Armstrong

In the hands of a master, simple clay becomes a work of art.  And we are left to wonder and appreciate and ponder upon how it was accomplished.  Gilles Baumann with the help of his daughter, Laurie, are masters of humble grapes.  Blending Columbard, Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng they include some Sauvignon Blanc and create a white wine (Domaine Des Cassagnoles) of distinction.  It is summertime in a glass. And it all happens in Southwest France, an under-appreciated region, which perhaps accounts for its “Mizerly” pricing.  It is my summer value of the year and should be considered my “insider tip” for 2018.

Columbard is the offspring of Chenin Blanc and Gouais Blanc and is used almost exclusively as a blending grape.  It’s relatively neutral in character, not important in the making of table wine and used in the production of cognac and Armagnac. It is noted for its acidity and used all too often in the production, domestically,  of “jug wine.”  Ugni Blanc is better known as Trebbiano in Italy. While it offers fruity and citrusy aromas, it too is noted for its acidity. Gros Manseng can add some flavorful notes, notably apricot and quince, but is noted for its acidity also.  Add in Sauvignon Blanc and you might conclude this wine was acidic enough to leech the enamel off your teeth.

It’s not.

And the plot builds:

In a blind taste, you would be forgiven for guessing this wine to be Sauvignon Blanc.  Less minerality than a Sancerre.  Less grapefruit and grass than a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, but Sauvignon Blanc from somewhere.  South Africa?  No, that’s not it.  But Sauvignon Blanc nonetheless. Yet Sauvignon Blanc comprises the smallest percentage of the blend.  Columard could be (depending upon the character of each vintage and the winemaker’s decision) as much as 40-50%, Ugni Blanc (30%) and Gros Manseng (20-25%).  So assuming each vintage is comprised of the upside of typical, the blend is already at 105%.  At the lower end, the percentage left for Sauvignon Blanc is only 10%. 

The mystery then is how all these acidic, somewhat neutral grapes come to make such a delicious wine? One with a clean mineral edge.  Crisp and zesty, but not overly sharp or acidic, it’s balanced with unripe white peach on the palate.  The lime is creamily subdued and rounded as in a lime meringue pie.  Lemon, green apple, white flowers, tangerine and green herbs greet the nose and carry on to the palate. Grassy notes and grapefruit are detected on the palate also but so classically French: in balance with the fruit, working harmoniously in a textured symphony, each note contributing to the whole of the experience.  A hint of pineapple offset by unsweet kiwi.

 

Quaffable, but offering complexity uncommon for these grapes, one is left to wonder how it was accomplished.  I first experienced this wine by tasting the last of what was on the shelves from the 2016 vintage.  So impressed was I that I ordered a case. But the 16s were to be no more. I approved an order for a case of the 2017. With an average retail price if $9.99, the risk was small – made even less so by the retailer selling it at just $7.29 a bottle.  Inexpensive wine can be good.  And good wine is always good, though not always inexpensive. But very good wine that is inexpensive is always a joyous find.  I’m very glad I found this one and I’m happy to share it with you.

Sante!

………………. Jim

Follow Wine Mizer on Facebook for mini-reviews, food & wine pairings, industry news and more.

Etcetera

ALC:                     12%

Closure:                Twist Off

Wine:                    White Blend

Grapes estate grown, each variety vinified separately. Small skin maceration for the Columbard and Gros Manseng.  Pneumatic pressing, cold stabilization, fermentation at 18c (64.4F). Aging in tank until bottled.

Baumann’s Cassagnoles is a consistent Medaille D’Or winner in Eauze (the local competition) and Paris, as well as three star and Coup de Coeur in Guide Hachette.

Estate grown and bottled from their Lutte raisonnée farmed vines, certified by Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE).

Imported by:      WEYGANDT-METZLER

      

My belle-souer (sister-in-law)  has access to the best brats on the
planet as the meat comes from her farm and the brats are
 made from a local packing house.  The Domaine Des
Cassagnoles is so food-friendly it cleanses the palate from
 many different dishes (here, the swiss cheese in the brats)
and accompanies the diner as would a favorite re-born hero at your table.

Eating light for summer?  Tuna salad is a childhood comfort food like warm tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is in the winter, except I wasn't drinking white wine when I was seven. . A perfect foil to the mayonnaise is the Domaine Des Cassagnoles.

You may not agree (after all, all palates are personal and correct for the persons owning them), but I "practice what I preach" and, for me, this wine is case-worthy.

NOVELLUM CHARDONNAY

“Making good wine is a skill. Fine wine is an art.” – Robert Mondavi

Normally, I don’t pair salmon with Chardonnay.  All palates are personal and correct for themselves.  Mine prefers Sancerre.  But, as with many dishes, how the protein is prepared or the dish is sauced, is as important as the entrée itself.  Besides, I was looking for an excuse to open this wine “find” and it worked so well, I had to share the experience.  On the plate

is broiled sesame salmon (Alaskan wild-caught Sockeye). It was prepared with a mixture of lime juice, honey, vegetable oil and coconut aminos and served with tropical fruits. The Chardonnay? A 2016 “Novellum.”

Novellum comes with the simple “Vin de France” appellation, meaning Wine of France.  Uncorking the wine shows it is from the Roussillon region in Southwest France, not the Cote de Beaune so well known for Chardonnay.  But I was drawn to this wine by noticing on the back label that it was an “Eric Solomon” selection. There are names on labels that have, for me – for decades - indicated value.   Solomon is one of them.  With an ARP of $12, and this bottle on sale for just $8.97, and being unfamiliar with French wines labeled by variety instead of region, I took a chance based on the Solomon name.

Good thing!  An interesting Chardonnay.  Interesting and also pleasurable, and (luckily) a great pairing with the salmon.  Tasting this wine leaves you puzzled, questioning just what it is that makes it unique.  It’s not oaky.   In fact, it finishes clean and is crisp throughout, while yet not being thin or overly acidic.  Excellent balance. But something different is going on here that sets it apart and makes it pleasurably unusual.   The vines average 30+ years of age, so fruit is concentrated. But that’s not it.  The area in Roussillon in which the grapes are grown average an elevation of 15 meters (49.21 feet): nothing extraordinary.  Soil is clay, limestone and galets – pretty much standard.  The area in Roussillon is where the Pyrrenees meet the Mediterranean and near Mount Canigou -   about par in advantages vs disadvantages for growing Chardonnay grapes.  Problem is, the wine itself speaks all positive.   After fermentation, the wine is aged in steel (80%), accounting for its aromatics, freshness and fruit.  20% (often less) is aged in wood, but the wood is neutral.  Aging is for three months in tank on the lees of Viognier  and therein lies the difference.   

This is genius wine!  This is cool climate California meets the sophistication of

Maconnais, a unique “hybrid” that is 100% Chardonnay from 100% Vitus Vinifera , sustainably farmed and made into wine with great thought at every step along the way.  5% undergoes malolactic fermentation.  That with the lees contact provides enough body while maintaining the classic French profile of balance and subtlety, suggestion vs. prevalence, finesse vs imbalance.         

In the glass, it presents medium lemon.  The nose offers light and bright notes of lemon backed up with deeper notes of candied orange.  Enjoy aromas of tropical fruit and notes of apricot and green apple.  On the palate, both the lemon and orange repeat, but are joined with a hint of lime.  An undercurrent of minerality carries throughout the taste with hints of crushed rock.  The palate is layered. Honeysuckle, green apple, apricot and a mild yeastiness, offset nicely by the citrus adds, complexity. The texture is honeyed.  Others pick up pear, herbs, sour peach, white peach and spice.

This is not wine with a gimmick to be different (for better or worse).  It’s not aged in barrels used to age soy sauce or balsamic vinegar.  Years ago, Jean-Marc and Eliane Lafage (proprietors) worked with a cooperative in Languedoc to make Novellum from a site that in most years had some botrytis.  Today, in Roussillon, there is no botrytis.  Using grapes affected by “noble rot” is not a gimmick.  But I think the wine is better off without it.  This is a clean, medium plus bodied wine that makes the most out of a rather neutral grape.  It emphasizes terroir, not the winemaker’s talents though they cannot be minimized.  Each decision (neutral wood, percentage of malolactic fermentation, percentage of tank aging) is critical to the finished product.  And aging on the lees of Viognier ranks high among those decisions.  Adding weight without the secondary notes of oak adds a subtle finessed note of grace and interest to this varietal of a thousand faces.  That this wine is available at such a price affords everyone an opportunity to experience it. And, frankly, it competes with wines at 4-5 times the cost.

Nor is this 2016 vintage Novellum a once in a decade hit.  Rated 92 by Wine Advocate, it earned 90 points in 2015, 89 in 2014 and 92 in 2013. It seems making art is a habit with the Novellum of Jean-Marc and Eliane Lafage.

A votre sante!

………………………Jim

Follow and like Wine Mizer on Facebook for mini-reviews, suggested food pairings, industry news and more.