Noble Grapes

WINE TALK
41

Syrah, Grenache?

42

Mike - see this thread:

43

Thanks Greg (and I posted on that 2014 thread too blush ) Mods - please merge!

44

It’s OK amigo - have another glass!! [cheers.gif]

45

Have you ever had a good Condrieu? I had a 2010 Otheguy last night that was terrific and years of development left. So I think viognier belongs on the list. It only gets a bad rep because of all the boring, overripe wines made elsewhere.

Also, good dry gewurtz from Alsace can be stunning with age.

46

That link is buggy for me. People may find this one better.

47

Sites are noble, varieties are not.

48

Well said.

49

I agree with this! Stated another way, given the right site, many varieties can produce noble wines.

50

Sites are noble, varieties are not.

I’m also going with this with the caveat that the variety should match the site. Alicante Bouchet produces dreck elsewhere, but at Herdade do Mouchao, it produces some profound wines.

Oh, and if you’ve never had a world class Muscat, try a really old Moscatel de Setubal or it’s mutational variant the Roxo.

51

At one time on Madeira, Sercial, Terrantez, Bual, and Malvasia were officially designated as “Noble Varieties.” Now the law has changed and they’re (along with Verdelho) only “Recommended.” neener

btw Sercial is genetically identical with Palomino.

52

What does it mean to be noble? Do they not bleed like other grapes? Do they not struggle in the same earth, overcoming the very same elements of nature that combat their un-noble brethren, all vying for the same chance to be converted to a favored elixir of the Gods? Who are we as simple common people to anoint one as noble and another as not? Perhaps in the doing, we should simply declare ourselves noble and allow it to be. Oh the humanity…

53

I am enjoying this thread immensely.

I feel like asking for a consensus on the qualifications of “Noble Grapes”…

54

The juxtaposition of your avatar and your professed ignorance of nobility leaves me very confused.

55

Are you prone to pursuing futile causes? [wink.gif]

56

I know…

“Yeah, in the middle of this game, let’s stop to establish the rules!” :stuck_out_tongue:

57

Tis but a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

58

Say what? This is the first time I’ve heard this claim. It sounds very odd, because Sercial is often almost bracing with its high acidity, whereas it seems impossible to get even modest levels of acidity in wines made from Palomino, a variety notoriously low in acidity.

59

Interesting Fig.3 on third page which graphically demonstrates genetical relationship between certain grape cultivars. Traminer seems to be sitting in a quiet influential spot there.

http://www.pnas.org/content/108/9/3530.full.pdf

60

I’d take that figure with a grain of salt. There seems to be some connections that really don’t make sense.

But it is true that Traminer aka. Savagnin is one of the Great Ancient Ones, along with the likes of Pinot, Muscat and Gouais Blanc.