Once again the grape proved too difficult, so I went back to New Street. I had done my research and found an ideal representative for the letter I. Known as the smallest vineyard in France, or the biggest in the Northern Basque country, Irouleguy has plenty to make it interesting. It is the only AOC from the region and has a wine making history going back until at least the third century.
Week I (2013) is Domaine Arretxea, Cuvee Haitza, Irouleguy, 2008. From the New Street Wine Shop £25 (although I later found it in Amathus, Leadenhall Market for £18.35)
This domaine was founded 20 years ago and the vines that provided the fruit for this wine were planted in that first year. The Haitza blend , or 'cuvee', is made from 70% Tannat 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tannat is well known as a very tannic grape variety, giving the propensity to age well, but often being quite, ahem, 'rustic'. Not so here. This bottle came from 2008 and as it was tasted around harvest time it has had five years in which to develop and soften.
It has a deep ruby colour which comes as a result of the time the juice spends in contact with the grape skins, of three to four weeks. During this period of 'maceration' the contact between juice and skins is maximised through daily process of 'punching down the cap' on a daily basis. This means that the mass of skins that floats to the top of the fermentation vessels is pushed into the liquid to ensure the colour, and the tannins that give the wine its structure, are mixed into the juice, rather than remaining separated.
This domaine was founded 20 years ago and the vines that provided the fruit for this wine were planted in that first year. The Haitza blend , or 'cuvee', is made from 70% Tannat 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.Tannat is well known as a very tannic grape variety, giving the propensity to age well, but often being quite, ahem, 'rustic'. Not so here. This bottle came from 2008 and as it was tasted around harvest time it has had five years in which to develop and soften.
It has a deep ruby colour which comes as a result of the time the juice spends in contact with the grape skins, of three to four weeks. During this period of 'maceration' the contact between juice and skins is maximised through daily process of 'punching down the cap' on a daily basis. This means that the mass of skins that floats to the top of the fermentation vessels is pushed into the liquid to ensure the colour, and the tannins that give the wine its structure, are mixed into the juice, rather than remaining separated.
Following this maceration, the wine is aged for 16 months on its lees (the dead yeast cells left behind at the end of fermentation) in large barrels known as Foudre, and bottled without being clarified be either fining or filtration.
It is not a wine to be drunk on its own; it has too much body and concentration of flavour for that, but it went very well with a beef stew, topped with herb dumplings and served with creamed potato which had been seasoned with a pinch of mace.
Another interesting little snippet about Tannat, in addition to the fact that it is popular in Uruguay, is that it is the only grape variety whose name is a palindrome.
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