The third part of Curtis Marsh's series on the benefits of short- term bottle aging helps unravel the mystery of tannins.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Unlike the youthful sense of freshness associated with chilled white wines, there is a perception that red wine requires lengthy bottle aging, evoking images of long sojourns in dark, moldy cellars. However, this need not be the case.

Certainly red wine appears more profound than white in several senses - color, dimensions of flavor and the grainy, chewy texture of tannins. Indeed it is the tannins that are the core difference between red and white wines - reds being made by fermenting the juice, skins, seeds and sometime a proportion of stalks together before being pressed.

This manipulative process extracts, to greater or lesser degree, the anthocyanins (pigmented tannins in the skins reflecting the red to blue range of the visible spectrum), phenolic compounds and flavonoids, all of which contain anti-oxidant properties that contribute to bottle aging.

Depending on the grape variety, ripeness, quality of fruit and style of the wine desired, the correct ratio of juice to solids (dry extract of skin, pips, stalks) during fermentation is crucial, further augmented by macerations pre (cold soak) and post ferment from as little as one day to many weeks.

Whole bunches of grapes fermented with de-stemmed and crushed berries is more common in France, but is becoming increasingly popular in the new world, all in the chase of the magical extrasensory sappy and savory, fine-grained tannins that achieve great length and silky-textured finesse.

Understanding these characteristics and their relativity to particular red varieties is the key to unraveling and gauging short-term cellaring prospects. It is equally important to consider that tannin in red wines plays a significant role in pairing with food. In the same manner that the accentuated acids in white wines serves as a contrasting element and palate cleanser with rich or powerful dishes, tannins in red wine work in a similar way.

In this modern-age of industrial winemaking, there are numerous methods and synthetic additives that can facilitate the premature approachability of otherwise, long-term cellaring varieties, for example with cabernet sauvignon or shiraz. As Australian wine writer Max Allen aptly details in a recent parody of Australian wine consumption, "what I call the guzzle industry on one hand, and the sip-'n'-sniff industry on the other."

Working within the boundaries of this article, it is the sippers and sniffers (although the order should be reversed) that I am appealing to, so there will be no mention of commercial wine styles and cabernet sauvignon and shiraz will be aired subsequently under long-term cellaring. I also seek pardon for generalizations or exclusions, as it is impossible to cover every variety or worthy contender in this snapshot. (Should you have missed the previous two articles, Internet search: "Curtis Marsh, The Standard, Luxury of knowledge" and "Great white hopes.")

I have purposely deferred the issue of oak derived tannins and flavors in order to be the harbinger of the unsung heroes in red wine production, those that use no wood, old barrels or inert large barrels called foudres.

Excessive use of oak is the bane of red wine, abusively exercised to prop or tart up wines, to make a "silk purse from a sow's ear." The worst offender is the nauseously bourbon-sweet American oak, often compounded by jammy, simplistic fruit.

I applaud winemakers who rely on the natural grape and stalk tannins to give their wines structure, although this is largely associated with vine age. Which leads me to the wines of Provence, the Southern Rhone Valley, Languedoc-Rousillon, and other southern France regions such as Costieres des Nimes, Bandol, Cotes du Rousillon and Coteaux de Languedoc.

The principal local varieties and indigenous clones in these regions are grenache, mourvedre, syrah (shiraz), cinsault and carignan, predominantly as blends although sometimes excelling as singular wines. There is a wealth of dry-farmed, old vines normally un-trellised as bush vines with roots that reach deep in to the earth for nutrients and minerals coupled with radiant, dry summers, providing an abundance of photosynthesis and physiological ripeness, ergo sufficient structure requiring little support from oak. That said, there are no rules on the use of oak and some vignerons are being seduced to use new oak to cohort Parker points.

Reiterating the short-term focus, put aside the superior appellations of Gigondas and Cheateauneuf du Pape, which in general are deeply profound wines requiring long-term cellaring, unless a lighter vintage dictates, such as the already charming 2001. Cotes du Rhone communes such as Rasteau, Cairanne and Vinsobres can develop wonderfully over three to five years. Even basic Cotes du Rhone Rogue is greatly improved by two to five years cellaring, as long as you keep to quality producers, for example from the

Fatoria Felsina www.felsina.it

eponymous E Guigal. One of my current favorites - and insanely cheap - is the biodynamic producer Domaine Marc Kreydenwiess with his Costieres des Nimes Perrieres 2003, a blend of carignan (80-year-old vines), syrah (35-year-old) and grenache (35-year- old). Visit www.kreydenweiss.com.

Northern Rhone syrah based wines from Croze-Hermitage (Maison Chapoutier, Domaine Albert Belle) and St Joseph (J-L Chave, Stephane Montez- Domaine du Monteillet) can offer excellent short-term satisfaction. In a similar vein, the merits of cool-climate syrah (shiraz) from New Zealand and Australia is increasingly evident; seek out from New Zealand, Ata Rangi, Dry River, Craggy Range, Fromm, Trinity Hills, Te Mata Estate, Stonecroft. From Australia, Shaw & Smith, Craiglee, Sergio Carlei, Giaconda, Seville Estate, Mount Horrocks.

Despite its capricious nature, pinot noir is the consummate short-term cellaring red variety with its naturally finer tannins and generally lighter framework. I only wish that pinot noir producers with young vines would start using foudres instead of new toasted small French oak to dress things up .

While pinot noir can be very agreeable in its youth, with its opulent fruit and warming spiciness, three to five years will subdue these exuberant qualities, forming the chassis to carry developed earthy, gamy, mushroom, forest floor complexities. My current favorite from the new world is TarraWarra from the Yarra Valley, Australia, coming in to its straps with around four years in bottle. Visit www.tarrawarra.com.au. Also look for Gembrook Hill, Moondarra, Bindi, Moorooduc Estate, Kooyong, Ten Minutes by Tractor, By Farr. From New Zealand, Chard Farm, Felton Road, Two Paddocks, Quartz Reef, Mt Difficulty, Mt Edwards, Pegasus Bay, Neudorf, Ata Rangi, Craggy Range, Escarpment, Schubert. It would take a sizable book to cover the US, but unfortunately few are exported; try Au Bon Climat (www.aubonclimat.com), available through Berry Bros & Rudd (www.bbr.com).

Summarizing Burgundy is a futile exercise; the vintage variations between north (Cote du Nuits) and south (Cotes du Beaune) can be extreme and rarely even throughout, although 1999 and 2005 are exceptions. It is imperative that you are diligent in your research on both winemaker and vintage characteristics and keep in perspective that you are catering for your short-term satisfaction. Allen Meadows at www.burghound.com is one of the more reliable and comprehensive sources of reference. In buying lesser appellations in the great years (2005, 1999), and the more distinguished in the lesser years (2001), you will reach a very satisfactory level of relatively affordable drinking covering a wide range of villages and styles.

Gamay is much maligned and underrated; look for cru Beaujolais (preferably unfiltered) from the appellations of Moulin-a-Vent, Fleurie, Morgon (especially Cote du Puy) and Cotes du Brouilly. With two to five years they can deliver as much charm and complexity as Burgundy or pinot noir. Of exceptional merit and in a class of its own is Maison Louis Jadot (www.louisjadot.com), with its Biodynamic Chateau des Jacques estate. Even the 2005 Beaujolais-Villages Combe aux Jacques is worthy of a couple years in the cellar - atypical Beaujolais from an outstanding vintage and absurdly priced, also available on most supermarket shelves.

Italy is a bountiful hunting ground for short-term cellaring wines and once you catch the Italian wine bug you'll be resigned to the fact this is an incurable predilection. The little-known and much-underrated barbera grape from the Monferrato zone in central- south-east Piemonte is the absolute short-term candidate with its mouth- filling, lip smacking cherry fruitiness, perky acidity and low tannins. The timing could not be better with the outstanding 2003 wines in the market. Look for wines from Barbera d'Alba, Barbera d'Asti and Barbera Monferrato from top producers - Braida, Enzo Boglietti, Correggia, Aldo Conterno, La Guardia, Prunotto.

Last but not least, it is imperative that I finish with the nobile sangiovese grape. The inimitable wines from the Tuscany zones Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva are perfect short-term wines, often released with already several years in bottle. That is not to say they are capable of long-term cellaring. Most will begin developing intriguing secondary complexities within three to five years, but will always display invigorating acidity and ever-present dusty tannins that engenders pairing with campagna Italian cuisine. Among the copious Chiantis I could recommend, the 2004 Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico is the perfect example and will be sublime within three or four years. Avaialble through Remy, (www.remy.com.hk, tel: 2845 5995). Also look for Fontodi, Fatoria di Felsina, Isole e Olena, Castello di Fonterutoli, Cassa Emma, San Felice, Castella di Ama, Riecine.

Alas, Spain and Portugal will have to wait for another day.

“Curtis Marsh, a veteran wine importer and sommelier, is an Asia-based writer on wine, food and travel.”

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