September 2004
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French Lessons The lousy weather continued with a cold front hitting the Cape on 17th September. The cold front was accompanied by strong gale force south-westerly winds and very cold conditions with showers. Snow fell on the high ground. During this time John Mbona our assistant cellar hand was diligently topping up barrels every Wednesday and wetting the cellar floors every other day. We had to keep the humidity high in the cellar and even with all the cool wet weather it was a task. Elevage is the (as usual) French word which best describes what goes on in winemaking between fermentation and bottling. It really means "raising" and bien elevage means "well brought up" as we expect TMV wine to be. Good manners and a nice accent. In red wine this includes malolactic fermentation, racking and barrel maturation. Before J-C left the 2004 had successfully undergone malo and the 2003 had been racked, but the wine still had to be cared for during the maturation process. The perfect conditions have to exist or the whole vintage can be at risk or not each its full potential. The correct selection of oak is vital and so is maintaining the correct conditions in the cellar. Topping up correctly is also vital. The wine evaporates through the barrel and has to be replaced or the rest will oxidize. Around 10% of the wine will disappear into the air during the 2 years in barrel. This, as they say in Cognac, is the angels' share. John Mbona has really impressed J-C over the last 18 months. He was always keen to learn and was a great vineyard worker, but he really came in to his own in the cellar during the 2003 and 2004 harvests. He learned quickly and has a real interest in the process. He was diligent in pigeage and was able to accurately perform all the lab work needed to establish sugar and acid levels. So keen was he that he asked if he could make some rose wine from the juice that was bled off some of the bins. He did this in some large glass flagons and after it was bottled he carried a case of it all the way back to his folks in the Transkei, who were delighted and very proud of him. Apparently there was quite a party. We really want him to carry on learning and we are giving him the opportunity to eventually become a wine maker. Down the line we will offer an opportunity to travel to France. He needs to build up experience tasting decent wine as well as getting some formal qualifications, but J-C has high hopes for him. Talking of J-C there was more news from the sun-kissed shores of the Mediterranean.
As the French do not really work themselves to death there was a large team of assistants at Chateau Pibarnon and so the workload was spread around. After all the cleaning J-C was relieved when the harvest started. One of his favourite tasks was topping up the Foudres (big 2500 - 5000L barrels). This was the perfect time to compare the different blocks, and learn the subtle nuances of Bandol Mourvedre. He was working and picking up knowledge all the time. Foudres are one of the secrets of Bandol. Being very big they allow the necessary oxygen contact from ageing in wood, but very slowly and subtly. Being old the oak taste imparted to the wine is again low and subtle. Mourvedre does not take new wood very well so these large, older barrels are ideal.
With lunch being 2 hours long and work finishing promptly at 5pm every day the seaside was quite a temptation, especially with all the sightseeing to do at the beach. Whenever they could the assistants would race down to the beach for a lunch of pannini and an hour or two of sea and sun. Evenings were spent meeting up with the other assistants - either at their houses, or going out for simple (and delicious) dinners. Pastis and Petanque are extremely popular in the south of France, and Bandol is no exception. J-C spent many evenings next to the dock perfecting his boulle skills, and trying only semi-successfully to develop a taste for the sickly sweet anis drink. He did also managed to visit quiet a few Domaines, and found the best to be Domaine Tempier and Chateau Pradeaux. These two, along with Pibarnon stood head and shoulders above the rest, combining elegance, power, character and balance. Apparently many of the others were either a touch too dry, rustic, or over wooded. Poor chap. Copyright © 2000 Tulbagh Solutions. All rights reserved. |
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