“Disruptifs”, des vins de Bordeaux qui sortent du lot
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In a few months, Château Hostin Le Roc will put an aromatic bomb on the market. “To enrich their “Les hors series” range, confidential and disruptive cuvées, Catherine and Jérôme Boutinon, based in Entre-deux-Mers, pressed 30 hectoliters of Merlot from the first of September” reports their oenologist Romain Traste, who accompanies them in the vinification of a new top-of-the-range rosé.
On his advice, the winegrowers chose plots where the grape variety still presented a “white” profile. “We are not looking for tannins but a floral aroma, with few notes of red fruits” pursue the consultant oenologist, founder of the company Ecotone oenology.
The must was inoculated with Fermivin Vinae yeast, capable of fermenting up to 11% alcohol, producing a lot of 2-phenylethyl acetate, a molecule responsible for intense floral aromas including rose. “This is the first time that this non-saccharomyces selected in Uruguay has been tested in Bordeaux, rejoices Romain Traste. Distributor Erblsöh will follow this trial closely”.
Partial malo and acacia barrel
When the vat has lost 30 density points, the winegrowers will inoculate it with Alchemy I yeast, which is supposed to produce esters and amplify the intensity and aromatic complexity.
“We will see at the tasting, but we are already considering a partial malolactic fermentation with a non-butyric bacterium to further accentuate its floral side without weighing it down with buttery notes” resume Romain Traste.
The icing on the cake, the cuvée will spend a short time in a new 500-litre acacia barrel from Tonnellerie du Sud-Ouest. “Catherine and Jérôme will use the same packaging as for their blanc de noir, with a white bottle and a label coming out of the traditional codes of Bordeaux”.
Romain Traste had another idea to help a second client based in Côtes de Bourg get out of the downward spiral of the barrel for less than €1,000. “He took over the family estate three years ago and harvests each year in one go a beautiful clay-limestone plot of one hectare of whites between 80% Sauvignon at 10.5% potential degree and 20 % of earlier white Merlot planted on the highest part and exposed, often already 14% » he relates.
This badly cut dimension often gives unbalanced wines and obliges the winegrower to downgrade his wine to AOP Bordeaux, the specifications of the Côtes de Bourg not accepting white Merlot.
“I first thought of suggesting that he harvest in two stages, but what would he have done with 200 or 300 bottles of white Merlot? He would surely have ended up reassembling them. Then the Merlot made me think of the red, and the pellicular maceration. We told ourselves that we could try an orange wine and release a disruptive bottle allowing it to enter wine shops or restaurants, knowing that the rest of its range is exceptional”.
As the vintage was dry, the winemaker harvested fewer raisins than expected. He crushed and placed 120 liters in an amphora inerted with CO2, and chose an aromatic yeast, on the flower and the white peach. “We will raise it in a WineGlobe, a glass tank that will protect the fermentation aromas and allow us to stir well to bring fatness and length in the mouth without extracting the tannins”.
At the same time, the winemaker will be able to harvest his Sauvignon at the optimal date and choose a yeast that will extract more thiols. “He will thus be able to rename this cuvée with the name of the château and switch it back to Côtes de Bourg blanc” rejoices Romain Traste.