Castor Membership March 2023: Playing the Hand You’re Dealt and One Singular Sensation
Swirling cloudcover kept partially at bay by the southern Rhone Valley’s Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range, with the vineyards of Roaix in the foreground.
“Playing the Hand You’re Dealt”
Domaine Pique-Basse Cotes du Rhone Village Roaix Blanc “L’Atout de Pique”, Rhone Valley 2020
In this day and age, the world of shipping can be a maddening space to inhabit. When it comes to wine, the standard set of problems and frustrations is magnified and new elements are heaped on top-additional governmental cares and concerns, temperature worries, and the often-tempestuous dealings with staff at your chosen port of call, which can sometimes eerily resemble scenes from “On the Waterfront” in letting you know just how little control you actually have over this six-figure shipment of perishable delights that you technically own but have no say whatsoever as to the timing of its release from the harbor, knowing that any protests or bad behavior regarding said captivity will only result in your file being calmly removed and firmly entrenched at the bottom of the stack of “arrived containers” paperwork on the shipping clerk’s desk.
This is the scene that plays out on a random Tuesday last month, as I played the role of “menial manual laborer #1” in unloading a new shipment of wines from Europe, pressed into duty upon request to help with an importer friend’s ailing back. The upshot for me? An opportunity to taste through the new arrivals, which included several new producers to the DC/NOVA market, as well as some returning after long absences-in short, I was pumped to participate and get first crack at new things to share. Gradually, however, the day became an inexorable game of wait-and-see. Release of container from the harbor. Shipping firm communicating with customs agents. Customs agents communicating with dockside personnel. Dockside personnel communicating with their union-prescribed break times with unrelenting efficiency (which I don’t begrudge them in the least, but still), before at last unloading the shipment and placing it on the truck. Trucking dispatch communicating with us that it is now rush hour and they can’t fight the traffic (which, of course, was non-existent on every GPS/mapping resource we possessed) without an extra “rush delivery” charge. Trucking dispatch communicating with the truck driver, who then goes radi0-silent in his communications, prompting my importer friend to wonder if his goods have been stolen and taken to the back door of a random warehouse for a quick re-sale, like some outtake from “Goodfellas”. As one of my favorite comedians, Gary Gulman, says: “It only adds up…if you add it up”, and the summation of this comedy of errors was that a shipment supposedly arriving at 9am rolled up to the loading dock door a little after 7pm, prompting one of my least-favorite unloads, the nighttime unload. Throwing two-ton palates of wine around inside of a trailer container in the darkness, saved only by the tiny flashlight of my friend’s iPhone (he of the ailing back) is both strenuous and gives one pause as to whether or not one should have signed a few liability waivers prior to committing to this endeavor. Happily, my anticipation and sense of discovery fuels me, and I find the ballet of being inside the container, turning the wines just so with the palate jack, pushing them gracefully forward to the door (but not too far forward, as I don’t intend to be responsible for dumping 50 cases of glass to its doom on the ground eight feet below) to be…dare I say it…easier than when I did this for a living? Perhaps the knowledge that my status as a soon-t0-be taster and purveyor of these new wines, relieved to be buying what I love and what I need rather than feeling responsible for the whole kit and kaboodle, takes the stress off of the work.
Either way, the day made one wine industry principle clear: when it comes to shipping, you have to play the hand you’re dealt. How appropriate, then, that one of the new wineries I was to discover the following day (after we hauled the last palate inside the warehouse and gave up hope on tasting that same evening) has cuvees all named after playing cards and card games: Domaine Pique-Basse.
Domaine Pique-Basse owner and winemaker Olivier Trapet.
It may be a little counterintuitive, but I really love when, as a buyer or an importer, you taste with a vigneron and you feel as though you’re being watched and judged in your skills of assessment. Although this may seem like a little bit of role reversal in a typical buyer/seller exchange, I enjoy stories of vineyard owners that care about who is going to be representing this physical manifestation of their life’s work with the same depth of feeling that we on the buying side employ when determining the quality of the wine and our willingness to advocate for the winemaker.
This type of story was told to me by importer friends while tasting the wines of a new face in the DC/NOVA wine market: Olivier Trapet of Domaine Pique-Basse. Located in the Southern Rhone Valley, the domaine is just outside the town of Roaix, north and east of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Roaix is a small village of just under 700 inhabitants, and one of the towns that has been deemed of sufficient quality to be listed on wine labels with the designation of Cotes du Rhone Villages, rather than generic Cotes du Rhone, which not only suggests lower-quality wines in general but can be produced with juice culled from all over the Rhone Valley rather than a specific area. Upon pivoting away from the representation of one producer in the nearby appellation of Rasteau, my friends met with Mr. Trapet at a restaurant, hoping he might fill the recent gap in the portfolio; he arrived with wines from his family’s estate, Domaine Pique-Basse in tow. The importers reported that as they were evaluating the wines, Olivier was evaluating them. Watching how they physically tasted, and listening to their impression of each wine with an impassive face Olivier revealed his seriousness and his commitment to the purity of these wines. In my experience, the best winemakers are often those possessing a quiet intensity; I don’t mean to imply that they aren’t also gracious, gentle, or generous, and you’ll pardon this generalization as there are of course exceptions, but often the gregarious, more “wild” souls making wine are also susceptible to overlooking the minutia that can separate good wine from great. Hearing this tale as I tasted Olivier Trapet’s bottlings, that intensity was palpable, present in each wine in the form of concentration of fruit, purity of terroir, and my inability to find fault in any of his wines, which were universally well-crafted and delicious. The only real decision before me, rather than “which wines do I buy?”, was “which wine do I buy first?” The presence of a white wine from a single vineyard standing resiliently among the sea of red grapes planted around it made that decision easy. This was Olivier’s 100% Grenache Blanc known as “L’Atout de Pique”-the Ace of Spades.
The domaine of Pique-Basse, tucked away in the countryside just beyond the village of Roaix.
Domaine Pique-Basse sits on a slightly elevated perch, and has many vineyard sites that exist at slightly higher elevations than the rest of the surrounding Roaix plain. The domaine’s name is taken from the moniker given to the area surrounding the estate since the time of Olivier Trapet’s great-grandparents, who first started planting vines and fruit trees on this land at the outset of the twentieth century. “Piquebas”, which literally translates as “low spade”, is shaped like the playing card symbol and often referred to as the “low podium”, reflecting the gently raised plots.
As I alluded to above, the vineyards in and around Olivier Trapet’s home village of Roaix are planted almost exclusively to red wine, a nod to both the warm and relatively flat growing conditions in Roaix and the commercial appeal of anything red labeled “Cotes du Rhone”. Luckily, Domaine de Pique-Basse is more of a passion project than a P+L statement, and Olivier Trapet not only chose to preserve a single plot of 45-year old white Grenache vines steeped in sandy-clay soil that is drought-resistant and deep, he forewent the Southern Rhone tradition of blending the Grenache Blanc with other white varietals and let it shine on its own in a special separate bottling, the “L’Atout de Pique.”
A grape that is criminally underrepresented on US winelists, white Grenache at its best can have both mouthwatering acidity and full-bodied structure and finish, all through the lense of a fruit profile that is much more exotic (and frankly, more interesting) than much of the one-note citrus tunes we see played out in other more ubiquitous white grapes. Continuing the Trapet family’s playing card analogy, I like to think of Grenache Blanc as your white grape “hole card”-something that isn’t often seen being poured, but when brought forth can stun the onlookers. Using both oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks in the fermentation/vinification process, the “L’Atout” is Grenache Blanc par excellence; a fantastic balancing act between vivacious, refreshing texture and fully-formed, fleshy fruits like melon, mango, and hearts of gold. Whether lying face up at the beginning of your evening or pulled from the cellar as the culmination of your winning hand, the “L’Atout de Pique” is that rare combination of conneisseur-level character that drinks with crowd-pleasing ease, and sharing it with you all is worth every turn of that palate jack in the dark-D.
Domaine Pique-Basse Cotes du Rhone Villages Roaix Blanc “L’Atout de Pique”, Rhone Valley 2020
Country of Origin: France.
Places and People: Domaine Pique-Basse sits on a slightly elevated perch outside of the Southern Rhone Valley village of Roaix, north and west of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The village’s appellation neighbors are Rasteau to the southwest, and Seguret, Sablet, and Gigondas due south. The domaine’s name is taken from the moniker given to the area surrounding the estate since the time of Olivier Trapet’s great-grandparents, who first started planting vines and fruit trees on this land at the outset of the twentieth century. “Piquebas”, which literally translates as “low spade”, is shaped like the playing card symbol and often referred to as the “low podium”, reflecting the gently raised plots. Olivier Trapet has been certified as organic by Ecocert since 2009. The vines for the “L’Atout” are grown at the base of the Ventraben massif in a small plot called “Les Crottes”. They are 45 years old.
Soil: Sandy clay-a deep soil that is resistant to drought (a problem for the area) and that benefits from early morning sunlight.
Grape Varieties: 100% Grenache Blanc.
Winemaking: The winemaking is split evenly between large barrels and stainless steel tanks. Fermentation is long, at almost 3 months of total time!
Aging: The wine is then matured in its same respective vessels (oak or steel), on the lees. No battonage (stirring) is performed. Then all wines are put into a tank one month before bottling for a final blending of the separate lots of steel and oak. Light filtration is done for clarity.
Flavors and Foods: A golden center appeals visually before the “L’Atout” reveals itself as a connoisseur’s wine on the nose; subtle and engaging. You have to stick your nose in a bit as the flavors don’t just pop out, but a closer look (or sniff) reveals broad melon fruits and non-fruit aromatic notes of ginger and fennel fronds. Upon first tasting the wine, I described the Pique-Basse as “weighty and delish!”, and I’m sticking with it. This wine is at first nearly a Chardonnay impersonator, with similar body and structure, and even a little pleasant taste of churned butter. The fruits are secondary to the acid and earthiness initially but quickly become fleshy-melon, mango, and hearts of gold all drop in. Secondary flavors of ginger, quince paste, dried apricots, soft grains and honey are also present towards the finish-the “L’Atout de Pique” is complex, nuanced, and delicious.
Service and Cellar: This wine needs to unfurl at the upper end of the white temperature spectrum (50-52 degrees F) because many of the characteristics described above are lost to over-chilling. The 2020 “L’Atout” is in a sweet spot at the moment and will drink well for another 3-5 years easily.
The indomitable winemaking force that is Minervois pioneer Pierre Cros.
“‘One Singular Sensation”
Domaine Pierre Cros Minervois “Le Barthas”, France 2020
For most of the seven years I spent on the import/sales side of the wine world, I sold Pierre Cros. Known to industry types as a legend in the Languedoc appellation of Minervois and ascribed by critics and salespeople with such cutesy nicknames as “The King of Concentration”, Pierre’s unique philosophy, his candid way of expressing it, and the success he has had channeling that mindset, filtered through experience, into wines of real depth and meaning since the 1970s mark him as a true original and an upholder of a tradition that he himself created (just ask him). I had good luck with Pierre’s wines throughout my time in sales; sommeliers reveled in the complexities and moderate pricing of these Rhone-varietal wines produced in and around Pierre’s small town of Badens, east of Carcissonne, often made from tiny plots and bottled in even tinier quantities. The only caveat? My boss had stopped doing business with Pierre…10 years before I began working for him. So, the wines of Domaine Cros we had left to sell were library examples, and as the years went on, they continued to hold up and work their magic. Old-vine Carignan bottles from the 2000 vintage? I had them. Small lots of Syrah from the late ‘90s? I had those, too (briefly, until the sommeliers rapidly scooped them up). And all the while, I remained fascinated by this gently opinionated man from the Languedoc, wondering what his wines tasted like in their youth. This curiosity lingered past my time in importation and into the beginning of Gemini Wine Company…until a Tuesday morning about four weeks ago, when I celebrated Domaine Cros’ return to the market after a near 20-year absence. It could have been difficult for these bottlings to withstand years of my imaginings, and it would be easy for me to report that the wines didn’t live up to some outsized expectation that I had placed on them.
But really, would I do that to you?
The pristine, evocative interplay of vineyards, herbs, garrigue, and rangy hills in the Minervois appellation.
Minervois is a large appellation from an area perspective, and encompasses many changes in terroir, from the more dramatic hillside plantings in the La Liviniere sub-appellation to flatter areas awash in a cornucopia of plants and animals. Pierre Cros’ estate is in the western portion of the appellation, just north of the east-west flowing Canal du Midi. With views to the first mountains of the Pyrenees in the north, Pierre’s estate is comprised of 50 hectares, about only half of which are planted to vineyards. The remaining land is, for Pierre, the ecosystem from which the vines derive their character-almond trees, olive trees, and truffle oaks abound, standing above outcroppings of garrigue, thyme, wild leeks, and fennel bulbs. Ducks and migratory birds are frequent guests, as well as the wild boars that hunt them. Pierre welcomes all of this life into his world without trying to define it: he has never been interested in theory or certification of the vineyards, and although I would argue that he operates biodynamically, he dismisses outright talk of lunar cycle bottling and burying horns of manure in the soil. Pierre’s wine views are rooted in, as he puts it, “curiosity and common sense”, perhaps easily understood from a man who carved his own tradition and vocation out of this land, rather than inheriting the business of his male forbears, who were the area’s local bakers prior to Pierre’s coming of age. Foregoing formal training in oenology and relying instead on the ethos of experience, Pierre taught himself how to craft succulently dense wines, employing very low yields to ensure greatly concentrated fruit, and investing in fine-quality barriques to nurture the finished product inside when called for. His purchase of older vines contributed to this aesthetic, as well: a rare plot of the Carignan grape variety that stems from 1905 makes for an exceptional offering, and most of his other wines offer the same sense of gravitas, from the five-grape blend of his entry level “Tradition” to the deep purple inkwell that is his barrel-aged single vineyard Syrah “Le Clos”. All of the wines stun and delight, but I was particularly drawn to a cuvee that showed off the singular talents of Pierre through a taste that was incredible in its replication of a particular red fruit: the small production Syrah/Mourvedre blend known as “Le Barthas.”
Rows of vines on the floor of Domaine Pierre Cros-the Syrah vines for the Le Barthas are to the right of the picture.
I have spent much space in these essays blathering on about my predilection for complexity over size when it comes to wine, the term complexity for me meaning the sheer number of descriptors or flavor suggestions that I perceive in the glass. In preparation for tasting these newly arrived wines of Pierre Cros, I assumed that I would marvel at this principle in his offerings, and they are indeed loaded up with many elements-fruit and non-fruit, organic and inorganic. The big surprise to me was the “Le Barthas”, a wine that, while containing many different flavors, really stole my wine heart with the exclusivity factor of its red fruit-for me, it was pure strawberry, perhaps the purest expression of strawberry that I’d encountered in a wine tasting in my career. Ripe and genuine, without any hints of over-extraction or unnecessary sweetness, this 80/20 blend of Syrah and Mourvedre (Pierre’s words: the Syrah providing sensuousness and sweetness while the Mourvedre contributes acidity and a textural precision) was a real revelation and had me writing notes to myself about the nature of complexity in wine, and perhaps my overdependence on it. The fruit of the “Le Barthas” was so authentic, so good, that it just put a smile on my face (and has in each bottle I’ve opened since). And yes, subsequent enjoyment of the wine has indeed brought forth other components that I will duly outline in my tasting notes, but it was the “pure pleasure” factor that remained a constant beacon of sunlight, evocative of this indomitable man and his beautiful property. What were Pierre’s words…"common sense and curiosity”? With “Le Barthas”, the latter invited the former, and I should probably follow Pierre’s example and not overthink it any further-D.
Domaine Pierre Cros Minervois “Le Barthas” 2020
Country of Origin: France.
Places and People: Pierre Cros’ domaine is in the village of Baden, in the western part of the Languedoc appellation Minervois. Pierre’s father and grandfather owned vines but were primarily the town’s bakers, delivering breads to the village and others nearby. Pierre learned winemaking from experience and his time spent with the land, and although he has been working ecologically since the 1970s and is seen as a forerunner in that regard, he has never sought certifications for either himself or his vines. The “Le Barthas” comes from a single plot of Syrah and Mourvedre and is an exclusive for Gemini Wine Company in the DC/NOVA market!
Soil: Clay-limestone.
Grape Varieties: 67% Syrah, 33% Mourvedre.
Winemaking: Hand-harvesting and careful selection of the grapes prior to pressing. The Le Barthas is fermented in wooden foudres, large wooden vats that can hold up to 4 times the amount of wine as a standard barrique.
Aging: The Le Barthas is aged in the same foudres and the wine is never moved to retain freshness.
Flavors and Foods: A transparent ruby color, still electric, greets you in the glass. “Le Barthas” has a superbly fragrant nose that introduces the lead performer: strawberry. Strawberries and cream, red currants, pomegranate, thyme, and fresh chives highlight a nose that is the definition of bright. The palate greets you, again, with this beautiful brightness that is not accompanied at all by tartness or underripeness. The strawberry is a coulis on the palate is accompanied again by the pomegranate, which to taste is deep like grenadine, and the fine medium tannins make this wine dangerously drinkable. One of my absolute favorite varietals, the Syrah in the blend makes itself better known on the palate with some of the stereotypical savory characteristics: black olive, bone broth or bullion, fresh thyme and sage, while the Mourvedre brings some great acidity to keep the wine rolling along on your palate. This wine is easily paired with wild game, grilled lamb chops with rosemary and garlic, or smoked pork shoulder, but I think the Le Barthas’s bright, vivid flavors could also help with rich seafood stews like bouillabaisse or paella. Asian cuisines, particularly Thai (drunken noodles, pad see ew with pork) would also be fantastic. If you don’t care for sweeter wines, you could take advantage of Le Barthas’ evocative fruits paired with a strawberry clafoutis.
Service and Cellar: The Cros Le Barthas 2019 will cellar for 7-10 years easily and deepen over that time. To keep the concentrated red fruit, a red wine cellar temperature of 58-62 degrees is recommended.