Studious holidays? Revision for the start of the new year? Absolutely not! For us iDealwiners – that’s to say, the iDealwine ladies –, wine is a true passion that we pursue every day. So why not make the most of the holidays to meet winemakers and taste some delicious wines? Read on to learn all about what we saw, heard, experienced and drank in the past few weeks!
ELSA IN CORSICA
As mentioned in a previous article, our favorite Marketing and PR Manager spent the summer in Corsica. And on the « Ile de Beauté », as it’s known… you really do find some beautiful bottles! While walking around Patrimonio, Elsa stopped by Antoine Arena, whose mother let them taste both reds and whites. Absolutely won over, she bought a bottle of… everything! Including the Cap Corse Muscat. Moving on to another domain, in the direction of Ajaccio, where Comte Abbatucci produces stunning, delicious wines often composed of 6 or 7 grape varieties. During a tasting of their whole range of wines, at the property’s restaurant, Elsa fell in love with the white Le Général. Your favorite too? We recently spoke to you about U Stiliccionu. Elsa had been dreaming of exploring this domain. She went… and didn’t come back empty-handed that’s for sure! Her advice is to taste the cuvée Antica, while walking around Lake Nino, with melons from the domain (they too are diodynamic, of course)…
FANNY IN ARDECHE
Having polished her gastronomic and enological knowledge while in Savoie in July, Fanny didn’t leave the hilly landscapes and headed to the Ardeche. After a tough descent – by canoe! – down the Gorges de l’Ardèche, she arrived at Vallon-Pont-d’Arc to visit the Domaine du Colombier. The IGP Coteaux de l’Ardèche Reserve Viognier 2015 was a lovely surprise, matured in oak barrels, it was aromatically very persistent (vanilla) and reminded her of her favorite local speciality: chestnut cream! She also loved the cuvée Mystère du Domaine Bournet, a dessert wine produced from late harvest grapes, with delicious apple and quince aromas.
CONSTANCE: FROM ALSACE TO CORSICA
Do you know Alsace? Perhaps you went around Christmastime. In the summer it is just as magical, and allows you to go for amazing walks in the dense forests of Les Vosges, to discover places full of painful memories from World War I, to stroll around the vines and speak with Alsatians, whose kindness is legendary.
We had lots of domain visits planned as we really love Alsatian wines! For instance, we arranged to meet to Faller family from the Weinbach domain. After a good hour spent in amongst the vines, discovering their Grand crus like Schlossberg, where their precious little berries grow, Eddy Faller let us taste remarkable wines with unique aromatic character. Tasting such old vintages certainly didn’t leave us indifferent and left us comfortable in the thought that leaving our wines to lie for a few years can only do them good!
Tuesday 22 August. A date that will forever be engraved in our memories. It’s 2pm and we’re on time for our meeting at domain Marcel Deiss. Marie-Hélène Cristofaro, Jean-Michel Deiss’s wife warmly welcomed us and took us to see their vinification room and their cellar. They told us all about their exciting work and projects for the future.
An hour later, we went back out into the light of day to commence a truly original tasting session, just like the wines that they produce. Going against the current in terms of current Alsatian trends, the domain is on a crusade of sorts in the defense of Alsatian terroirs, which express and shape the wines. In order to do so, they cultivate their vines following biodynamic principles and practice the old Alsatian tradition of “complantation”.
5.30pm. We think we’ve already taken up much more of their time than we should have. But no, Marie-Hélène Cristofaro takes us to meet Jean-Michel Deiss who’s been working under a blazings sun for a few hours already!
What a stunning visit! We listen attentively to this incredibly talented figure. With him, we learnt about the needs of the vines where Gewurztraminers, pinots noirs and many other varieties are planted together. We then saw several different crus and emblematic places: Marckrain, Schoenonenbourg, Clos Sainte-Hune… Thanks to them, these names which e’ve seen so many times on bottle labels come to life in the form of vines bursting with almost-ripe fruit.
The warm Alsatian light wanes. It’s already 7pm. The past 5 hours flew by, but our hosts’ generosity did not stop there: “Can I offer you a bottle?” they ask us. It’s impossible for us to leave without some superb examples of Grasberg, Grunspiel, Altenberg de Bergheim and Schoenenbourg. And so we’ve filled our cellar with wines that we’re going to leave for a good few years, maybe decades. As Jean-Michel Deiss told us, “Working well in the vineyard demands patience. I probably won’t see the results of what I’m creating. My children will.” His wine is produced like this. And just like him, we’ll be patient.
After Alsace, we headed to Corsica. Although we weren’t able to visit any domains, we really enjoyed the beautiful countryside, where vines run along the foothills of rocky mountains. We’ll leave you with some photos of some of the lovely cuvées that we tasted during our travels. If you’re ever in the area, make sure you stop by! If not, don’t worry – you’ll be able to find many of these bottles on iDealwine of course. 😊
We hope your summer was also full of delicious finds! Don’t hesitate to share your discoveries with us!
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Other things to read on the iDealwine blog:
Matter-of-Taste : iDealwine in Singapore for a day of tasting
The auctions make a comeback: 4,200 rare and unfindable wines
Château Reynon : the Dubourdieu family’s enchanted garden
