On Saturday afternoon I attended the tenth annual Natural Wine Event held at Astor Center located on 399 Lafayette Street, it was a consumer event. The wines were from Jenny & Francois Selections imports. Natural wine is defined as “made with minimal chemical and technological intervention in growing grapes and making them into wine”. How is that different from Organic wine? Glad you asked. Organic wines have varied definitions from country to country but standards are set from some governing agency which excludes the use of preservatives. I think the main difference is the word “minimal” as opposed to “excluding”. The difference I experienced was in what aromas came out of the glass. At an organic tasting those aromas tilted toward the pungent and stinky and not roses and black cherry. At this natural wine event the aromas where more subdued. In any case, the practice is pretty big in France and most of the wines served at this event were from France though I was glad to see a couple of wineries from the USA represented as well as one from Italy.
Whites
2012 Dirty & Rowdy Semillon (Napa Valley). The only Cali producer at the tasting, light yellow and cloudy with a closed nose, medium bodied with dirty tartness on the finish.
2011 Emmanuel Guillot-Broux Macon-Cruzille “Les Perrieres” (Burgundy). Gold in color with a nose of ripe mango with dusty fruit with lime notes on the finish.
2011 Emmanuel Guillot-Broux Macon-Chadonnay “Combettes” (Burgundy). Light gold with saffron and tropical fruits on the nose with some cinnamon on the fruit with lemon notes on the long finish.
2012 Domain de La Patience Chardonnay Vin de Pays (France). Light gold with notes of pineapple and green apples on the nose and tropical fruit on the balanced finish. Not a bad glass for a budget bottle.
2011 Domaine Grange Tiphaine Montiouis Sec “Clef de Sol” (Loire). Medium yellow with a spicy nose with pear notes on the fruit with a moderate long finish, good balance.
Reds
2012 Dirty & Rowdy Mouvedre “Shake Ridge Ranch” (Amador County). Medium red to purple with sweet berry notes and some earth on the nose and was chunky and rustic with black licorice on the fruit with a good grip.
2010 Montebruno Winery Pinot Noir “Crawford-Beck” (Oregon). Light red with rosemary and crushed grapes on the nose and was tight and tart on the finish.
2011 Dufaitre Winery Beaujolais Villages “L’Air de Rein” (Burgundy). Medium purple, cloudy with sweet spices on the nose and was chewy with crushed berries on the fruit with a nice grip at the end.
2008 Le Loop Blanc Val de Cesse “Les Trois Petits C” (Languedoc-Roussillon). Unusual with some Tempranillo in the blend, dark purple with a nose of crushed blueberry with silky tannin and drops a bit at the end.
2011 Le Loop Blanc Minervois “Le Regal” (Languedoc-Roussillon). Aged 12 months in concrete and was dark purple with earth and crushed dark berries on the nose and was tight and concentrated with silky mouth tannins on the finish.
2012 Domaine Grange Tiphaine “Ad Libitum” (Loire). A Gamay blend, medium purple with toast, and dried mushroom on the nose with dried herbs on the finish.
2011 Clos Siguier Cahors (France). Dark purple with a closed nose with crushed strawberry on the fruit with moderate tannin and crisp acidity on the end.
2012 Domaine Cousin-Leduc Le Cousin Rouge “Le Grolle” (Loire). Le Grolle is the grape varietal, light red with a big nose of barnyard, more full bodied than it looks with nice balance with barnyard notes on the long finish.
2012 Domaine Cousin-Leduc Anjou “Pur Breton” (Loire). 100% Cabernet Franc, dark purple with smoke and dark berries on the nose with chewy moderate fruit with moderate tannin and acid on the black licorice finish.
SocialVino 