Unfiltered look at the appeal of natural wines
What is the closest you can get to fermented grape juice with nothing added or taken away? The answer is a natural wine.
You might think that most wines are ‘natural’, but in reality even organic wines can feature up to 50 additives including tannins, acids or colourants to the winemaking process to ‘correct’, and supposedly improve, the wine.
The idea with natural wines is that they are made with minimal technological intervention both in the vineyard – and crucially – during winemaking. The most they add is a dash of sulphur, a preservative widely used to prevent re-fermentation and protect wine from oxidation.
Some natural winemakers like James Erskine of Jauma in Australia’s Mclaren Vale or Paul Esteve of Domaine des Miquettes in France’s Rhône valley are even willing to risk eschewing sulphur altogether.
Wines have been made this way for more than 6,000 years. Only in the last two centuries have technological processes and chemicals been introduced, but recently the idea of making wines naturally has become popular as a reaction to crop-spraying and over-use of sulphites.
The issue many critics have with this modern movement is that it is self-policed, though L’associationdes Vins Naturels are lobbying the French government to introduce legislation.
So what does a true ‘natural wine’ taste like? Some are hazier than conventional wines as they have not been filtered or fined. Some whites can have a deep amber colour (some call them orange wines) which derives from lengthy skin-contact. Natural winemakers often treat a white wine as if it was red, macerating skins in contact with wine for long periods.
Tastewise, the best natural wines remind me of cider and some have a wonderful clarity, purity of fruit and linear quality – evoking the ‘terroir’ in which they were grown, but
the worst taste almost feral – and smell like a cow shed.
If you fancy experiencing natural wines, head to a specialist merchants like Raeburn Wines, L’art du Vin and Henris of Edinburgh or online, Les Caves de Pyrene, www.lescaves.co.uk and Buon Vino, www.buonvino.co.uk.
You can now find them on bar and restaurant winelists too including Timberyard, Good Brothers and Henris in Edinburgh. To taste a crosssection head to the Wild Wine Fair at Timberyard in Edinburgh on Sunday 29 July.
For more, read Natural Wine: An Introduction to Organic and Biodynamic Wines made Naturally (£16.99, CICO) by Isabelle Legeron, a fellow Master of Wine and passionate advocate.
Natural whites
Mclaren Vale, Australia: Jauma Sand On Schist Chenin Blanc 2016
No sulphur, filtration or fining, bottled under crown cap. Made by James Erskine from 80-year-old ungrafted vines. Hazy appearance, appealing green apple and elderflower aromas, a distinctly cidery flavour, earthy undertones and moderate alcohol level – very appealing.
£24, Les Caves de Pyrene, www. lescaves.co.uk
Itata, Chile: Tierra De Itata Muscat 2016
Astounding vibrant muscat made by Leonardo Erazo and Christelle Guibert from 150-year-old bushvines in Chile’s southerly Itata. Beautiful amber colour (from 42 days’ skin contact),
unfiltered with a dash of sulphur. Exotic intense grape and barley sugar aromas, palate like biting into a fresh melon, so fresh, minerally and light-bodied.
£18.95, Henris of Edinburgh, www.henrisofedinburgh.co.uk
Primorska, Slovenia: Ribolla Gialla Opoka 2015 Marjan Simcic
Pale yellow, nutty appley aroma, earthy, soft textured with minerally notes. Marjan Simcic is on the Friuli/slovenia border with vineyards on both sides. He uses 60-year-old vines, fermented in concrete eggs with 14 day skin contact, no filtering and a dash of sulphur.
£33, Woodwinters, www. woodwinters.com
Asturias, Spain: Fanfarria Blanco 2016 Dominio de Urogallo
Unusual blend of local albarin blanco and albillo from oceanside vineyards in Cangas del Narcea. Unfiltered, unfined, no sulphur. Fresh pear and citrus fruits, with a waxy creamy undertone; light on finish.
£15, www.lescaves.co.uk
Natural reds
Oregon, USA: Evolution Red 4th Edition Sokol Blosser
Popular with tasters for its juicy, soft texture and light oak notes. Syrah is dominant with raspberry and peppery notes, but remaining grapes in this bizarre mix include red sangiovese, montepulciano and white riesling, semillon and gewurztraminer.
£16.95, www.buonvino.co.uk; www.lescaves.co.uk
Northern Rhône, France: St Joseph Amphora Rouge 2016 Domaine des Miquettes
Earthy syrah with raspberry and violet notes, textured palate with grippy tannins. Paul Esteve and Chrystelle Vareille use 50-year-old vines from St Joseph’s highest vineyards (ploughed by horse), fermented and matured in clay amphora. No fining, filtration or sulphur.
£25, www.lescaves.co.uk