Page 15 - Code de Vino, #3/10, s/a 2009
P. 15
Code de Vino #3 Talk with Jean-Marc Quarin 15
are true to form. When I try Cabernet Sauvignon from People today are willing to pay more for better wine,
California, I taste mostly smoked notes. It also has tones and chateaus try hard to win over customers’ trust and
of blackcurrant, but due to its higher alcohol content, the attention. They intentionally reduce productivity per hectare
structure and feel of the wine changes. to increase overall quality. When productivity goes down,
— A number of Bulgarian experts believe the homeland Cabernet Sauvignon makes its own transformation. It gains
of Cabernet Sauvignon is Bulgaria. What are your this «meat,» i.e. the proper texture and structure. That’s
thoughts on that? why when grown in good soil, it can account for 100%
— I don’t know any Bulgarian wines, and I think they’re of the bottle. Here is an example: up to 1995 in Chateau
mistaking their wish for reality. Perhaps they should Margaux, 25% of land was allotted to Merlot, but this
concentrate instead on improving the quality of their grapes number shrunk every year.
today. Now, almost 90% of the land in Chateau Margaux is
occupied by Cabernet Sauvignon.
— Do you consider any wines from Medoc a worthy
product? — Monsieur Quarin, when Russians want to find
— If you want your grape to have texture, there must be a a good wine, they go by price or their friends’
layer of clay below the soil where it grows, like in Chateau recommendations. What’s a more reliable indicator of
Latour or Chateau du Moulin Rouge. The grapes cultivated quality?
there imbue wines with a special, broader impression inside — You have to develop your own taste, there’s really no
your mouth. Without clay, Cabernet Sauvignon is a lot more other way.
straightforward. Besides, Cabernet Sauvignon is like the
vertebral column, where you can add Merlot or Petit Verdot, — Here’s another question then: after tasting
but it will still always stay Cabernet Sauvignon. The other professionally for just 2 or 3 years, can one actually
types just serve as the muscles supporting it. Surprisingly, become a good taster or sommelier?
Cabernet Sauvignon can play this secondary role as well, — Sure, if they study for those 2 years with me (laughs).
without any need for support.
— So, you think a good expert can train someone in
— So, you think Cabernet Sauvignon is self-sufficient? their art over such a short period of time?
— Exactly. — I’m ready to prove it (smiles). The first thing everyone
needs to know about Cabernet Sauvignon is that the
— Monsieur Quarin, what’s your personal attitude to best wines in Bordeaux can be made only of Cabernet
Cabernet Sauvignon? Sauvignon. You should also pay attention to the mouthfeel
— My teachers always told me that Cabernet Sauvignon is at the beginning, middle and end of tasting.
best thought of as a vertebral column. Yet we can also go Traditionally, Cabernet Sauvignon reveals itself at the end,
beyond this metaphor and remember that Bordeaux wines in the so-called «finale.» The finale is the most positive and
are typically blends of several grapes, and so we also need valued tasting stage. Based on this principle, if you mix
to understand why Cabernet Sauvignon is often mixed with wine from the left bank of Garonne with a large content of
Merlot. Basically, it all comes down to productivity. If you Cabernet and wine from the right bank with a prevailing
can make 5 to 6 liters from one hectare, which is a lot, your amount of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it is important to
Cabernet Sauvignon will be very straightforward, it will lack differentiate between the nuances in taste. However, not
the «meat» of the vertebral column. It will have, as I call all expert can tell this difference, as Merlot cultivated in
them, square or angular tannins. And producers need to limestone soil often has the same taste in the finale as
«round» them off. That’s why they add Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions
here.
— You classify tannins as square or round?
— Yes, and wines with square tannins will never bring you — Can we say that the most important aspect of
true joy. What are square tannins? These are the coarse Cabernet Sauvignon is that it has a special structure
tannins that make your mouth dry. If dryness is all you feel, that dates centuries back in history?
there’s no room for pleasure. So, when a taster says a wine — I agree that Cabernet Sauvignon has a structure, but it
has silky or rounded tannins, that’s a good thing. is first and foremost about the taste. If a wine is structured,
For this reason, many winemakers in Medoc believe that it has a distinct finale, a bit more astringent than that of
smooth wine can be achieved by just adding Merlot to Merlot. Again, wine is one thing, but the ability to work with
it. Plus, Merlot ripens before Cabernet Sauvignon, and it, this skill — it’s a whole other side. This might sound
they harvest it before the start of the rainy season when obvious and clichéd, but we need more schools for tasters.
the weather changes drastically in the second half of And it’s important that real tasters work there, not some old
September. retirees who have nothing better to do, so they teach things