The DNA of grape varieties

This week’s Wine on Wednesday was at Greg and Juliet’s house – despite the great weather we have been having we did not enjoy the luxury of their massive sliding roof (not because of inclement weather, but rather because of inclement squirrels, who had eaten the electrics).  Greg and Juliet had based this tasting on a DNA investigation of the different grape varieties – apparently clever boffins have been able to use this to trace a “family tree” of which grape varieties are descended from which (although there appear to be quite a few missing links in the tree that have not been properly identified).  The idea was to see if, with some clues as to the “parent” grape varieties, we could then identify the products of the “children” grapes.  The actual science behind this is set out in Jancis Robinson’s blog.  We were a slightly smaller group than normal, due to planned absences and someone’s forgetfulness – apparently moving south of the river affected Cath’s diary (Deptford clearly being in a different time zone!)

The grape variety “family tree” is shown below, with A-F being the grape varieties we were to try to identify and the “?”’s representing the as yet unidentified grape varieties.

As always, we started with a sparkling wine – this time an off dry, very pleasant wine that would be great for a sunny day on the beach (my mind at least was on the idea of beaches as I was heading straight down to Deal on the late train). We had a bit of discussion on where it might be form – starting with the idea of a German sparkler but rapidly moving to the Loire, where indeed the wine came from – it was a Cuvee de la Chevalerie Demi Sec from Saumur, which is primarily made from Chenin Blanc.  The great thing about Loire sparkling wines (we decided) is that they don’t pretend to be a Champagne, but forge their own (often delicious) path.

Moving on to the still wines, we moved to something that I immediately thought was a Sauvignon Blanc – something about the initial smell and taste seemed typical – but as it opened up it became less obvious – with an amazing sweet green apple aftertaste that lingered a very long time, while the acidity seemed to decrease.  This led to some confusion, but it turned out that my initial guess was right and that this was in fact Domaine D’en Segur 2011 Sauvignon Blanc.  I would class this as a Sauvignon Blanc for people (like me) who don’t actually like this grape – it did not have the sometimes unpleasant acidity but did have light fruits and dryness (though I'm not sure about the blackcurrant that the wine maker talks about in his description).

The next wine was a bit of a puzzler – none of us actively disliked it, but no one was hugely enthusiastic – there was a slightly odd aroma – heavy on honey (thank you Vicky) but also something else (Whelks??????? –again thank you Vicky – mind you I said Thai fish sauce!!!!!).  This wine turned out to be a Savignan from the Jura – a high altitude wine – the Domaine Badoz Cotes de Jura Cuvee de Victoria2008.  It has a lot of body (as the write up from The Sampler wine shop says, "and a little bit sherried")  but I fear more of a curiosity than a wine I would actively seek out.

The move to the reds meant we abandoned grape varieties anyone (other than Greg) had heard of.  The first red seemed very light – bright light red – a wine that initially made you think of a Pinot Noir (but even lighter).  This would be great summer red wine – with strawberry notes (none of the Pinot Noir cherry notes here).  Clearly we were all a bit stumped (I suggested a Canadian red wine – which was way off the mark).  It turned out to be another Jura wine from Domaine Badoz – this time a 2010 Trousseau (which led to a discussion about exactly what part of a ladies wardrobe a Trousseau normally was). This was a very nice wine and worth seeking out.

One sniff of the next wine immediately betrayed the grape variety was descended from Malbec, since it shared that brambly essence of the more well known grape variety.  The actual grape variety turned out to be a Jurancon Rouge, although it had been grown in the warmer South of France (Cahors to be precise).  The story behind the wine is interesting (and betrayed in the name – look at the picture below).  Apparently the grower was told by the local co-operative that he could not use this grape variety for wines from Cahors, especially not an AOC wine – he disagreed with this view and went ahead – producing a warm aromatic red that, because of the French labelling restrictions – can only be sold as a “Vin du Table”.  However Fabien Jouves has made his feelings clear in calling the wine a Jurancon “You F*** My Wine”!!!!!!

The final wine took us just across the border from France into Spain, with a Hondarrabi Beltza (at least we think that is the grape variety – it might be the wine maker!). The Gorrondona 2012 Bizkaiko Txakolina (and no, that is not a typo driven by excessive consumption) was a good rounded red wine that was slightly rustic and also, somewhere on the aftertaste, distinctively Spanish.  The wine itself, as any student of language would tell from the spellings, came from the Basque Country – and of course Rioja lies just to the south of this.

As for how each grape variety fits into the family tree above – well, I didn’t take notes so you will have to either guess or look here.  All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable and informative evening (and with a special mention to Juliet’s broad bean and ricotta lemon infused bruschetta – yum!).

All the wines (except for the first Saumur) can be found at The Sampler wine shop in Islington.