Consistency is not a dirty word

The wine world currently has to work hard, or indeed has for years. The climate forces us to make choices: we fight against exploding sugar levels (and thus alcohol) and seek freshness with amphoras and concrete. That is a good thing in itself, because no one drinks wine solely for the alcohol. Otherwise, we would be drinking vodka or something similar. But then again, in this pursuit of innovation, we sometimes risk forgetting the houses that have been showing how it should be done for decades. Let alone the techniques and styles that go with it. The makers who steer a steady course (and succeed), regardless of whether nature serves them a top vintage or a disaster.

That, incidentally, is a story for another time: why good winemakers and houses can make good wine even in bad vintages.

No weak stuff

There is a major difference between an industrial wine that tastes the same every year because it has been tweaked in a lab (with wood chips, acidification, etc.), and a house style that is rock solid. We are not talking about the generic stuff in a box from the supermarket here. We are talking about craftsmen who know their terroir so well that they can guide the vintage rather than mask it.

In recent years, you often see well-known houses (think of Bordeaux names trying their luck in the New World) missing the mark. They chase a kind of new combination of elegance but deliver a weak end result. You get the aroma or the taste, but rarely both. You see this with many houses in Bolgheri as well: hunting for something less affected by the warming climate, but subsequently losing what they excel at precisely there: Bordeaux blends with a sultry layer and rich fruit.

An example of how it *should* be done is Cheval des Andes . I find that absolutely *funny* because it combines the barnyard depth of a 90s Bordeaux with the power of Argentinian fruit. It is far from weak; it is a deliberate, powerful style and combination of classic styles, executed technically perfectly. Furthermore, it shows that 1+1 can indeed be 3, and not necessarily 1.8.

The technology behind the race

What do houses such as Chapoutier , Rombauer , or Castello di Neive do differently now to guarantee that quality? It is not luck, nor is it ruthlessly discarding the past, but a sum of choices.

How masters survive the vintage

• Old vines: The older the vine, the deeper the roots. This ensures a constant sap flow, even in extremely dry years. The yield is lower, but the quality is stable.
• The art of the blend: A large house often blends dozens of different plots. Is plot A too ripe due to the sun this year? Then they compensate for that with the acidity from plot B on the cooler slope.
• Wood as custom work: A master does not use wood according to a recipe. In a fragile harvest, less new oak is used so as not to overpower the sap. In a vigorous year, the wood is allowed to form more of the backbone.
• Harvesting in stages: Instead of picking everything at once, they sometimes go through the same plot three times to pick only the perfectly ripened bunches.
• Making top wines or not: In poor vintages, you can choose to continue making your top wine. This might result in a wine that does not live up to its name, which is unfortunate for everyone. You can also choose to put the grapes for it into the "next in line." You won't make your top wine then, but the second or third wine might receive a huge boost in quality.

The anchors in the cellar

As I can see, we are also seeing an increasing use of cement and amphorae. That does cause micro-oxidation, but less external influence on the taste of the juice. I am not a fan of it, but that is personal; there is a lot to be said for it. Anyway, take Rombauer in California. They pay little attention to the anti-wood lobby and remain true to that rich, buttery-smooth style they became famous for. That requires backbone and enormous technical mastery to find the balance between power and drinkability (and no, I don't mean lager style, but balance, suppleness, wood that supports (for the style they employ, it is still solid wood)).

Sometimes an experiment with an earthenware pot (meaning an amphora) is fantastic, but perhaps more often you feel the need for a producer who simply knows what he is doing. A maker who has the guts to stick to his own style, even when the rest of the world is running in a different direction. In our shop, we seek that balance as well. We love the rebels, new styles, because discovery is what makes wine such a beautiful product. On the other hand, we have deep respect for the houses that have formed a qualitative anchor for generations and continue to fine-tune and improve their craftsmanship.

What is your preference?