Winemaker Interview: Sean & Nicola Allison

Describe your winemaking philosophy.

We believe that good wine is made in the vineyard. To this end, over the last five years we have been concentrating on our vineyard management—reduced yields, good canopy management and sustainable viticulture. We have officially entered this year into the organic conversion for the Avocat vineyards. We have been following a non-chemical path for the land and have decided to officially formalise it, and it will take three years before we can label our wines organic. As a consequence, the grapes that enter the winery should be ripe, disease free and tasting good! However, we live in Bordeaux and some would say that the powers up above dictate the weather and hence the vintage!

What wines or winemakers helped influence your philosophy?

Didier Dagueneau, who passed away last year, for his use of biodynamic practices, wild yeasts and generally not being afraid to do things (and look) differently. Sandrine Garby, winemaker at Yquem, for being a fantastic winemaker and such a gracious person.

How involved in grape-growing are you? Is there a particular vineyard site that wows you year after year?

We do everything here; we own all our vineyards and we don’t source fruit from elsewhere. So pretty involved! The Avocat vineyard, which we bought in 2002, is a single “enclos” vineyard. Before we bought it, it had been abused, but after five years of careful viticulture it is starting to produce WOW fruit. It is on an elevated plateau exposed to the elements, and 100 years ago it was a famous vineyard that had been allowed to lose its way!

How do you think your palate has evolved over the years? How do you think that’s influenced your wines?

Yes, of course. I believe it is so important to taste as many wines as possible, from all different regions and producers. The cellar palate is a huge disability for producers. I think our wines have evolved due to our palates, but we also listen to our consumers, who are looking for less alcohol and approachable wines. Studies show that apart from investors, 90% of wine bought is drunk within five days of purchase.

What kinds of food do you like to pair your wines with?

Our dry white with “fruit de mers.” Come to the Bassin D’Arcachon and have a glass of dry Bordeaux /Graves wine with a plate of oysters—unbeatable! Of course the barrel-aged Graves has sufficient enough weight to accompany chicken and pork dishes. I have to admit to being partial to it as an aperitif when I am cooking! The Avocat red is excellent with any red meat, game (I have a recipe for Hoi Sin Duck on the barbecue if any one is interested!), pasta and cheese. However, my view is that there are not any right and wrongs in wine matching—if you enjoy it while eating popcorn in front of the baseball game, GREAT.

What changes are planned for coming vintages? Any new (top secret) varietals, blends or propriety wines on the horizon?

We have planted half a hectare of Carmenère this year—it will be interesting to see how that ripens here in Bordeaux. It was widely used here in the 18th Century. I have another secret, but it would not be a secret if I told you…

Is there a style of wine that you think appeals to critics that might not represent your favorite style? How do you deal with it?

I am afraid that some of the old boy critics would not really like our wines; we are not into gigantic alcoholic fruit bombs and do not use a reverse osmosis machine to concentrate the wines. Reverse osmosis=points with several important critics. We deal with it by finding clients who are capable of making their own mind up about the style of wines they appreciate, generally these clients appreciate finesse, quality and good value! For example K&L!

What do you drink when you are not drinking your own wine?

At the moment we are fortunate to have a collection of Napa wines made by female winemakers. I am part of a group of women, “Women in Wine,” and we received 16 female vintners from Napa in January. So, had a glass of Spottswood 2005 last night—delicious .

Do you collect wine? If so, what’s in your cellar?

Yes, we collect all vintages from Léoville-Barton—one of the good value Cru Classé each year. We also have a few cases of the ’05 Bordeaux from the top Cru, but I think they will go towards college fees. I cannot bring myself to drink wines of this value.

What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing the wine industry today?

There are quite a few! At the moment the strength of the Euro for us is a problem for our export market, we do listen to our importers and try to make things easier for them to sell our wines at a consistent price. Unfortunately, production costs are still increasing here in France, and with the weaker economy worldwide it is tough for everybody at the moment…

The other big challenge for the wine industry is to try and negate the publicity put out by the anti-alcohol brigade. Of course wine must be drunk in moderation, sensibly and socially. Wine is a vital part of the food experience. No one is recommending over-drinking nor drunk behaviour. However, surely individuals should be responsible for their behaviour, not relying on the state to make all alcohol consumption illegal?

What about the French paradox? Why not ban butter, salt, sugar, fat and red meat while we are at it? Let us all eat lentils, rice and drink only water. Whoever thought life should be fun and living a pleasurable experience would be mistaken in this current big brother environment. People have to start taking responsibility for their own decisions (good and bad) and stop looking to Government all the time!

Winemaker Interview: Frédéric Mabileau, Domaine Frédéric Mabileau

Frédéric Mabileau in the vineyard.

How would you describe your winemaking philosophy?

Walking the thin line between erasing myself as much as possible from the process, being the least intrusive as possible while trying to conquer nature without violating it.

What wines or winemakers helped influence your philosophy?

All the great French domains, especially the ones working organically or biodynamic always were models for me. In the Loire Valley I learned a lot from people like the Foucault brothers (Clos Rougeard) in Saumur-Champigny, Marc Angeli (Ferme de la Sansonniere) or Nicolas Joly (Coulee de Serrant) in Savennières about the farming and the soil diversity of my vineyards.

How involved in grape-growing are you? Is there a particular vineyard site that wows you year after year?

I am a classic example of an Old World wine “vigneron,” this French word that does not have a direct translation in English but which means being a farmer AND a winemaker at the same time. Therefore I grow and harvest my own fruits and this part of my work is essential to me. I am everyday in my vineyards with my team, from the pruning to the harvesting season. It is so important to see the vine evolving, suffering and expressing itself throughout the different seasons.

I have always been impressed by the breathtaking slopes of Mosel, Rhône Valley or the Beaujolais, but on a more personal level I love a parcel that was planted 40 years ago by my grandfather: no dramatic slope although it is overlooking the appellation but I like going there to watch the sunset and receive some special vibes that make me feel like I am part of my family history.

How do you think your palate has evolved over the years? How do you think that’s influenced your wines?

I had the same evolution as any average person: At first I liked big, rich, opulent bottles. Today I favour wines with finesse, elegance, acidity, saltiness and find demonstrative wines boring. Naturally, I have been trying to produce wines with tension and finesse.

What kinds of food do you like to pair your wines with?

I have always loved Japanese cuisine and right now I like to pair it with my Cab Franc Rosé. On the red side, and to stay on Asian food pairing, Peking duck and Bourgueil is a nice bridge to build between two culinary worlds.

What changes are planned for coming vintages? Any new (top secret) varietals, blends or propriety wines on the horizon?

Actually quite a lot for my artisan standards: We will be harvesting for the first time this year a white Rouilleres bottling made from Chenin Blanc that I planted five years ago right next to my single vineyard of Cab Franc. Also, in few weeks we will bottle our top cuvée “Eclipse” which is made of our oldest Cab Franc (over 50 years old) and only produced in great vintages (2005 was the last vintage).  

Is there a style of wine that you think appeals to critics that might not represent your favorite style? How do you deal with it?

The reality is that many wines today are tailored to win awards, accolades and great scores and as a result tend to be uniform: big, rich, high alcohol, in your nose vanilla notes... But most of the time I don’t enjoy drinking them. This “trend” actually pushes me to go even further in the search of minerality in my wines.

What do you drink when you are not drinking your own wine?

Anything! French, non-French, natural wines with low sulphites, Syrah wherever it is coming from... I usually do not drink my own wine during lunch or dinner as I have all day opportunities to taste them and therefore I really try as much as possible to discover new producers or varietal when I am dining.

Do you collect wine? If so, what’s in your cellar?

Not really. But I do have some great Bordeaux and Rhône: Latour, Fieuzal, Pape Clément, Pichon Comtesse, Côte Rôtie from Cuilleron, Jamet and Cornas from Clape.

What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing the wine industry today?

There are many: Make wines that are ethically correct and educate  customers about terroir-driven wines. A great challenge is for producers all around the world not to fall into mass-production, which often leads to pollution. I want to leave to my children a vineyard which is clean from pollutants and I hope we can all do the same globally and leave a planet free of any pollutants for future generations. If on top of that we can also explain that wine, when drunk moderately, is good for health we would have done a nice job!

Winemaker Interview: Pablo Härri

Name: Pablo Härri Winery: Col d'Orcia and Ferrero, Montalcino Number of years in business: >25 How would you describe your winemaking philosophy? 1) Total respect of the local influence. The soil conditions and the microclimate of a certain growing area has to be transmitted to the bottle. I hate global wines. If in a wine you don't detect a link to the territory it comes from, it is an anonymous wine without any interest. 2) The humility to admit that winemakers can't improve the quality, just maintain. Especially on premium red wines the quality is made in the vineyard. If a grape is picked at 100 points, a good winemaker can make a 95-point wine, but never 110. What wines or winemakers helped influence your philosophy? See above. The ones that show deep and interesting characters of a variety combined with the territory. Good examples are Burgundy, Barolo and, obviously, Brunello di Montalcino. No names in general for winemakers, but I don't like the colleagues that give a personal impression to whatever wine they make, sort of standardizing them. How involved in grape-growing are you? Is there a particular vineyard that wows you? I obviously love to go out to the vineyards and check the condition of the grapes. It is mandatory during harvest time, because chemical analysis can give you a help, but the taste of the grapes can only be monitored by our palate. The quality of the fruit and of the tannins is really crucial for the wine quality later on, and there is no lab analysis that can substitute for our palate. A vineyard that definitely fascinates me is our Poggio al Vento, it has something mystical/ magical. How involved in grape-growing are you? Is there a particular vineyard site that wows you year after year? I obviously love to go out to the vineyards and check the condition of the grapes. It is mandatory during harvest time, because chemical analysis can give you a help, but the taste of the grapes can only be monitored by our palate. Especially the quality of the fruit and of the tannins is really crucial for the wine quality later on, and there is no lab analysis that can substitute our palate. A vineyard that definitely fascinates me is our Poggio al Vento, it has something mystical/ magical. How do you think your palate has evolved over the years? I don't know if it is my personal story or if it is the general evolution, but I would definitely say that over the years I learned to appreciate the finesse and the elegance of the wines. Years ago I was impressed by big, jammy, heavy wines. Today I'm looking more after a balance that marries power and elegance. What kinds of food do you like to pair your wines with? Difficult question for me, being a vegetarian! With our Tuscan wines that tend to have a slightly tannic/acidic balance I tend to suggest the historical Bisteca Fiorentina, but I know it from what I'm told, it's not a personal experience! Personally I'm quite happy with good cheese or with Porcini mushrooms for example. What changes are planned for coming vintages? Any new (top secret) varietals, blends or propriety wines on the horizon? It definitely is not the moment to make great changes, but rather to consolidate. The only minor adjustment that we plan is to include a small percentage of Petit Verdot in our Nearco blend (that now is Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah). For the traditional Brunello di Montalcino, future vintages will profit from the newer vineyards that have been planted with our clonal selections, with very promising first results. Is there a style of wine that you think appeals to critics that might not represent your favorite style? How do you deal with it? As above. Often critics, instead of making qualitative tastings, make quantitative tastings: more color more points, more tannins more points, more body more points, completely lacking to evaluate balance, finesse and elegance. In the end you have a 99-point wine that is close to being undrinkable, at least you need a glass of water after to osmotically balance your palate! What do you drink when you are not drinking your own wine? I appreciate good very dry bubbles, green Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino, especially from Gallura. Do you collect wine? If so, what's in your cellar? Unfortunately yes, though I'm getting better ultimately. The result is to have a few 100 bottles of wine that for sure were very good many years ago... This is a dangerous disease: you touch and look at your jewels many times, but every time it is a pity to open it, so you leave it until it's over-aged... What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing the wine industry today? Broad question, more about economics than winemaking! I think that we are definitely fortunate to produce a rare and appreciated wine like the Brunello di Montalcino. It is unique, can't be imitated, and has strong appeal. Wines that have to fight with market and marketing strategies are facing a difficult time.

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