Wine Blogging Wednesday #29: Biodynamic Wines
Jack and Joanne at Fork & Bottle chose the theme of biodynamic wines for the 29th WBW event.
The theories of biodynamics are based on a lecture series by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the early 1920’s. Although it predates the organic agriculture movement by some twenty years it has only recently started gaining widespread interest in the wine industry. Back in the 1920’s Steiner worried that the introduction of chemical farming was degrading the quality of food. However he did not believe this was only due to the chemical or biological properties of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but also due to spiritual shortcomings in the whole chemical approach to farming. A central aspect of biodynamics is that the farm as a whole is seen as an organism, and therefore should be a closed self-nourishing system. Diseases of this organisms are not to be treated in isolation but to be understood a symptom of imbalance in the whole organism. Also adherents believe that by understanding the the rythms at which light of the sun, moon, planets and stars reach the earth one can optimally time ground preparation, sowing, cultivating and harvesting. Hence biodynamic treatments (such as burying a cow horn full of manure in your vineyard) are often performed at full moon, or high tide. Believe what you will but some very reputable winemakers swear that although they can’t explain why it works, it does work.
I chose to taste two French wines - one from one of my favourite Champagne producers (Jacques Beaufort) and the other made by one of the most well-known biodynamic producers in the South of France but totally unknown to me (Domaine Gauby). Initially I was hoping to taste some biodynamic Bordeaux wines but even though I live in Bordeaux and went out armed with Jack and Joanne’s excellent list I had no success. Biodynamics and organics are still pretty rare here in Bordeaux compared to other appellations such as Burgundy, Alsace and Provence. Throughout France many biodynamic producers do not pay the fees for biodynamic certification, which makes it quite difficult to go out searching for “a” biodynamic wine.
The Champagne was an absolute requirement for this event because we were celebrating the return of my sister-in-law after a 4-month trip to the U.S. (I am so glad to have her back!) The bottle befitting the occasion was a 1989 Jacques Beaufort Polisy Demi-Sec. We enjoyed it as an aperitif before dinner. It was excellent: incredibly young and fresh both in the nose and mouth. At the same time the nutty age-related characters added beautifully to the complexity. Jacques Beaufort tends to make wines with lower levels of acidity and this one was no exception - creamy and smooth with a lovely finish. Truly an exceptional and adorable wine.
Jacques Beaufort stopped using synthetic chemicals in his vineyards in the 70’s after he had an extreme allergic reaction while spraying the vines for his father. Since then he has stopped even spraying with sulfur and uses aromatherapeutic oils and custom-designed homeopathic vineyard treatments. Although he is not fully biodynamic he shares much of the same philosophies and incorporates many of the practices. His wines are beautiful and complex but unfortunately somewhat inconsistent. 90% of the time we are delighted with the bottles we open but occasionally we run across a true dud.
The other wine that I tasted was a 2004 Domaine Gauby Les Calcinaires, a Cotes du Roussillon Village. The nose on this wine was disappointing after the vendor had so glowingly recommended the wine. It was slightly oxidized and quite rustic with aromas of toasted coffee beans, and alcohol followed up by cherry and blueberry. Despite the slight oxidation I would recommend decanting this wine as the aromas did seem to improve with time. The attack was surprisingly acidic but mellowed to finish very pleasantly. The acidity of the Gauby would make it an excellent food wine. To be honest it was probably unfair to taste these two wines together given their vast price differences (14Euros vs 45Euros).
Domaine Gauby was been extensively written about in the anglophone wine community, by the Wine Doctor and Jancis Robinson. It is managed by Gerard Gauby, a former Rugby player, and has been completely biodynamic since 2000. Since his transition to organics and biodynamics he makes wines which which just as flavourful but with more acidity and less alcohol and obvious sweetness than before. His wines are meant to be aged rather than consumed in their infancy, which is where I made my mistake. His flagship wine is the Muntada and promises to be fantastic but at 80Euros is not within my budget.
I am completely unqualified to make an overall conclusion about biodynamic wines however I can share what my impressions. In my limited experience these wines can often have an added complexity. This may come from the increased diversity of yeasts and bacteria that are left in the juice and wine. Unfortunately this may also be the source of the inconsistent quality that I have also found in organic and biodynamic wines. The decreased usage of sulfites during winemaking can also easily create an increased frequency of oxidized characteristics unless winemakers are very strict about the oxygen exposure their wines receive.
Many thanks to Jack and Joanne at Fork & Bottle for hosting this Wine Blogging Wednesday!
January 18th, 2007 at 4:35 am
I’ll be on the lookout for the Muntada…but wow, it sells for $70-$115 in the US!