WHY WINE
CHATEAU D'O
No one handles the fragile pinot noir better than Burgundy. The great wines of the Cote d'Or and Cote de Nuit have an elegance and complexity that surprises me every time I have a chance to taste such a wine. But this perfection comes at a price due to the combination of small plots, the high cost of production and a strong euro.
A good Burgundy, I mean one that tastes like a true Burgundy, will set you back thousands of baht. And I'm not even talking about the supreme examples, the collector's items, as they say, from the Domaine de la Romanee Conti. The Romanee Conti was selling in Bangkok a few years ago for over 120,000 baht! Of course less than 7,000 bottles are made each year and limited editions have their own value.
I had the chance to drink one such bottle (not here, but thanks to a rich and generous friend in the USA) and I still dream about this continuous explosion of new flavours, of the endless finish - in a way it has lasted until today. I also know that my chance to have a second experience is close to none.
Burgundies can also be very disappointing. The market is full of indifferent bottles, with fancy labels full of great promises, glowing literature and little more in the glass than vague allusions to true Burgundy. High yields dilute the character of the grape and give way to indifference.
In Burgundy all reds must be made of pinot noir with only two exceptions: the fast disappearing Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire and the Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains - both allow a good dose of gamay. Fortunately one can now find good pinot noir outside of France - in the United States, especially in Oregon, where French vineyards have invested for years, and in Australia.
Bill Taylor was a successful wine merchant in Sydney until he decided to make his own wine. Mr Taylor bought lands in the Clare Valley, north of Adelaide, and with the assistance of his sons, planted cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, pinot noir and riesling. Today the Taylors make some of the best rieslings outside Germany, Austria or Alsace, and still run a very successful, high-quality family business.
The Clare Valley is not large, but is one of the best areas for winemaking in Australia. The finding of fossilised seahorses confirmed the fact that it was once an inland sea, giving today a rich and fertile soil, with limestone and brown loam called terra rosa. The general climate is somewhat reminiscent of the Mediterranean with warm days and cold nights.
The 2006 Pinot Noir from the Southern Highlands of the Clare Valley offers genuine pinot noir character with a good dose of alcohol at 14.6%. I cannot remember where in Bangkok I found this bottle a few months ago but I paid 785 baht for it and don't regret it.
It had a nice purple colour and the unmistakable flavour of pinot noi, a subtle mix of black cherries and tobacco leaf, of plum and tree moss. Whenever I have a good pinot noir the memories of long walks in the forests of western Europe come back to haunt me like Proust's Madeleine, the light little finger cakes of his own childhood. I wish it could be a little lighter in alcohol, though.
I enjoyed this wine with smoked breast of chicken, and a cool potato salad - simple but enjoyable at a reasonable price. Don't serve at room temperature unless your room is at 15 to 16 degrees centigrade. If it is the case, good for you but watch out for that electricity bill.
Email: Chateaudo377@gmail.com
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