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
   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20