In my opinion, authenticity in wine is strengthened by the authenticity of the people who make it and not having or wanting to follow trends is one of the greatest freedoms we possess in today’s day and age. Why be a follower when you can be a leader? And from all the Cahors Malbecs I had the pleasure of tasting over the past couple of days, Clos de Gamot (located in Prayssac) was definitely one of the leaders of the pack.

The family’s been following the same philosophy since 1610 and if the mainstream wine market is looking for silky smooth fruity wines with no true character or expression, fine, but the Jouffreau family isn’t going to take part. They don’t have to. It’s no secret that Cahors Malbecs tends to be a bit rougher around the edges (than their Argentinian counterparts) in their infancy, getting softer with age. The fact that they are able to age so well is also what gives them the possibility to develop character and complexity, something you will never find at the same level when it comes to wines made “big” and ready to drink at an early age.

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I learned of Clos de Gamot from Thomas Duroux, CEO of Château Palmer in Bordeaux. I happened to have him on the horn the day before I was leaving for Cahors and as I mentioned the fact, the first thing he said was “You have to visit the Jouffreau family of Clos de Gamot, their wines are extremely natural, authentic and expressive. You’ll love them.” He wasn’t wrong and it’s some of the best advice I’ve followed in the recent past. For the record, Thomas Duroux is not a personal friend of the Jouffreau family – just a fan of their wines.

The Jouffreau family refuses to work with new oak and doesn’t use any barrique whatsoever but rather 1.000 L barrels which are over 50 years old. I asked Mr. Jouffreau how long a barrel lasts before it has to be thrown away. His answer? “Continue feeding a barrel with quality wine and it will continue serving you well for decades.” They don’t have plans of buying new barrels anytime soon. Why add even more tanning to a grape variety which is already quite tannic on its own = The results in the bottle prove their theory.

All of the Clos de Gamot wines are intense, complex, have a finish till Tuesday, an incredible freshness (even in the later vintages), have a vibrant dark colour and a complex tannin structure.

Their wines, some of which are made from grapes grown on secular vines aged 120+ years (the only ones to survive the frost in 1956), offer an incredible fruit purity with spicy notes and depending on the year, the reverse pattern can be witnessed. In the best of years they produce their “Clos de Gamot centennaire” range, which stems from the secular vines alone, which is sold along side the Clos de Gamot range. Tasting the same vintage side by side (eg. centennaire 2005, 2002 and 1998) is an experience in itself. If you don’t believe in the terroir concept, this may just help consider it.

The advantage in purchasing from such a traditional and historical Clos is the fact that older vintages are usually available if you have a direct line or your local importer is willing to carry later vintages in his selection. And in this case, you can purchase wines which date back to the 1940’s. It’s not that the Clos de Gamot don’t sell out every year but they just hold a certain amount of wines back in order to show the complexity and maturing capabilities of their range.

The new line, Clos de St. Jean Malbec, which will be released in late 2010, stems from a steep one hectar parcel near Preyssac which was purchased in 1993 and the first vintage produced in 1998. The interesting fact is, the 1998 vintage has never been released – no vintage ever has… until now! Clos de St. Jean will be available in a mixed lot case of 6 vintages: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 (the missing vintages unfortunately fell victim to wild boars). The wines express a rich minerality, are very complex, intense and accompanied by a very elegant tannin structure. Extremely interesting and ageing well. Something surely to look out for!

What was planned as a two hour visit turned out to be six and included a 10 wine vertical dating back to 1985.

If you’ve already discovered Argentinian Malbec but aren’t familiar with the Cahors variety (also known as Auxerrois and Cot, the original Malbec by the way), I can highly recommend doing a head-2-head tasting with two or three bottles of each in order to appreciate the many differences and styles of each region. If possible, try to get your hands on 5 year+ vintages. This should give you an authentic overview of the true complexity the wines possess.

If you have the possibility to include Clos de Gamot in such a head-2-head, you surely won’t be disappointed.

Malbec Days. A biennale of the best drops Cahors has to offer. One of the main attractions is the Pont Valentré, decorated in all its splendour: large red sails accompanied by a white plastic roof stemming from one end of the bridge to the other.

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Cahors is currently promoting & marketing their wines at an international level and has even gone so far as settling on the Malbec name (which is the true name of course, but mainly known as Cot or Auxerrois in this area) after seeing how successful Argentina has been in marketing the same varietal under that name. It somewhat reminds me of the Primitivo wines of Apulia (Italy) which started using the Zinfandel nomenclature as its known in California and internationally successful for the past two decades. It’s not that the Californians refused to use the original name but just didn’t know where the grape originally stemmed from let alone what is was originally called.

The Malbec grape has been growing in Cahors for centuries and was also known in the Bordeaux region (as Malbeck or Pressac) but the region of Cahors is surely its true “home”. The wines are extremely dark (they are known as “vin noire” – black wine), rich in tannin, usually ready to drink after 5-10 years of ageing and fruit forward. The oaking trend has hit Cahors and unless it’s well controlled and in capable hands, can quickly produce an overly tannic, full bodied wine with camouflaged fruit which will only start showing its true character after many years of ageing, making it hard to judge what the true quality is like early on. Fruitier varieties, blended with Merlot and Tanat are also available.

The examples served over the past days were quite drink friendly despite their young age (2007) and were already showing a certain level of complexity, good fruit and fine tannin integration. And the best examples, alcohol integration was also in a prime state. They weren’t as “round” as their Argentinean counterparts but it also has to do with the fact that they are not as geared towards the American market, which happens to be Argentina’s largest export market, known for its love of extremely approachable and ready to drink wines… regardless of the age. Even the stainless steel versions tend to have bit of edge to them but that’s what makes them so attractive in my opinion.

If you haven’t discovered Cahors Malbec, you may be asking why you should. I would say you should if you happen to be a fan of well structured wines with intense mouth feel, character, long finish and complexity. The fact that these wines are able to age as well as they do (see Clos Gamot) and can maintain in incredible amount of freshness even after 20 years, make them a bargain considering the fair market prices.

The region of Cahors offers an abundance of natural treasures and the fact that there are virtually no factories in the area, as it’s predominantly agricultural, is very noticeable by how intact the nature has been kept. Sustainability is not a marketing term but reality. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to take part in any outdoor activities but it’s an eldorado for bikers and hikers alike. If active vacations, with a healthy mix of gourmet pleasures is to your liking, the authentic, quality cuisine and fine wines will surely make your visit to the region a memorable one. If you have the time, don’t miss out on a two hour balloon ride through the Lot Valley with the “Montgolfères du Périgord”.

A short list & ratings of some of the wine’s tasted over the three days:

May 21, 2010 (Malbec Tasting in Belaye lead by Anthony Rose)

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- 2005 Clos de Gamot centennaire ****+
- 2005 Chateau de Haute-Serre ****
- 2005 Chateau Le Cèdre *****
- 2008 La Berangeraie ***+
- 2006 Chateau Caminade ****+
- 2006 Clos de Triguedina – Probus ****
- 2007 Chateau de Gaudou *****
- 2007 Chateau de Mercuès ***

May 22, 2010 (Malbec Tasting in Cahors)

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- 2007 Chateau Lacapelle-Cabanac ***
- 2007 Chateau Ponzac ***+
- 2005 Chateau Croisille, cuvee Divin ***+
- 2007 Clos d’un Jour, cuvee un jour ****+
- 2007 Chateau de Gaudou, cuvee Réserver Caillau ****
- 2006 Chateau Lamartine, Expression ****
- 2007 Vent d’Ange La Reyne ****+
- 2005 Domaine Cosse Maisonneuve, Les Laquets ****+
- 2006 Chateau Caminade, cuvee la cavalerie ****
- 2005 Clos de Triguedina – Probus ****+
- 2007 Chateau Le Cèdre *****
- 2005 Chateau Lagrezette, cuvee Le Pigeonnier ****+

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, God all mighty, Hallelujah. I’ve seen the light and held the hand of the Devil as I walked through the shadows. Free at last, I’m free at last. I have no idea what that means but…

If you like wine – like even this much l..l – the BLOOD INTO WINE trailer

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I’ve been a fan of Randall Grahm’s ever since I saw him being interviewed by Jancis Robinson on her DVD series 2-3 years ago. I’d read about the “Rhone Ranger” long before that but never thought much about the title other than “hey, cool title”. I didn’t really know much about the MAN until I heard him speak and it was that which he spoke (THE TRUTH) that made me do some resarch way back when – aha, this cat’s the Rhone Ranger – even cooler.

If there’s a BACK TO THE FUTURE Part whatever, I’m personally going to suggest Mr. Grahm as the quirky Professor – because if there’s anyone who can tune a Citroën DS-21 to do the speed of light, I’ll put my money on this guy any day!

After buying and inhaling his book BEEN DOON SO LONG (worth every Grahm by the way) over the holidays – yes, I always inhale and I love blunts by the way, a tie we have due to the CIGAR – I thought it would be great to interview him. And since I have the site in which to publish such an interview, I got on the horn. Here are the results… enjoy!

*****     *****     *****

Wine On The Rocks – Been Doon So Long was „twenty (or so) years in the making“ – has everything been said or can we expect a second book any time soon?

Randall Grahm – Well, certainly a lot has been said. (It’s a pretty weighty tome, and does deliver a lot of words/pound.) But I am greatly looking forward to the next book, which will be written in a very different genre.  (I could tell you, but I would have to etc. etc.)  I am hoping that next book will be a little quicker to complete. Were it to take as long as the first book, I will be drooling and incontinent before its completion (or significantly more than I currently am.)

WOTR- How fine is the line between Randall Grahm the artist and winemaker?

RG – There is no line; there is just one person. Without being too pretentious about it (watch it there, Randall) winemaking, or more accurately, winegrowing is my spiritual practice.  If I have any shot at all at becoming a slightly more grounded and “present” person, it will have to come through farming.

WOTR – In your book you mention that you went „off track“ on more than once a occasion – do you feel you’re on track now?

RG – Definitely on track now, at least as far as focus and intention, if not currently burning things up with case sales.

WOTR – In Twitter style (140 characters or less) – please sum up your view on critics & their point scores.

RG – Wine critics, not wishing to appear foolish or inconsistent (they’re human beings, after all) reify point scores. What utter folly!

WOTR – Who do you consider an inspiration (three people) in today’s wine world?

RG – Gerard Chave, Josko Gravner, Helmut Dönnhoff – three very different personages, but all making great contributions.

WOTR – If Nebbiolo is Italy’s leading grape, where does Sagrantino stand?

RG – Sagrantino is a reasonably close second; I’m still not yet persuaded that it is capable of making a wine of extraordinary finesse on its own, but perhaps if blended with other grapes can make great wines, capable of very long ageing.

WOTR – Please finish this sentence: The underdog is always…

RG – The underdog (at least this one) is convinced of the righteousness of his cause, but would happily trade a little bit of correctness for just a tad more market share.

WOTR – Is there a market/are there markets where your wines don’t find acceptance (due to screw cap)?

RG – We haven’t been terribly lucky selling our screwcap wines (all of our wines have screwcaps) in Italy, but I’m not sure that the problem is screwcaps.  In general, screwcaps seem to be well accepted everywhere.

WOTR – How would you describe Biodynamic in simple terms for non-wine geeks?

RG – Biodynamics is an agricultural practice, based (somewhat extrapolated) on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner.  It superficially resembles organic farming in its eschewal of synthetic materials (fertilizers, pesticides), but its aim is rather different.  It speaks to the creation of a farm as a truly self-sustaining organism, with an aim to developing the uniqueness of the site.  (Happily for me, biodynamics seems to be a great methodology for the discovery of terroir.)  The principle methodologies of biodynamics are: 1) the use of the biodynamic calendar, believing that there is a certain periodicity to nature’s rhythms and on a given day, there may be one part of the plant that has greater activity than another. 2) the use of the biodynamic preparations, which are used as form of agricultural homeopathy, stimulating a particular plant process (photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, etc.)  3) the utilization of livestock on the site as a means of enhancing fertility and bringing about a greater ecological balance, 4) the use of biodynamic compost as the principle delivery system of replacing soil fertility.  In general, the aim of biodynamics is to enhance the overall health of a farm so that the plants might better meet the environmental challenges (pests, drought, etc.) they are facing.

WOTR – Ca’ del Solo was certified Biodynamic in 06 – after 3 years, are the results in the bottle very different in comparison to 5-6 years ago?

RG – The wines do seem to be exhibiting increasingly more minerality and better consistency in ripening. In candor, it is often really hard to separate out the effects of biodynamic practice from the vagaries of a particular vintage year.  In general, the quality of our wines has improved dramatically, but I’m not sure if I can attribute this all to biodynamics. Some of the vineyards where we are practicing biodynamics actually fared pretty miserably this year.  (But it was a tough year.)

WOTR – We Twittered last week about Emidio Pepe and his demijohns, how did you come across this producer from Abruzzo? Do you have an opinion on the region and wines in general?

RG – I ran into Pepe’s wines rather by accident, while chatting with a restaurateur in Philadephia of all places and he was gracious enough to open a number of old bottlings, which all seemed incredibly young. I don’t know the region very well, only been to visit twice, and have actually imported some lovely wine from the area, under our “Il Circo” label.  In general, I very much like the Abruzzo wines as solid, dependable go-to food wines and they generally offer among the best values in Italian wine.  I have attempted to grow Montepulciano in California on one occasion and will say that it is one of the strangest grape vines I have ever seen.  (It does look as if it comes from Mars.)  Pepe’s wines, for the record, are absolutely amazing, now, alas, breathtakingly expensive, but that is the way of the world.

WOTR – Please fill in after the “=”:

Great terroir in the wrong hands =

It of course depends on how wrong are these hands.  If wrong hands are simply ham-handed, the great terroir will shine through and no harm, no foul, as they say in the NBA.  If the hands are really wrong, i.e. oenvil, i.e. grossly manipulative, it will be a tragedy of great dimension.

So-so terroir in the right hands =

Yet another clever wine that will sell well, but in no way appreciably changes anything.

Great terroir in great hands =

The gods are smiling and the world is deeply enriched.

WOTR  – Which CD is in your player/car at this very moment? – or -
If I were to turn on your iPod at this very moment, which song or artist would be highlighted in the play list?

RG – I do have a recently installed CD player in the trunk of my Citroën DS-21 (It was a retrofit, obviously.)  I haven’t quite figured out how to turn it on, but when I do, there are some Mozart concerti ready to go.

WOTR – Merci!

RG – Je t’en prie.

For those of you living in or visiting London on JAN 20, the annual Bibendum Tasting at the Saatchi Gallery is an event not to be missed. The biggest problem at such events is not which wine to taste but which wine to taste first – luxury problems I like to call them. 1000 wines, 200 producers and a fantastic location to boot.

I’ve added this event to my schedule upon hearing how well it’s put together and the Bibendum team is allowing me inside with my camera and has given me carte-blanche when it comes to doing interviews as well. Thank you Bibendum :-) See you there!

For more info, please read on (info available on the Bibendum Times website) -

Event Information

There’s nothing else like a Bibendum Annual Tasting. It’s a full frontal onslaught on all the senses and if you’ve never experienced it before then we suggest that Bibendum Times at the Saatchi Gallery is the perfect place to start.

The annual tasting features over 1,000 brilliant bottles from more than 200 winemakers, all there to share their passion with you on the day. View some of the producers already confirmed to attend or download the full list of all attending producers as a PDF. More than just a tasting, it’s a chance to join all of us at Bibendum for a massive celebration of all things wine. It’s the biggest day of our year, mainly because it’s when we get to meet all of you.

Bibendum Times is all about where we are now, where we’re going and all the fun we’re all going to have along the way. On the day you’ll have the chance to get involved in all sorts of new ways; not just through sampling some of the best wines from around the world (don’t worry, there will be no shortage of that!) but also on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, even the technophobes among you! So RSVP now and we’ll see you on the day!

When: 20^th January 2010 9.30am – 7.00pm

Where:  Saatchi Gallery, Kings Road, London, SW3 4SQ

It’s approximately two weeks before I go online with the first show. I’ve talked myself into “just letting it happen”. I know what I want to talk about as well as the segments I will cover but in the end, shoot day will be the judge.

It’s one thing to produce fun trailers but with the deadline creeping up slowly but surely, the website has to be finalised – this being the result -, a show opener has to be produced (still no idea what it will be), a location will have to be found, newsletter worthy material to write, marketing material printed, set up my new wine seminar studio by October 1st, and then I have my “day job”.

But it’s all good… I hope. In the end, it will be you, the viewer who will decide how/if it continues. So please feel free – this is actually me demanding you – to leave many comments and feedback in order for us to keep this entertaining but at the same time, full of facts you actually wanted to hear and learn about.

As this entry is being written, I’m  planning a trip to Veneto (Monti Lessini and Valpolicella) to take part in the yearly harvest and visit some fine producers. Time permitting, I will also shoot down to Tuscany as I’d like to visiti Candace and Ferenc Maté in order to taste their wines – which I could virtually taste while reading their novel “A Vineyard in Tuscany”… definitely worth the read.

Keep on keepin’ ON!

Finkus