Touriga Nacional seems like it may fit. But I don’t see Marselan.
If the point is terroir, one might think that the grapes shouldn’t matter so much. If the point is the grape variety or varieties, there will be some unhappy people.
Keeping in mind that until recently Syrah was blended in, I don’t think it’s the end of the world. But I haven’t had a Marselan that seemed to be in the same neighborhood as Cab/Merlot.
Funny, the article says no oak at all in the 2015, yet Leve’s CT note says 100% new oak. His 2016 vintage note also references 100% new oak. Now 2018 references 100% clay.
Much as we are enjoying scoffing at Liber Pater, he did get thousands of dollars of free PR from his absurd pricing. Once it hits the Robb Report, he may sell a few cases and get back his investment.
The article on Bordeaux grapes is far more important. Bordeaux used to be brilliant because the climate was marginal, the grapes just about ripe. With global warming, alcohol levels have increased, and much of the real character is disappearing.
And they often failed to ripen fully. Warm years were seen as the best years. Nowadays, ripeness is more of a given and other issues have come into play, but it’s not black and white.
I’m sure Jeff will join the conversation and say that this is the golden era for Bordeaux.
IMHO the truth is often somewhere between the two extremes. YMMV.
Technical knowledge is greater today than it ever was, and given that the point of wine making is to sell a product, I’d imagine that anyone who invested in property is going to produce what the market will buy and tweak it to increase sales. But that’s been the case forever right?
Anyway, leaving aside for a moment the whole concept of finding different grapes due to climate change, I wonder how they selected those specific grapes, and what other grapes were considered. One might think that they’d only look at “French” grapes, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. So how far afield did they go - did they look at grapes from Greece, Bulgaria, Armenia?
I do give them credit for one thing however, which is that Marselan is not a grape with any kind of a real pedigree, yet they were willing to include it. I’m not sure whether it will make great wine, but at least they were open to the idea that the only grapes worthy of consideration are those which have been around for at least two centuries.
To Mark’s point though, I can’t see how the wines will be anything like what they were, particularly the whites. Both Semillon and Sauv Blanc are very distinctive and the new grapes are very different.
Jeff, what’s your take on this recent movement to use clay? You know I’m not a new oak guy, but I have minimal experience with the use of clay. I think Les Carmes used some in 2014.
WINE GRAPES says the official story was Castets was found growing wild in the Gironde in 1870 and was propagated after that. It also noted that the grape was actually likely introduced from the Pyrenees, where it seems to be from. Either way, not a grape that was planted in Bordeaux in 1855.
Here’s something interesting to peruse:
Note the “Sirha” listing.
Regarding bringing in new grape varieties, it looks like some of those are aimed for lower tiered wines. Surely Marselan. It should be less troublesome to make something serviceable on a low budget. Disease resistance on the low-end is also worth some compromise. Bordeaux has a lot of connections with Spain, so that’s a natural place to look for quality grapes that grow well in warmer climates and blend well with the traditional varieties.
Do any of you have any opinions on what other grapes could work well in high-end Bordeaux?